“So, a shiksa and a rabbi walk into a party”… It sounds like the start of one of those trope-y jokes, but as fans of Netflix’s runaway hit Nobody Wants This know, it’s actually the foundation of a pretty irresistible binge-watch. The premise? Kristen Bell’s Joanne, an agnostic sex podcaster known for quickly getting the ick from guys, meets progressive and newly single rabbi Noah, played by Adam Brody, and their connection throws her for a loop. Blame it on the casting (it’s a millennial dream!) or how authentic the characters feel, but either way, it’s a hit — and fans are already asking for Nobody Wants This Season 2. Will it happen, though?
Throughout the 10-episode series, fans don’t just watch Joanne and Noah fall in love; they fall in love with this dreamy yet seemingly improbable couple and all the people in their orbit. For those of us who watched Brody as Seth Cohen on The O.C. back in the day, it feels like a homecoming. And when you consider the fact that the show was created by Erin Foster, who starred opposite Brody on The O.C. from 2005 to 2006 as bad girl Heather, well, it just gives you all the warm and fuzzy millennial tingles.
Still, the streaming landscape can be oh-so fickle. Just because a series seems to be a smashing success doesn’t necessarily guarantee it’ll get picked up for more seasons. So, has Season 2 been greenlit yet? Are the actors onboard for another installment? Here’s everything we know so far.
Has Nobody Wants This been renewed?
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Nobody Wants This Season 1.
Getting this out of the way upfront: At the time of writing this, Netflix hasn’t announced any exciting renewal news for Nobody Wants This. Having said that, the series boasts an impressive 95% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, and it’s pretty clear the collective internet is deeply invested in finding out what becomes of Joanne and Noah.
Even more promising: Foster, Bell, and Brody are all just as invested and ready to see where the love story unfolds from here. When asked in a September 2024 interview with Rolling Stone how long they could see themselves doing the show, Bell and Brody replied, “Till our faces fall off.”
Foster feels like there’s plenty of story still left to tell, too. Speaking to TheWrap, she gushed that she’d “love to do a Season 2,” adding, “There’s so much more story to tell, so if people like the show, then I would be really excited to keep telling it.” And since the response has already proven to be so positive, the show creator teased, “I think the conversations have definitely started to happen about a potential Season 2.”
After all, Foster definitely followed the old “write what you know” adage with Nobody Wants This. She based the plot on her own journey of converting to Judaism for her husband, music executive Simon Tikhman.
She told IndieWire, “There were about 23 people [in my class], and only three were converting for marriage, which tells you there were 20 very interesting stories going on in that room!” And I thought it was just interesting. I hadn’t ever seen anybody explore that area, and I thought it’d be cool.”
Who else is in the cast?
If Season 2 does get the go-ahead, here’s hoping the rest of the phenomenal cast will come back with Bell and Brody. Succession standout Justine Lupe is hilarious as Joanne’s sister Morgan, and the fact that Stephanie Faracy plays their mom makes my millennial heart sing (can she put revisiting The Great Outdoors next on her to-do list, please?).
Since Jackie Tohn’s Esther Roklov all but joined forces with Noah’s mom, Bina (Tovah Feldshuh), in waging war against the sisters, it seems like a safe bet they’ll both stick around. And with Esther’s husband Sasha at the center of the drama between Esther and Morgan, you can’t very well cut him out, can you?
I personally would love to see more of Ryann, played by Bell’s The Good Place costar D’Arcy Carden, as well as Joanne’s no-nonsense friend-slash-podcast-producer Ashley, played by the always hilarious Sherry Cola.
What could Season 2 look like?
Although Season 1 gave fans a happy ending, it’s also an ending with a lot of question marks. Did Noah truly turn down his dream head rabbi job to be with Joanne? Will Joanne ever get to the point of being ready to convert — for herself and not just to be with Noah? And would she really be happy assuming the responsibility that comes with being a head rabbi’s wife, as explained to her by Noah’s ex Rebecca (Emily Arlook)?
Foster hopes they get the chance to dive in and explore the possibilities. “I just want to continue where we leave off. We took Season 1 really slow in their relationship. We didn’t move too fast, and I think it worked out really nicely, and so, I want to be able to continue that in a potential Season 2 and not move too quickly,” she told TVLine.
Also talking to TVLine, Brody explained he feels like — at least for now — Noah is ready to give up his dream job for his dream girl: “I like to think he’s chosen Joanne, and the rest will work itself out, but that’s not his primary concern. I don’t know if, in the light of day, he still feels that way, but in the moment, I feel like that’s what he’s communicating.”
Bell believes Joanne has found herself in a real “Gift of the Magi situation,” where she’s willing to sacrifice her happiness for Noah’s and realizes what it means to truly put him first (“This might be her first adult decision she’s ever had to make”).
“I kind of feel like they’re both trying to compromise for each other, and then the excitement with a Season 2 is, like, where is it going to go?” Bell told TVLine. “Are they going to let the factors of the world affect what they feel between them? And isn’t that kind of a topic everybody thinks about once in a while? Like, do I want what I want? Or do I want what society wants for me?”
