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When the first season of Netflix’s “Nobody Wants This” premiered last year, the series’ popularity soared in ways its creators and stars could have never imagined. It spent six weeks on Netflix’s Global English Top 10 TV list and received 57 million views in three months, according to the streaming service.
“I think we kind of won the lottery with how ready people were for this kind of story,” star and executive producer Kristen Bell said ahead of the season 2 release on Thursday.
The romantic comedy follows the relationship between a staunch but devout Reform rabbi, Noah (Adam Brody), and. joanne (Bell), an agnostic woman who hosts a podcast about dating and sex.
But along with the Internet’s collective pounce on Brody’s hot rabbi, there was also swift criticism and consideration of how the show used anti-Semitic elements, particularly in its depiction of Jewish women. Noah’s sister-in-law, Esther, and his mother, Bina, were often vilified as bitter and controlling adversaries towards Joan and her sister, morgan (Justin Lupe).
“When it first came out and I watched the first episode, I was very uncomfortable,” said Rabbi Alan Bebchuk, executive vice president of the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. “There’s a lot of things I’d like to change.”
She objected to the show’s many depictions of Judaism, which she believes is often presented as “a test to be passed rather than a traditional tradition”, as well as the repeated use of the derogatory term “education” for non-Jewish women (which is conspicuously absent in Season 2).
Eventually, though, Bebchuk went back and watched the entire season. Although his criticisms persisted, he eventually had a change of heart. He said, “I celebrate the show. I think representation matters across the board, even if it’s in flawed form.”
On-screen and off-screen changes in Season 2
When “Nobody Wants This” was renewed for a second season last year, Netflix It was announced that HBO’s “Girls” alumni Jenni Konner and Bruce Eric Kaplan would take over as showrunners, while show creator Erin Foster, who based the story on her own life and conversion to Judaism, would remain as an executive producer.
“We love the show. It’s Erin’s voice. It’s Erin’s story,” Conner said. “Our job is literally to protect her voice and show her things that she might not know because she hasn’t done this before.”
As things get serious between Joan and Noah in the first season, the couple must deal with the inevitable questions that come with their disparate backgrounds about conversion, family, and Noah’s job. The second season shows him dealing with the consequences of being introduced as chief rabbi at Noah’s Temple because Joan was unwilling to convert.
But season 2 also shows a different side of Bina and explores more of Esther’s story, something Foster says was always part of the plan.
She said, “If you’re a Jewish woman who feels like you don’t like how you’re portrayed in the world or how people see you and have that kind of affirmation, I can understand the sensitivity. That was certainly never the intention.” “I think the characters evolve in Season 2 the way they always have, naturally.”
fielding criticism
However, for the most part, Foster and the rest of the cast are taking the criticisms in stride. “Everyone should not be allowed to express their opinions publicly everywhere,” he said.
Brody said, “Obviously, one show or group of characters can’t stand for an entire civilization.”
Jackie Tohn, who played Esther, said she was surprised by some of the feedback.
He said, “The two craziest characters on the show are definitely Joan and Morgan.” “I feel like no matter what, Jewish women are following the rules and they’re down to earth. Maybe they’re ordering their husbands around a bit, but good luck arguing that point.”
Foster said she took seriously how she was representing Jewishness on the show and hired a rabbi consultant from the beginning who “read every script” and was present in the writers’ room.
Rabbi Nicole Guzik of Sinai Temple, a Conservative synagogue in Los Angeles where parts of “Nobody Wants This” was filmed, recalls Brody asking him to watch his Hebrew pronunciations for both seasons. He added, “It was so sweet and so authentic that he cared so much about getting the role right.”
Finding Faith in ‘Nobody Wants This’
Although “Nobody Wants This” explores Judaism as a religion and whether Joan will eventually embrace it, Foster says the religious elements are “more of a backdrop” to their love story than a focal point of the series.
He said, “There’s no intention for it to feel heavy. I think people really understood the right amount of religion on the show.”
But for some people, the show’s association with Judaism and conversion makes it unique and attractive.
Guzik reflected, “With a Netflix series being so popular and having a conversation about what it means to be Jewish in an uplifting way, a curious way, I don’t think how we can be critical.” “I know there will be different pieces of the Jewish narrative that I wouldn’t necessarily believe in or align with. But that’s also the Jewish story, right? We’re massively diverse.”
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Associated Press religion coverage is supported by the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from the Lilly Endowment Inc. AP is solely responsible for this content.