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What rabbis think of Netflix's Nobody Wants This and Adam Brody's Hot Rabbi character

Rabbi Maya Zinkow knew she would have a strong reaction to Netflix's new romantic comedy “Nobody Wants This” when the trailer was released last month.

But she didn't expect to run into problems with the show, which stars Kristen Bell as an agnostic podcaster who, within four minutes of the first episode, falls in love with a young, pot-smoking “hot rabbi” played by Adam Brody , in love.

So Zinkow, a 32-year-old campus rabbi at the University of California, Berkeley's Hillel, took to her Instagram Stories to express her outrage at what she believes is the show's decision to use stereotypes about Jewish people.

“I just don't think it's funny,” Zinkow told NBC News, “especially at a time when Jews are under so much scrutiny.” Her ongoing commentary on the series has since gained traction on social media, prompting her to post a Create a highlight reel on Instagram.

“Part of my job is to protect Jews,” she said.

NBC News spoke with four rabbis about the buzzy series, which has sparked strong online reactions since its release on Sept. 26, including a steady stream of Brody-focused “Hot Rabbi” memes. The religious leaders, who belong to various denominations, all agreed that “Nobody Wants This” is an imperfect representation of the rabbinate and Jewish culture. Still, their level of dissatisfaction with the series varied.

The show received widespread praise on social media. But this was also accompanied by increased criticism, including from many Jewish viewers who denounced the portrayal of Jewish women. A Netflix spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Some of the rabbis also said that despite its themes, “Nobody Wants This” and its light comedy provide a welcome distraction from the Israel-Hamas war and growing anti-Semitism in the United States

“For a sad reason, the timing couldn’t be better,” said Rabbi Steve Leder, former senior rabbi of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles and a consultant to the program. “It’s like joking about a Shiva – it helps. I believe that jokes at a shiva are appropriate and healing.”


Adam Brody and Kristen Bell in “Nobody Wants This.” Saeed Adyani / Netflix

The 10-episode romantic comedy follows a romance between Rabbi Noah Roklov (Brody), a smoking, basketball-loving son of Russian immigrants who dreams of running his synagogue, and Joanne (Bell), an irreligious Angelino who runs a successful synagogue together hosts sex and relationship podcast. After meeting at a dinner party, the two find it difficult to reconcile their undeniable chemistry with their completely different backgrounds and beliefs. Their will-they-won't-they relationship is punctuated by heated scenes and witty banter that The Guardian described as “as funny as When Harry Met Sally.”

The series was created by writer and performer Erin Foster, who based the story loosely on her own experience falling in love with a Jewish man who insisted on marrying a fellow Jewish man. Foster converted to religion five years ago.

Viewers have taken to the internet to celebrate the “Hot Rabbi,” as Brody's character is known to some of his summer camp students, comparing him favorably with Hugh Grant in Notting Hill and the “Hot Priest” character in “Fleabag.” Others online were amazed by Rabbi Noah's emotional maturity and his support for Joanne – the ultimate “green flag.”

“I actually can’t stop thinking about the hot Rabbi Adam Brody,” one X user wrote last week.

The series has also renewed the Internet's love for Brody, who captured the hearts of millennial teens nearly two decades ago as Seth Cohen “The OK”

“Adam Brody’s rizz on this show is unbeatable. “It’s like Seth Cohen grew a beard and realized how good he was and sent a whole generation of OC girls into heat,” one X user wrote. Another wrote: “Ok yes Adam Brody's hot rabbi show brought out something deep inside me, I won't be answering any questions at this time.”

There was also heavy criticism of the show for its “vicious portrayal of women” and the cultural implications of “sexualizing” a rabbinic character. Still, the “Hot Rabbi” memes remain a major driver of the show’s public reception.

Leder said he consulted on the show by listening to writers, reviewing scripts and taking notes to ensure the portrayal of Judaism was accurate. He had no problem with Brody's “hot rabbi” persona and lifestyle.

“There's an exaggeration of the characters and situations because it's a romantic comedy,” Leder told NBC News. “It is not a documentary about the life of a young rabbi. I think that’s a very important distinction.”

Leder noted that Rabbi Noah does things he would never do—like cracking up a joint at a dinner party with strangers—and was overall pleased that the show “opened people up a little bit to the humanity of the rabbi “, a religious figure often portrayed on screen as deeply serious and often older.

Zinkow said the marijuana-related scene was a relatable moment in the show that “brought a little forward” the portrayal of rabbis in pop culture.

“Yes, I am a great rabbi. I'm a real person, I'm sexual, I'm fun,” she said of Brody's character. She added that the scene where Joanne slips into a synagogue to hear Rabbi Noah was particularly fun to watch – because it reflected her own meeting with her partner. “I literally met my partner because he was in synagogue and I was giving the sermon,” she said.

However, despite these moments of relatability, Zinkow objected to the series' use of stereotypes about overbearing Jewish women and the “shiksa goddess.”

“The entire premise of the show just seems to miss an opportunity to show what it would mean for a serious religious follower… to grapple with what it means to be in a relationship with someone who is obviously not a serious religious follower or not.” “take care of it,” she explained.

Like Zinkow, Rabbi Sari Laufer was wary of the show — and planned to avoid it altogether. But when her parishioners asked for her opinion, she relented.

“I love a good romantic comedy, so I enjoyed it from that perspective,” said Laufer, the chief engagement officer at Stephen Wise Temple and Schools in New York. She added that she appreciated “the portrayal of rabbis as fully human.”

Laufer particularly liked a scene in which Rabbi Noah leads a Shabbat prayer in a restaurant while out with Joanne, which depicts “the tension that liberal Jews often feel between tradition and modernity.” The rabbi added: “I was touched by the depiction of what it might look like to integrate Judaism into a fully modern life.”

But Laufer said she has a big problem with the show's treatment of the female characters – particularly the “incredibly dated and quite frankly repulsive” way some of the characters describe Joanne.

“Do I think there are still Jews who are uncomfortable with the idea of ​​intermarriage and who may even use derogatory terminology? Unfortunately, I know the answer is yes,” Laufer said. “But is this the overarching sentiment – ​​and language – within liberal Jewish communities? Absolutely not. I wish the authors had been willing to push back against some of these stereotypes or delve more deeply into some of the reasons for the Jewish tendency — if we can even call it that — toward endogamy.”

Rabbi Leora Kaye agreed, taking issue with how often Rabbi Noah's friends and family use the word “shiksa” to describe Joanne negatively, including in a scene in which his mother Bina (Tovah Feldshuh) tries to kill the ex-girlfriend Rabbi Rebecca (Emily Arlook) by telling her, “Everyone knows that shiksas are just for practice.”

“It really is a hateful word. It’s a word that means abomination,” said Kaye, director of the Central Conference of American Rabbis in New York. Still, she said, it's a “gorgeous show that delves pretty deeply into the subject matter.”

Jackie Tohn, who plays the rabbi's sister-in-law Esther, told NBC's “TODAY” that she's not worried about the show's alleged stereotypes. “I love being Jewish. I’m so proud to be Jewish,” she said. “I don’t watch the show and think it makes us look bad. That’s not my conclusion.”

She added: “If you watch a light comedy and think it's fueling anti-Semitism, maybe you should really watch it, right? For example, we are doing a TV show. We’re going to focus on a few things you’ve heard about Jews before, and then we’re going to try to refute some of them.”

Foster, the show's creator who converted after meeting her husband, responded to criticism of the portrayal of women by telling Deadline: “In my opinion, these are not Jewish stereotypes. They’re comedic points of view.”

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, she added: “What I really wanted to do was shine a positive light on Jewish culture from my perspective – my positive experiences that I brought to Jewish culture, with a little bit Fun, [and] teachable moments about things in Judaism that I love without being heavy-handed.”

And despite the show's flaws, Laufer agreed it was an entertaining escape from a difficult year for Jewish Americans.

“It was like a Hallmark Christmas movie, only for Jews,” she said. “I think it was clearly written with love for Jewish tradition and Jewish culture and perhaps even for the Jews themselves.”

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