Kristen Bell and Adam Brody Are Couple Goals in Season 3 of ‘Nobody Wants This’

Sandra Miska

The unlikely love story of Los Angeles sex podcaster Joanne Williams (Kristen Bell) and Rabbi Noah Roklov (Adam Brody) continues in the third season of “Nobody Wants This.” In the season two finale, the formerly agnostic Joanne committed to converting to Judaism. As this decision removes the main obstacle to the couple having a future together, one would expect things to be smooth sailing for them from here on out. However, the deeper Joanne and Noah get into making plans, the more thorny and complicated relations with their respective families become. And the growing sexual tension between Joanne’s strong-willed sister Morgan (Justine Lupe) and Noah’s recently-separated brother Sasha (Timothy Simons) does not help the situation.

The first half of the season mostly coasts on charm as Joanne and Noah, who happily move in together in the first episode, find themselves in low-stakes situations. Joanne takes a conversion class at Temple Chai, but she is worried that her classmates, including Sebastien (Andrew Rannells, who brings his usual zest), do not like her. Meanwhile, there is similar tension between Noah and the rabbi teaching the class, Eden (Sarah Silverman, who brings warmth to a more lowkey role than what we are used to seeing her in). Noah makes a bold decision when he decides to challenge his nemesis Big Noah (Alex Karpovsky) for the senior rabbi position, but he easily wins, because no one really likes that guy. At home, the reveal that one of their neighbors is Joanne’s ex, Travis (Avan Jogia), feels like a big deal at first, but that dude turns out to be just another weenie.

As for Morgan and Sasha, they initially came off as two supporting players who were thrown to give them something to do besides serve as sounding boards to their respective siblings. However, their characters feel more grounded and fleshed out this season. Morgan encourages Sasha as he dips his toes back into the dating pool, and he likewise acts as her cheerleader as she makes bold strides in her career. Early on, Joanne and Morgan’s goofy mother, Lynn (Stephanie Faracy), invites Sasha to move in with them, and, later on, encourages him to pursue her younger daughter. This sounds like a recipe for disaster, but the possibility of the pairing finally brings some real dramatic tension back to the show.

Sasha is still married, after all, but we cannot feel too bad for his estranged wife Esther (Jackie Tohn). She’s a different woman this season, with a new job as a realtor and a hot romance with a handsome older wealthy gentleman, Julian (Steven Weber). Sadly, we do not get enough of this queen, as she is missing from multiple episodes. As for Julian, he has a lot of great qualities that Sasha lacks, but the viewer is not convinced that he has staying power. The bond between Esther and Sasha is still evident, and Simons and the writers do something incredible here by transforming Sasha from a manchild to someone we can sorta, kind root for.

The fabulous Tovah Feldshuh (as Noah’s mother, Bina) gets more time to shine this season. In a refreshing turnaround from last year, she transforms from foe to friend after Joanne goes to her to help her look the part of a rabbi’s wife-in-training. However, the more enmeshed Joanne becomes with the Roklovs, the more critical she becomes of Bina’s close relationship with Noah, amongst other things. While Joanne is in the right when she pushes back on some of Bina’s controlling behavior, truth to be told, her own family is far from perfect, and she goes too far at one point. Her criticisms of Bina actually shed some light on her own daddy (and mommy) issues. The writers do not dig deep enough in that well this season, but hopefully this will be something explored more in depth next year.

At the end of the day, it is all about Joanne and Noah, and many devoted fans will not be disappointed with their journey this season. When all is said and done, both show emotional maturity, and together provide a great example of a (mostly) healthy relationship. In contrast from the previous two season finales, the last episode of season three culminates in a more intimate connection on a beach. However, there is still plenty of drama, and even a cliffhanger for season four.

“Nobody Wants This” season three begins streaming Oct. 22 on Netflix.