The real love story behind the series – Deseret News

Netflix's new romantic sitcom, Nobody Wants This, feels too good to be true – but it's not. The series is based on the true experiences of creator Erin Foster.

Foster's “Nobody Wants This” is loosely based on her own love story. Like the series' lead, Joanna (Kristen Bell), Foster fell in love with a charming Jewish man.

After becoming educated in Judaism, Foster converted and married her now-husband Simon Tikhman in 2019, according to Vulture.

“A big part of what attracted me to Simon was that he was someone who was fun, cool and modern, but he had a little bit of an old-fashioned feel about him,” Foster told the Los Angeles Times. “He'll say, 'Hey, we should check on this person, or 'We need to go to your grandma's.' I didn't grow up with that etiquette.”

Nobody Want This is not a completely faithful retelling of Foster's early relationship with Tikhman – some plot points were added for entertainment purposes. But the “emotional journey” Is exactly, says Foster.

“It’s not always tangible things that I can point to,” Foster told Today. “I would say the emotional journey is very similar to my experience when I met my husband.”

Foster also emphasizes her outsider perspective on Judaism in the series, without “making any political statement,” she told Netflix's Tudum.

“I didn’t grow up Jewish, but converted as an adult. I wanted to tell a Jewish story, but from an outsider's perspective for someone who understands chose Judaism.”

Who is Erin Foster?

Erin Foster is a writer, producer and actress. She is the daughter of music producer and 16-time Grammy Award winner David Foster and his former wife Rebecca Dyer.

She has worked in television for several years, with small acting roles on “Gilmore Girls,” “House,” “Castle” and “The OC,” according to IMDB.

Foster converted to Judaism after meeting her husband

Foster and her husband Simon Tikhman grew up in very different households.

Foster said she grew up with a “complicated family structure,” according to the Los Angeles Times. She grew up in a non-religious, non-traditional home. Her father, David Foster, was married five times and has six children.

Like Adam Brody's character, Tikhman is the son of Russian Jewish immigrants. Unlike Brody's character, Tikhman was never a rabbi, but his upbringing made him feel like he had to pass on his Jewish heritage.

“We don't have similar backgrounds,” Foster said on The World's First Podcast, which she and her sister hosted. “He came from a much more traditional place. I came from a somewhat unconventional place. When we met, we asked ourselves, 'How is this going to work?'”

Foster had previously taken a handful of Judaism-related classes with a friend and was drawn to the structure and tradition that comes with religion, according to The LA Times. She was open to the idea of ​​converting.

When Foster started dating Tikhman, her experiences with him turned her beliefs “upside down,” she told Today.

He was the kind of person “who makes you want to be a better version of yourself and makes you question all the things you thought were true,” she added .

Before her wedding in 2019, Foster began her conversion journey. According to The LA Times, she took classes at the American Jewish University for ten weeks.

Then Foster made the decision to convert to Judaism.

On New Year's Eve 2019, Foster and Tikhman married, according to Vulture. They now have a daughter, Noa, who was born in May.

Foster's relationship with Tikhman was the inspiration for the plot of “Nobody Wants This”.

“This show is based on the only good decision I ever made: falling in love with a nice Jewish boy,” Foster told Netflix Tudum. “But I realized that being happy is much harder than being unhappy – there is nothing to complain about. That’s why I created this show based on the fact that finding the right person can be so difficult.”

What Foster says about the real Noah

Noah, played by Adam Brody, is based on Foster's own husband.

“I'm obsessed with Simon; he is my muse. And this show is like a love letter to him,” Foster told the LA Times.

With Tikhman as inspiration, Foster wanted to write a character who was “emotionally available, chivalrous, old-fashioned… but also really funny and confident,” she said on an episode of The World's First Podcast.

One difference Foster noted between her husband and Noah is their families. In Foster's experience, Tikhman's family was supportive of their relationship. She created the naysayers to add entertainment value to the series.

“For a television show, you have to have conflict, so you have to create people who are resistant to the relationship,” Foster says in the podcast.

Is “Nobody Wants This” getting a second season?

If Netflix gives the green light, Foster would like to make a second season of “Nobody Wants This.”

“We’re getting a really positive response,” Foster told IndieWire ahead of the series’ Netflix premiere. “And that's why I think the conversations about a possible second season have definitely begun.”

“The story in Season 1 develops very slowly. So if there is a second season, I would just want to pick up where we left off and take it slow because I don't want us to get too far ahead of ourselves. I mean, I want my show to stay on the air as long as possible!”

Brody and Bell are both interested in filming a second season of Nobody Wants This.

“I would like to do a second season; Kristen and Adam would love to do a second season,” Foster told The Wrap. “There is so much more story to tell. If people like the show, I would like to spread the word about it.”