'Nobody Wants This' review: Kristen Bell, Adam Brody are electric and sexy
The show is called "Nobody Wants This," but I actually think quite a few people will be clamoring for it.
That's because there's something absolutely scrumptious about Netflix's new romantic comedy starring Kristen Bell and Adam Brody. Besides existing as a way to warm the cold hearts of millennials who grew up on "Veronica Mars" and "The O.C.," "Nobody" (now streaming, ★★★½ out of four) also might just be the romance to make you believe in a little thing called love. It's an opposites-attract story about a down-to-Earth rabbi (Brody) and an irreverent agnostic (Bell) pulled irresistibly together. Cue the long, lingering, lovesick glances, fish-out-of-water cultural high jinks and a lot of use of the Yiddish term "shiksa" (a non-Jewish woman).
Join our Watch Party!Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox
It's possible a story that relies on stereotypes and cultural truisms could have turned into something soapy and insensitive, but propelled by its leads and keen sense of modern comedy, "Nobody" adds up its disparate parts into something delightful and delicious. The 10-episode season is bingeable in the most literal sense; you'll want to eat it all up in one sitting.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
10 best new TV shows to watch this fall:'Nobody Wants This' to 'Matlock'
Who couldn't help being charmed by Joanne (Bell), an outrageous and easily outraged podcast host who trades on stories of bad dates and worse sex in a show with her sister Morgan (Justine Lupe). She hasn't found any contenders for long-term relationships in her life, but she has brought her podcast to the brink of major success and major money. Then there's Noah (Brody), the "hot rabbi" of the local Los Angeles temple who finally realizes he hasn't yet proposed to his long-term girlfriend not because he's a commitment-phobe, but because he didn't actually want to be with her.
With the guy on the rebound, and the girl never in love long enough to make a rebound, the pair meets at a dinner party in one of the most palpably romantic and sexy scenes you'll see in modern TV (it's less meet-cute and more meet-hot). There's plenty of flirtation before they figure out they're from completely different worlds. But in spite of this, they can't stay apart (or keep their hands off each other).
The meat of any good romantic comedy is all the run-around that keeps these crazy kids from making it work. Noah's family is anti-Joanne on principle; it's traditional for everyone, and especially a rabbi, to marry within their faith. Morgan is afraid her sister is falling for the wrong guy. Noah and Joanne have their own reservations, and they trip up in their efforts to move the relationship forward, please themselves and please their families and communities.
'Nobody Wants This':Adam Brody, Kristen Bell on love, why perfect match 'can't be found'
As fun and situationally comedic as all the extraneous plot blockades are, the best part of this particular love story is actually the love. So many series and films in this genre are afraid of letting the relationship be the star of the show. But when Joanne and Noah kiss or cuddle or share a Shabbat dinner, you can't help but melt.
Noah and Joanne are never specifically given ages, but both actors are 44, and the series is not shy about portraying dating for a more mature demographic. It's refreshing to see a show where love can come at any time, and the interesting parts of life don't end just because you turn 40, have kids or settle into a job.
It's just the beginning for Noah and Joanne in "Nobody." The pure, unadulterated chemistry between Brody and Bell turns the series from "just another rom-com" into one of the best shows of the year. It's helped by some equally electric scripts by series creator Erin Foster (who based it in part on her own love story with her husband, for whom she converted to Judaism). It's all a little heightened, sure, but in a way that gives you the vibes of the last 20 minutes of a Kate Hudson movie in every episode − ridiculous but deeply fun, and there's definitely going to be a good kiss.
Perhaps the worst thing about "Nobody" is its title, but if you can discover the show in spite of a warning not to watch, you'll be amply rewarded.
Everybody wants this kind of love.