LOS ANGELES – It looks like few shows have been as successful this 12 months as “Nobody Wants This.” The romantic comedy received near-unanimous praise from critics – one even called it “as funny as Harry and Sally” – and secured the highest spot on Netflix's top 10 TV series list just hours after its debut. (It's also already spawned a whole bunch of thirsty Adam Brody memes on social media.)
But amid the love for Erin Foster's recent series, some within the Jewish community have raised questions on whether or not the show perpetuates problematic stereotypes about Jewish women.
“Nobody Wants This” centers on agnostic podcast host Joanne (Kristen Bell), who falls in love with Noah (Brody), a non secular leader often called the “hot rabbi” in his temple the couple As Joanne finds her way in her recent relationship, she is initially met with contempt from the rabbi's Jewish family. Noah's Russian immigrant parents – especially his mother – are hesitant to embrace her, even after she tells them she is able to convert to Judaism. And Noah's sister-in-law stays so loyal to his Jewish ex that she even yells “whore” at Joanne outside a bar. (By the best way, this ex was so eager to marry Noah that she preemptively found an engagement ring he had hidden and began wearing it before he proposed.)
“I can't imagine a man watching this show and saying, 'I really want to date a Jewish girl!'” wrote Jessica Radloff in Glamour. “We seem like controlling, marriage-hungry women who plan dinner parties and want to alienate anyone who doesn’t share those dreams.”
The series was inspired by Foster real romance: She fell in love with a Jew who desperately desired to marry someone who was also Jewish and converted. It's been nearly five years since Foster accomplished that process — she took a 10-week course on the American Jewish University in West L.A. — but as she walked into the writers' room, she said she intentionally surrounded herself with colleagues who were born as Jews. “I’m Jewish, but I didn’t grow up Jewish. This is something different,” said Foster, 42.
During the press tour leading as much as the premiere of “Nobody Wants This,” questions were raised concerning the show’s portrayal of Judaism. In an interview with The Times – where she was later joined by her husband Simon Tikhman – Foster spoke about her approach to portraying the culture on screen.
Q: What do you concentrate on critics calling a few of the Jewish characters on the show stereotypical?
A: I feel we’d like positive Jewish stories now. I feel it's interesting when you have got a rabbi on the helm, people concentrate on, “Oh, that's a stereotype of the Jewish people.” A hot, cool, young rabbi who smokes weed. That's the alternative of how people see a Jewish rabbi, right? If I made the Jewish parents appear like two granola hippies on a farm, someone would write: “I've never met a Jewish person like that.” You obviously don't know how one can write about Jewish people, you don't know what you do, and that doesn’t represent us well.”
Q: This series is inspired by your relationship along with your husband. Was it difficult so that you can be accepted into his Jewish family?
A: In real life, Simon's parents and I even have a terrific relationship. We at all times did that, and truthfully they never had an issue with me since it was a terrific honor for them to convert to Judaism. Bringing someone to the Jewish faith was the last word daughter-in-law move; It brought us together in such a terrific way.
But in a television show there needs to be conflict. It is very important that Noah's parents are immigrants within the series since the culture of immigrants may be very different from the culture of American Jews. Simon's parents fled the Soviet Union because they were Jews. That's a really different experience than someone who grew up in LA and wasn't exposed to the sort of anti-Semitism that he was exposed to. It means something different. It's a rather more sensitive topic and it's much closer to home.
That's why I don't have the sensation that the parents have so many stereotypical ideas. Immigrant culture will be very insular and scared of outsiders, and there’s a very good reason for this. I wanted to deal with this since it represents an extra layer of cultural differences between these two people.
Q: Was it necessary to you that the actor playing Noah actually be Jewish?
A: I assumed it was really necessary. We literally auditioned every Jewish actor on the face of the earth.
I feel it's okay to speak openly about it and make it clear that you simply're on the lookout for a Jewish actor to play a rabbi. And the reality is, nobody felt right – not even close [but Brody].
And I feel it's ridiculous to think that an actor needs to be all the pieces he plays. I imagine that a gay man can play a straight man. A straight person can play a gay person. But I felt that somebody who isn't Jewish would feel improper playing a rabbi within the lead role in a show that shines a positive light on Jewish culture. That didn't suit me.
Q: What do you concentrate on “Nobody Wants This” coming out amid a heightened climate of anti-Semitism?
A: We're definitely not the show that deals with the political climate of what's happening on this planet immediately. That's not why people come to our show to observe it, and it wouldn't be appropriate for me to deal with that topic because I wasn't raised Jewish. I even have my very own opinion about it as an individual, but it surely shouldn't be a part of the show. I don't think it's okay to talk for therefore many individuals. What I actually desired to do was to shine a positive light on Jewish culture from my perspective – my positive experiences that I dropped at Jewish culture, with a little bit little bit of fun, [and] teachable moments about things in Judaism that I like without being heavy-handed. Because I don't think people want that on the show.
Q: How has your relationship with Judaism modified since your conversion?
A: I remember this panicked feeling as I left the mikvah [a ritual bath that occurs at the end of the conversion process]. I assumed, “I don't feel Jewish yet.” I used to be dunked under a hot tub and thought something magical was going to occur, like “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!”
But I didn't feel anything and I used to be very scared. “Am I really Jewish? I don’t feel any different.”
Now, five years later, I understand that you simply don't feel Jewish until you've been Jewish. When I see anti-Semitism, I feel I'm Jewish. I feel more Jewish since converting because I've had quite a bit more experiences than simply learning about it in a classroom and learning the date and meaning of a vacation. In 2024, given what is occurring on this planet, I feel Jewish.
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