Within days of “Nobody Wants This” hitting Netflix, the romcom series has been the source of viral moments and inspired lots of binge watches, with the Adam Brody and Kristen Bell-led series debuting to 10.3 million views in its opening weekend.
“It’s honestly mind-blowing,” series creator Erin Foster told TheWrap. “I could not have prepared myself — I don’t think anybody could.”
For Foster, whose real life experience of converting to Judaism to marry her husband (who is not a rabbi) inspired the series, the response from fans has been “validating” as viewers resonate with the show’s themes of “love and dating in your 30s, and tying your self worth to a bad relationship.”
“You’re seeing a generation of women go, ‘Wait a minute. We have not seen a securely attached male on screen making an anxiously attached woman feel safe and seen’ — We’re always watching the guy be anxious and avoidant, and it’s reversed,” added Sara Foster, who executive produces the show alongside her sister. “It’s giving women hope.”
While “Nobody Wants This” has not yet been greenlit for a second season by Netflix, Erin said she “can’t imagine [they] don’t end up with one after all the success.” “I don’t know yet — I hope so. I really want one,” Erin said. “I have lots of ideas ready to go.”
Below, the Foster sisters break down the show’s buzziest moments as well as the Adam Brody craze and reveal they “flirted with” a romance between Morgan and Sasha.
TheWrap: The “I Can Handle You” Scene has gone viral across several social media platforms, where did the inspiration for that moment come from and why do you think that moment in particular is resonating so strongly?
Erin Foster: We are a generation of strong women who can sometimes have a tough exterior and feel torn between, “are we too much? Should we be less?” … We’ve been told you either get to choose someone who’s an alpha but is toxic, or someone who’s a beta and is healthy, and we don’t like those options.
Early in my relationship with my husband, I freaked out. I just was nervous to be with a nice guy because I thought that he wouldn’t be able to handle me. Instead of doing what everyone else had ever done when I had freaked out, which is, he would panic and spiral and grab on tighter … his instinct was to stand really strong and confident in himself and say, “You gotta stop — I’m not going anywhere. I see what you’re doing, and I don’t think it’s anything to do with me.” And I just had never been shaken that way — I’m allowed to have a freak out, I’m allowed to be nervous, I’m allowed to even doubt the relationship, and this person will continue to stand securely. I didn’t know if anyone was going to relate to that or want that — that was a moment that really was important to me.
Sara Foster: It’s a very like emotionally intelligent concept that people are really getting … healthy boundaries make you feel safe, and there’s a boundary within that, saying, like, “Look, you do you — I’ve got this.”
There’s been a huge response to Adam Brody, especially among fans of “The O.C.” Did you expect this?
Sara: We knew [while] shooting — we would sit behind the monitors just going, “is the world prepared for this?” It was so exciting to even think about people getting to see this Adam Brody in his 40s.
Erin: He’s so perfect in this role. It’s been so cool to watch for him, because he deserves to get this validation.
Was Seth Cohen in mind during filming?
Erin: No, I know that people have joked about me being on “The O.C.” but when “The O.C.” was on, I was in my 20s, and so I wasn’t like an avid “O.C.” watcher. I don’t think of it as a Seth Cohen character, because I wrote the character before we had an actor attached, but I kind of love the idea that people are seeing it as Seth Cohen all grown up. It’s funny because his boss in the show is Rabbi Cohen, and one of the writers just put in the words Rabbi Cohen and you have to get every name cleared. We put it in and Adam flagged it, and was like, “hey, this might be weird … my name was, Seth Cohen on ‘The O.C.’ should we change that?” And Kristen, I think, was like, “I think it’s a good thing … fans will love it. Keep it.” And he was like, Okay, fine, we’ll keep it.
Sara: To Kristen’s credit, when Kristen came onto the project from … day one, she was like it’s Adam Brody.
Adam and Kristen played romantic interests in “House of Lies.” Did that come up as you were casting?
Erin: She told me that they had been in something together already. We were in the writers; room, and she showed us a clip of them making out in “House of Lies” and … I didn’t see it, I still was like, “this isn’t the character.” Adam has said in an interview before, “we’ve done other stuff together, our chemistry wasn’t like this before.” I think that it’s them playing these two characters that at this point in their lives that has brought out this intense chemistry.
Sara: You can’t say it, but I can say it — it’s the writing.
There’s been some speculation but how old are Joanne and Noah intended to be?
Erin: I’d say mid 30s. It’s hard to have them play in their 40s if you want to have them heading towards marriage and kids, which I think that the audience would enjoy seeing them be on the same dating track that they’re on in Season 1. It just puts such a time pressure on it that you have to address, but isn’t always fun to talk about, and so you just want to be able to stretch it out a little bit longer. I met my husband when I was 35 years old, and that’s a really sweet spot for a lot of women that are nervous that they are going to find their partner.
Season 1 leaves off with Noah realizing he can’t have both a non-Jewish girlfriend and his job as head rabbi, but he kisses Joanne anyway. Where does this leave us for the start of season 2 and what would season 2 explore?
Erin: It’s a big question mark for a reason. It’s intended to be like, “So what’s gonna happen? So are you choosing her? So you’re leaving your job? How are you guys gonna make this work? What’s it gonna look like?” That was intentional, so we’d have to figure that out in the writers’ room of Season 2.
Sara: There’s like a real appetite to dive deeper into the lives of Sasha and Morgan. People love the chemistry with them … that’s the beauty of Season 1. You get so much feedback — You know what people want. It’s beautiful because it’s like a blueprint … People associate me with Morgan — I’m getting so many messages. People are obsessed with knowing who was her ex-husband … We need more about what happened in that relationship … What makes Morgan tick?
How did you tow the line of chemistry between Morgan and Sasha without it being fully romantic?
Erin: We flirted with it being a romance on and off all season.
Sara: I think [in] Season 1, it’s too unlikeable.
Erin: We played with lots of different ideas of how far it would go, and I think we landed in the right place.
Sara: It’s the perfect thing … like, are they flirting? They become a safe sort of space for each other. They relate to each other … people love their dynamic.
With Noah at a potential dramatic turning point, how would you want to maintain the core of the show in a potential Season 2?
Erin: We’re paying attention to what people are liking, and people are definitely enjoying those thoughtful moments of intimacy and vulnerability and connection mixed in with humor. We will, if we get a Season 2, do our best to not ruin the show and not try to be something different, and try to continue to be exactly what people fell in love with.
Sara: The journey of watching maybe an avoidant become secure is really just juicy, and Noah’s very securely attached. We’re always going to just be sort of watching him, and I think the audience wants to watch, from the feedback, him teach her and make her feel safe enough to become securely attached. When have we seen that on TV?
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
All episodes of “Nobody Wants This” are now streaming on Netflix.
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