Two weeks after Nobody Wants This season two premiered, the cast and creators reunited to reflect on the hit Netflix series.
On Friday, Kristen Bell, Adam Brody, Justine Lupe, Timothy Simons, and Jackie Tohn joined creator Erin Foster, co-showrunners Jenni Konner and Bruce Eric Kaplan, and music supervisor Manish Raval for an FYC event in Los Angeles to discuss the new season and the evolution of its characters.
The show centers on the unlikely romance between agnostic podcaster Joanne (Bell) and rabbi Noah (Brody). Foster shared that she wanted to give Brody’s character more depth this season.
“Noah was such a green flag all of season one, but I do think that something we talked about in season two is — not to take it too seriously, but — you do have a bit of a responsibility when you’re making a romantic comedy in how you represent what relationships should be like,” Foster explained.
“It was something that was definitely important to me, to show Noah as an imperfect boyfriend… sometimes the person you fall for that’s great with you wasn’t great for someone else.”
The conversation also touched on casting Succession star Arian Moayed opposite Justine Lupe, which she credited to Konner’s idea. Foster added that filming in Los Angeles happened because Bell wanted to stay close to her family, joking, “We’re like, ‘Oh no, we have to work from home.’”
The cast also celebrated Leighton Meester’s guest appearance and teased hopes for a third season. Brody shared, “When I saw the second season, I called Erin and said, ‘I really liked it and I have just a few thoughts for maybe season three… could I have more scenes with Tim?’”
Foster jokingly replied, “And we said no,” before revealing that Brody and Bell never did a chemistry read together—only with actors auditioning to play their siblings.
When choosing Simons for the role of Sasha, Brody told Foster, “Hands down, Tim,” a comment that surprised Simons and led Tohn to laugh, “That’s cute as shit!”
Nobody Wants This season two is now streaming on Netflix.