‘Nobody Wants This’ focuses on the love story between a rabbi and an atheist, who, despite their electric chemistry, struggle to reckon with their conflicting worldviews and communities.

As Joanne (Kristen Bell), an outspoken sex podcaster, and Noah (Adam Brody), a rabbi fresh out of a long-term relationship, stumble through the beginnings of what their friends and families see as a relationship that won’t last. their minds are full of questions about what a future together could look like — and that’s exactly what drew Bell to the Netflix rom-com series.

“If you’re reading a script and they ask a question that you think is a minefield of storylines, that’s a reason to do it,” Bell told TheWrap. “There is so much to discover, and it’s not like there was a specific answer, because it depends on the two people whether this is worth it or not… but just the discovery of that, I thought, would be very interesting and be very interesting. entertaining.”

For Brody, Joanne and Noah’s predicament is very much a “real” and “relatable conflict” that he says is “relatable to people on both sides of this issue,” and that may even extend beyond religion. “There are a lot of lifestyle differences,” Brody told TheWrap. “The same thing could be political, and it would, I think, work just as well.”

The situation laid out in the series is more than relatable to series creator Erin Foster (“Daddy Issues,” “Barely Famous”), whose experience converting to Judaism before marrying her husband, Simon Tikhman (who is not a rabbi), served as the inspiration for ‘Nobody Wants This’.

While Foster joked that she took creative liberties in creating the show to avoid “getting divorced and pissing people off,” she revealed that many of the show’s emotional arcs are “autobiographical,” because she wanted conflicts would feel ‘real and lived’. then manufactured.

“To be a modern woman today, where you’re ambitious and career-oriented, but then you meet someone who’s a little bit more old-fashioned and a little bit more conservative and has parents who are still married and has different expectations, it’s never really been like that. exposed to divorce – those things are all really real,” Foster said.

While Foster grew up joking that she would convert if she found a Jewish husband, the gravity of the situation hit home when she took conversion classes, saying, “When you actually go through the process and you realize you’re leaving religion for a while changes, a person, and if you were ever divorced, you would have to remain Jewish and raise your children that way. “It’s a big responsibility. It’s not something you should take lightly,” she said.

Because these different backgrounds were “enough to tear two people apart,” especially for a couple who met in their 30s, Foster raised the stakes as Joanne contemplates becoming a rabbi’s wife and her own responsibility to the community .

Bell was immediately cast as Joanne after Netflix acquired ‘Nobody Wants This’ and was the first to introduce Brody. “From the very beginning, she was like, ‘It should be Adam Brody,’” Foster said. “I still wanted an opportunity to audition people because I had this opportunity to look at every cute Jewish actor, maybe discover someone, have someone very unexpected in that role, there was no one that we were like, ‘ Oh, it’s him.’ ”

By the time Foster brought Brody in, she remembers him as the “obvious” choice because he brought warmth and confidence to the role that was needed to suit Joanne. “He has to be someone who … believes in what he believes in and also be a commanding presence,” Foster said. “I hate watching shows where you have a strong female character and the nice guy in real life could never deal with a girl like her – he could never deal with her.”

Foster admitted that she lucked out with their on-screen chemistry, which paired perfectly with what Bell calls an “electric chemistry” between Joanne and Noah that Brody said could be charged by their different perspectives. “They’ve both – he especially – been very steep in a particular world, but even though her experiences may be broader, I think they’re still of a type and with a type,” he said. “They are both very fresh perspectives and types of people for each other.”

Their relationship is immediately the talk of Joanne and Noah’s families, with Noah’s mother calling her a “shiksa” and her entrance into his life (and synagogue) prompting backlash from his sister-in-law, Esther (Jackie Tohn). who remains close friends with his ex-girlfriend (Emily Arlook), who was eager to realize her dream of becoming the wife of a head rabbi.

“(It’s) an exploration of somewhat basic family values ​​and/or what should and shouldn’t be,” Bell said. “Is the world black and white, or can the world just be completely gray?”

Their relationship also doesn’t seem viable to Joanne’s sister, Morgan (Justine Lupe), who co-host a podcast focused largely on sex and relationships, although Joanne’s stories become a little less spicy when she starts dating Noah. Foster similarly retreated from her relationship with her sister Sara, who co-hosts a podcast and co-founded clothing brand Favorite Daughter.

While Foster said her sister and husband are “best friends” in real life, she wanted to explore how Joanne’s growth into a healthy, mature relationship could make Morgan feel left behind.

“If there is a person in a family or group of friends who always chooses the wrong person, always makes mistakes or always sabotages themselves, and then that person chooses someone who is a good fit for him or her, sometimes the people around that person are not supportive it,” said Foster. “It’s difficult when you turn left and make a different choice; it can be difficult for the people around you.”

Since Noah’s brother, Sasha (Timothy Simons), was seemingly the only one on board with their relationship, Brody noted that the reaction to Joanne and Noah’s relationship could run deeper than just pettiness. “Deep down, they have their own personal reasons that have more to do with themselves than with Noah and Joanne, in the way they saw their lives playing out.”

“No one wants them to be together – no one wants this,” Bell said. “The real discovery throughout the entire ten episodes is: Do they really want it?

‘Nobody Wants This’ is now on Netflix.

The post Kristen Bell, Adam Brody and the ‘Nobody Wants This’ Creator Break Down the ‘Relatable Conflict’ at the Center of the Netflix Romcom appeared first on TheWrap.