Season one of the show received a barrage of criticism for its cliched and stereotypical portrayals of Judaism – particularly the women. Season two largely avoids this issue by sidelining its female Jewish characters. Noah’s acerbic mother Bina (Tovah Feldshuh) and his former fiancée Rebecca (Emily Arlook) hardly appear. His sister-in-law Esther has a considerably beefed-up role, complete with her own subplot. Unfortunately, she’s also a completely different character from the scheming shrew portrayed in the first season. That’s not a bad thing, but without any explanation, it’s jarring.
Foster based Nobody Wants This partly on her own experience of converting to Judaism for her partner. This is both a blessing and a curse. Joanne’s indecision over whether she really wants to convert does ring true, as does her learning about Jewish traditions and rituals. There are whole episodes dedicated to her experiencing Purim and a brit bat naming ceremony for the first time. However, the show’s engagement with the deeper tenets and history of Judaism is millimetre-deep. Noah’s sermons sound more like motivational posters on the walls of a doctor’s office than anything derived from the Torah. The portrayal of Progressive Judaism (enter a cameo from Seth Rogen) serves a dramatic purpose, but is also a laughable caricature of a hippy-dippy shul. These problems are compounded by basic errors that Jewish audiences will spot straight away, like confusing the festivals of Tisha B’av and Tu BiShvat.
More importantly, season two of Nobody Wants This lacks a strong arc for Joanne and Noah. It feels like a rehash of the same problems they spent all of season one dealing with. By the final episode, they are pretty much back where they started. Bell and Brody do their best to make it worth watching, but there’s a serious lack of chemistry and chutzpah.
By Barney Pell Scholes
Header image © Erin Simkin/Netflix
Nobody Wants This is streaming now on Netflix. netflix.com
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