Sweet but spicy: 'Nobody Wants This' could set the romantic comedy standard for a new age: NPR

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This is FRESH AIR. The new Netflix series “Nobody Wants This” stars two former teen actors, Kristen Bell from “Veronica Mars” and Adam Brody from “OC,” in a 10-episode romantic comedy. You play singles in their early 30s who get to know each other and find themselves attracted to each other despite some significant differences and obstacles. Our TV critic David Bianculli has this review.

DAVID BIANCULLI, BYLINE: Erin Foster, the actress and writer-producer of “Nobody Wants This,” has produced a new 10-part series for Netflix that feels almost like a throwback. It's an old-fashioned romantic comedy. “Two Opposites Attract” has been a staple of comedies and musicals since the 1930s. And even the feature of this television show – a Jewish man falls in love with a blonde, non-Jewish woman – is an established subgenre. Neil Simon's The Heartbreak Kid is a famous film version from more than 50 years ago. And around the same time, the concept was introduced on television in the then-controversial sitcom Bridget Loves Bernie.

For “Nobody Wants This,” Erin Foster draws on her own life, in which she met and fell in love with a Jewish man. In her Netflix sitcom, Kristen Bell from “The Good Place” plays her counterpart Joanne. And Foster ups the ante by casting would-be friend Noah, played by Adam Brody from “OC,” as a young rabbi. Joanne, self-absorbed and somewhat uninformed, only realizes this after she has already hit it off with Noah at a dinner party. When he walks her to her car afterwards, she is still processing the part about the rabbi.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, “NO ONE WANTS THAT”)

KRISTEN BELL: (As Joanne) Can you have sex?

ADAM BRODY: (As Noah Roklov) Right now?

BELL: (As Joanne) No, generally.

BRODY: (As Noah Roklov) Yes. These are priests. We are only human. Are you even a little bit Jewish – like an aunt or great-grandmother, a forged document?

BELL: (As Joanne) No. Why?

BRODY: (As Noah Roklov) Well, rabbi, non-Jew – it's pretty hard to pull off. We're trying to repopulate our people, you know?

BELL: (As Joanne) Also, I don't believe in God. Excuse me. Is it offensive to say that to a rabbi?

BRODY: (As Noah Roklov) You can say whatever you want. This doesn't matter either, but the struggle over what God is or isn't, and not knowing, are embedded in the Jewish experience.

BELL: (As Joanne) Really?

BRODY: (As Noah Roklov) No.

BELL: (As Joanne) I didn't know that.

BIANCULLI: The title of the show, “Nobody Wants This,” refers to the name of a podcast Joanne records with her sister in which they talk about all things outrageous, personal and, most of all, sexual. But the title also refers to the reaction of everyone around Joanne and Noah – friends, colleagues and especially family – as they begin to immerse themselves in each other's worlds. This is where “Nobody Wants This” gets more and more delicate and complicated. But thanks to a top-notch supporting cast, the series also becomes increasingly endearing and hilarious.

Tovah Feldshuh, whose first major TV role was in the super-serious 1970s miniseries Holocaust, plays Noah's protective mother, and she's a real looker. But the best supporting characters in the series are their respective siblings, whose writing and performances are so good that they could easily be incorporated into their own series. Joanne's sassy, ​​outspoken sister Morgan is played by Justine Lupe, who starred as Connor's wife Willa in Succession. And Noah's even brasher and outspoken brother Sasha is played by Timothy Simons, who endured years of abuse as Jonah on “Veep.” Whenever the two sisters or the two brothers share a scene in Nobody Wants This, the series kicks into high gear, and when all four are together, it really goes into overdrive.

Here are Noah and his brother Sasha, cramming into the backseat of Morgan's car while Joanne sits in the passenger seat. They all just met each other for the first time. And when Joanne, played by Kristen Bell, connects her phone to Morgan's car system, the text messages Morgan just sent become embarrassingly public.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, “NO ONE WANTS THIS”)

BELL: (As Joanne) Oh, I need to charge my phone.

TIMOTHY SIMONS: (As Sasha Roklov) God, I need to charge my phone too. What percentage are you at? I think…

JUSTINE LUPE: (As Morgan) No, you're not borrowing my charger.

SIMONS: (as Sasha) …Jump a lot. I'm about 22.

BRODY: (As Noah Roklov) That's enough.

AUTOMATED VOICE: Connected.

BRODY: (As Noah Roklov) Enough is enough.

SIMONS: (As Sasha Roklov) I use it a lot. Oh, my best friend's mom had a bike accident over there.

BRODY: (As Noah Roklov) That's a good story.

SIMONS: (As Sasha Roklov) Yes.

AUTOMATED VOICE: Message from Morgan – he's cuter than I expected.

LUPE: (as Morgan) Oh.

AUTOMATED VOICE: He doesn't look that Jewish.

LUPE: (as Morgan) Oh my God.

BELL: (As Joanne) Morgan.

LUPE: (as Morgan) I'm sorry.

AUTOMATED VOICE: Next message from Morgan.

LUPE: (as Morgan) Oh my God.

AUTOMATED VOICE: The brother is brutal.

BELL: (As Joanne) What are you doing with the screen?

AUTOMATED VOICE: Ogre emoji.

LUPE: (as Morgan) OK. This is not…

AUTOMATED VOICE: Vomiting emoji.

BELL: (As Joanne) Morgan, turn it around – unplug it. I am so sorry for my sister, with whom I have since cut off contact.

LUPE: (as Morgan) Listen. This feature has gotten me into some very bad situations, but those were the first three for sure.

BRODY: (As Noah Roklov) If I may ask, what does Jewish look like to you?

SIMONS: (As Sasha Roklov) Yes, I had the same question.

LUPE: (as Morgan) No.

BRODY: (As Noah Roklov) Imagine a bigger nose or, like…

LUPE: (as Morgan) No.

BRODY: (as Noah Roklov) …curlier hair?

SIMONS: (As Sasha Roklov) Doesn't my brother look like he can control the media?

BIANCULLI: One of the executive producers of “Nobody Wants This” is Steven Levitan, who won a number of outstanding comedy series Emmys for his work on the ABC sitcom “Modern Family.” Part of what made this series so popular and effective was that it explored the differences between the various characters without ridiculing or dismissing those differences.

“Nobody Wants This” does the same thing. I watched all 10 episodes and was impressed by how even the minor characters are given not only screen time but also dignity over the course of the series. And in the lead roles, Adam Brody and Kristen Bell are so funny and yet so vulnerable. It's easy to imagine Nobody Wants This quickly becoming the standard for romantic comedies of a new age. It's sweet, but it's spicy. It has laughs but also bite, and I suspect it will end up at the top of the Netflix list.

DAVIES: David Bianculli is a professor of television studies at Rowan University. He reviewed the new Netflix series called Nobody Wants This. If you want to catch up on interviews you missed, like our conversation with Ta-Nehisi Coates about his trip to Senegal, where he reflected on his ancestors' enslavement, or with actor and comedian John Leguizamo, whose latest project is A PBS -Documentation about the history of Latinos in America can be found in our podcast. You will find many FRESH AIR interviews. And to find out what goes on behind the scenes of our show and get our producers' recommendations on what to watch, read and listen to, sign up for our free newsletter at why.org/freshair.

(SOUNDBITE OF TERRY GIBBS' “PAPER RISE (CIGARETTES)”)

DAVIES: The executive producer of FRESH AIR is Danny Miller. Our Technical Director and Engineer is Audrey Bentham with additional technical support today from Adam Staniszewski. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Phyllis Myers, Roberta Shorrock, Ann Marie Baldonado, Sam Briger, Lauren Krenzel, Therese Madden, Monique Nazareth, Susan Nyakundi, Anna Bauman and Joel Wolfram. Our digital media producers are Molly Seavy-Nesper and Sabrina Siewert. Thea Chaloner directed today's show. To Terry Gross and Tonya Mosley I'm Dave Davies.

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