[Editor’s note: The following contains major spoilers for Season 2 of Nobody Wants This.]

Summary

In Season 2 of the Netflix series ‘Nobody Wants This,’ Joanne and Noah wrestle with faith, family and intimacy as they try to make it work.

Season 2 shows how messy things are for the other couples, as Sasha and Esther drift apart.

Co-Stars Kristen Bell and Adam Brody praise the natural banter, room for improvisation, and a playful Leighton Meester cameo.

From creator Erin Foster and co-showrunners Jenni Konner & Bruce Eric Kaplan, the second season of the Netflix series Nobody Wants This sees the unconventional relationship between the outspoken agnostic Joanne (Kristen Bell) and rabbi Noah (Adam Brody) continue to try to make their lives work and their families co-exist. This time around, Joanne’s sister and podcast partner Morgan (Justine Lupe) is moving fast in an ill-advised relationship with her therapist (Arian Moayed) while Noah’s brother Sasha (Timothy Simons) and sister-in-law Esther (Jackie Tohn) are struggling to get back on the same page. Somehow, Joanne and Morgan have both made inroads with Esther, who doesn’t seem to hate them quite as much, but there are still bumps in the road that could either become insurmountable or bring Joanne and Noah together in all the ways they both want. During this interview with Collider, co-stars Bell and Brody discussed their favorite Joanne and Noah moments, the fun Season 2 guest spot with Brody’s wife Leighton Meester, getting to play in the moment, why Bell and her husband Dax Shepard love Brody, leaving viewers guessing which relationships will make it, and what they think might be next for Sasha and Esther.
Kristen Bell and Adam Brody Love the Effort Joanne and Noah Put In to Make Their Relationship Work

“Joanne wants to see Noah’s point of view.”

Adam Brody as Noah and Kristen Bell as Joanne kissing while embracing in Nobody Wants This Season 2Image via Netflix

Collider: It’s so easy to watch you guys together and to root for Joanne and Noah because it just feels effortless, whether it’s an adorably sweet moment or some banter or even in the moments of conflict. What is your favorite moment with each other in Season2? Do you guys prefer the sweeter moments between your characters? Do you have more fun with the conflict? ADAM BRODY: They’re both pretty fun. KRISTEN BELL: Mm-hmm. BRODY: I like the sweet ones. There’s almost always comedy. Except with the most serious moments, there’s comedy in there. So, I like the ones where it’s sweet and playful, at the same time. BELL: I like watching the two of them struggle to see the other person’s POV because their effort is 150%. Joanne wants to see Noah’s point of view. She has no intent to get into a fight. She really wants to make this work, whether it’s talking about conversion or where to put the toothbrush. And I feel like Noah has the same perspective about Joanne. And yet, when they enter the conversation, they have to be very diplomatic. It’s like, “Okay, okay, I’m taking that in.” Sometimes they sting each other and sometimes they end up hugging it out, but I find that such an interesting roller coaster to watch. I love that Leighton Meester was in this season. She is so fun in her role. The exchange that you guys had, with Joanne saying, “She’s pretty, I’ll give her that,” and Noah saying, “Not my type,” was a nice touch. Was that fully scripted? Adam, was it fun to have a little bit of fun with your real life, in that moment? BRODY: It’s always fun to have fun with her. It’s always fun to see her work and to drive to work with her. That line was (creator) Erin [Foster] coming up to me and saying, “Would you be down?” And I said, “Sure.”
‘Nobody Wants This’ Co-Stars Kristen Bell and Adam Brody Like to Keep Things Feeling as Natural as Possible

“Adam is an actor who never feels like he has memorized lines.”

Do you guys typically get a lot of room to play? The conversations feel so real on this show that they don’t feel scripted. BELL: That’s Adam’s fault because Adam is an actor who never feels like he has memorized lines. It’s one of the reasons I love working with him. It’s true. He just feels like he’s a person saying that to you. He feels like he’s thinking of it in the moment. It’s such a skill set that I appreciate. BRODY: I feel like you and everyone on the show has that but thank you. BELL: Yeah, but I’m trying to give you a compliment. I asked (husband) Dax [Shepard], “What is it about Adam that we both gravitate towards so much?” We send Adam a lot of voice notes when we like his performances when we watch something at home. And Dax hit the nail on the head with the hammer when he said, “Adam never feels like he’s scripted.” I don’t feel like I go off script all that often. We definitely, in the ping-pong match we have in scenes, leave room for awkward moments, but I feel like I stick to the script. Adam just never feels like he’s acting. You guys are so fun to watch together because the words feel natural and like they would come out of a human’s mouth. BELL: That’s Erin Foster. It’s really her POV. What’s funny is, in the beginning of the first season when we were shooting it, I was butting up against that a little bit. I was reading these scripts, and I was like, “Is there enough happening? Is there enough plot?” Usually, I read a script and there’s a formula, so I’m reading it systematically to see what happens next and where I can foresee it going, but I couldn’t tell with these scripts. Erin didn’t say this to me, but I think I imagined her saying to me, “Yeah, that’s the point. It’s supposed to be like real life. I don’t want you to know where it’s going. I want the ambiguity of real-life moments and the awkwardness of those to be alive on screen.” Once I realized that, I was like, “Oh, I know how to do this now.” We spend all season watching these relationships evolve, and then we get to a point in the finale when all three of the relationships have broken up. How do you feel about where everyone ends up? We get to a better place with Joanne and Noah before the end of the season, but not with everybody. BELL: It’s real life, baby. You had to because that’s the finale and you need a climax. You need to have some sense of structure when you’re making a television show, and you have to let it bottom out before you bring everybody back in, in the final episode. That was a brilliant thing our writers did. They were like, “Life doesn’t always work out, so some of these characters might not get back together. We might leave it open-ended and not decide where we’re going because they don’t know it yet.”
‘Nobody Wants This’ Co-Stars Kristen Bell and Adam Brody Are Rooting for Sasha and Esther

“They’ve got to go explore themselves.”

Adam Brody and Kristen Bell hanging out with Timothy Simons and Jackie Tohn in Nobody Wants This Season 2Image via Netflix

What would you guys like to see in Season 3? What do you think is next for Sasha and Esther? BRODY: Ooh, I don’t know about that. I think they’ve got to have their dark night of the soul, or whatever. I don’t know what’s next. They’ve got to go explore themselves, individually. BELL: And then, maybe do ayahuasca together and get it all out. BRODY: Yeah. It seems like they need a break. That’s what I’m saying. As far as Sasha and Esther go, I’m hurting for Sasha, and I feel like they need some space.

Release Date

September 26, 2024

Network

Netflix

Directors

Greg Mottola, Lawrence Trilling, Oz Rodriguez, Hannah Fidell

Writers

Lindsay Golder, Jane Becker, Barbie Adler, Neel Shah, Niki Schwartz-Wright

Nobody Wants This is available to stream on Netflix. Check out the Season 2 trailer: