Yes, we know. We all loved Seth Cohen. But to reduce Adam Brody to The O.C. character that turned him into a generation’s first boyfriend is to trap him in a box covered in Chrismukkah wrapping paper. It’s like adults who still call Joshua Jackson “Pacey.” Let these people grow up, too!! In the 20+ years since that Fox soap, Brody has built himself a solid IMDb page of performances of all kinds, from a short-lived Crackle crime drama to FX’s Fleishman Is in Trouble to being killed off as one of the Woodsboro cops in Scream 4. Now, he’s comfortably back in rom-com mode for Nobody Wants This, Netflix‘s just-dropped charmer about an L.A. rabbi and an agnostic (Kristen Bell) trying to sort out a very tricky love affair.
So how was taking on a role that, unlike Seth who slowly evolved into a hearthrob, was directly intended to be someone we had to fall in love with for the story to work? No pressure, he says. Sort of.
“I think The OC was more soapy, there’s a lot of storylines and some things worked, some things didn’t, and you’re figuring it out,” he says. “And this has more of a straight-ahead through line where we know what we’re doing, storyline-wise, which I guess you could translate as pressure. I know I said no pressure, just kidding. But actually, I didn’t feel much pressure, honestly. It was fun.”
Based on the life of executive producer Erin Foster, Nobody Wants This finds Brody’s freshly single Noah charming the snark out of jaded sex podcaster Joanne (Bell) and in the process, incurring that wrath of his disapproving mother (a perfect Tovah Feldshuh) and the curiosity of his sister-in-law (Jackie Tohn), who remains besties with Noah’s ex. On Joanne’s shiksa side, her sister and podcast co-host (Succession’s Justine Lupe) is having a hard time seeing her sibling happy, while also developing a possibly inappropriate friendship with Noah’s awkward brother (Veep’s Timothy Simons).
Netflix
And despite the show’s title, however, we want all of this. Over the course of eight terrifically paced episodes, smarts and sexy collide in a chemistry mashup fans of The O.C. and Veronica Mars could never have expected. Brody and Bell are absolutely enchanting onscreen together, so much so that one endures a visceral reaction to the myriad obstacles—cultural, spiritual, and familial—threatening to keep them apart.
It helped that the pair have known one another for a bit. “I did know her before this,” offers Brody, adding that he’d also worked with Bell “briefly…a couple days here, a couple days there.” So he was already platonically smitten with his leading lady. “Yeah, I knew that there was a high floor, if you will. I knew that we’d work…but I didn’t know how high the ceiling was and I was pleasantly surprised.”
Netflix
As for whether Noah and Joanne can actually work remains to be seen, as Season 1 ends with things still unsettled. Will she convert? Can Noah give up one of the biggest parts of his identity? Will they survive his niece’s horrifically themed Bat Mitzvah? Who will be the one pulling off the grand romantic gestures? (Don’t worry, no coffee carts were injured in the making of this series). If you want spoilers, Google Erin Foster—yes, the daughter of composer David Foster—and find out. Although, if there’s a second season, art doesn’t necessarily have to imitate life, jokes Brody.
RelatedKristen Bell Falls in Love With Adam Brody in ‘Nobody Wants This’ Trailer
“Well, look, this is a love story. I hope they work it out. I think we all do. Or I hope it ends tragically. Either way. I hope it’s good TV.”
Nobody Wants This, Streaming Now, Netflix
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