In April 2023, Deadline announced that Adam Brody would play a “charming rabbi” in a rom-com Netflix series. Then, in May 2024, Netflix released a first look at the series. Now, we finally have a trailer:
Because this show is an extremely important piece of Jewish pop culture history and Adam Brody is hot, here is a close reading/breakdown of all my reactions to this trailer:
1. We open on Joanne (Kristen Bell) and Morgan (Justine Lupe) podcasting about unhealthy relationships. I didn’t realize “Nobody Wants This” would also double as a horror series.
2. Joanne goes to a party and meets Noah (Adam Brody), who is hot. She doesn’t realize he is a rabbi, because he is so hot. “Did you know there’s a rabbi here?” she asks the rabbi. “No shit, where?” the rabbi responds.
3. We are less than 30 seconds into the trailer and there is a Jewish sex joke. (“There is not a Jewish bone in her body… unless you put one in her,” Ashley, Noah and Joanne’s mutual friend, responds when Noah asks Ashley about Joanne.) Sounds about right.
4. Joanne hears Noah and Ashley talking and realizes Noah is the rabbi. “It’s hot, right?” Noah responds. YES, NOAH/ADAM BRODY. YES IT IS.
5. Cue the montage where Noah and Joanne try out a relationship. Joanne and Morgan continue to podcast (jumpscare) and Joanne talks about Noah on-air, using the fake name “The Prophet.” Feels Messianic, but OK.
6. Noah and Joanne introduce their siblings to each other. Morgan texts Joanne that Noah is cute, but that his brother Jonah Ryan (the brother is actually named Sasha, but he’s played by Timothy Simons so I will be calling him Jonah Ryan) is ugly. The text message is announced on the car bluetooth. Oh we love rom-com shenanigans, don’t we, folks?
7. Joanne goes to synagogue! Noah’s mom Bina (Tovah Feldshuh) looks at Joanne like she murdered her dog. My overbearing Jewish mom stereotype senses are tingling.
8. Joanne does the sign of the cross to Noah, he is in full rabbi mode and wearing a tallit and kippah. “That’s not us,” he says gently. He continues to look hot.
9. A cut clip of Morgan telling Joanne “well you have to admit you guys are a weird pair” reminds us that Joanne and Noah are from totally separate worlds. She is an agnostic adult woman and he is Jewish. As I said: completely. separate. worlds.
10. Noah listens to Joanne’s podcast in his office while tossing a football in his hands. I’ve never seen a rabbi hold a football in my entire life. Then, two Hebrew school boys enter right as Joanne talks about orgasms. Classic rom-com scenario!
11. Another clip tells us that Noah is responsible and kind, while Morgan implies that Joanne’s type is more tattoos, thick necks and light criminal records. Hey Morgan, news flash! Jews can look and be anything we want! We, too, can have tattoos, beefy necks and a penchant for crime.
12. Meanwhile, some guy (it is not established in the trailer who this character is, so to me, he is truly just some guy) tells Noah that you can enjoy having fun but shouldn’t end up with fun. It has the vibe of “shiksas are for practice” which big time sucks! The best part of the scene is Adam Brody wearing a Star of David and looking hot.
13. Jonah Ryan rags on his wife, Esther. He says she’s not fun. Boo, Jonah Ryan! We then see a clip where Esther calls Joanne and Morgan “Whore #1” and “Whore #2.” I sense another overbearing Jewish wife and mother trope…
14. Next scene has Joanne and Noah at a Jewish summer camp… but in the fall? Anyway, Joanne talks to girl campers who also refer to Noah as “hot rabbi.” Nice! They then reveal that Hot Rabbi introduced Joanne as his “friend.” Uh oh! Trouble’s abrewing!
15. Once again we see Bina questioning Noah’s choice to date Joanne, even whispering, “You’re never going to end up with my son” in Joanne’s ear. Bina also has a thick accent. Is she supposed to be Israeli? What’s happening here?
16. We see a date between Joanne and Noah. We then see Joanne later explaining the date to Morgan. Morgan than says, “Yes, chef!” OK, so “The Bear” as a TV show exists in the “Nobody Wants This” universe? Good to know for any future crossovers…
17. We see Noah and Joanne almost kiss before Noah pulls away. “I mean, is there a world where this works?” he questions. Oh right, because they are so different, I forgot!
18. We get another montage. We see Noah playing basketball in a t-shirt that says “Matzah Ballers,” presumably a JCC rec basketball league shoutout. Either way, he’s wearing it and then winks at me, Evelyn Frick, specifically. I wink back at him through the screen.
19. Then Noah and Joanne are at a sex shop, where Noah runs into congregants while holding a box for a vibrator called “The Obliterator,” a word which actually might be in the Torah.
20. Finally, in the last scene of the trailer, Joanne confronts Noah for calling her his friend “in front of the teens, whose opinion I care about most.” Noah agrees it was bad, calling it “so sus.”
All-in-all, “Nobody Wants This” looks cute and fun with a few Jewish tropes to keep an eye on, but it seems worth it for Hot Rabbi Adam Brody.
“Nobody Wants This” debuts on Netflix on September 26.
