“So, a shiksa and a rabbi walk into a party”… It sounds like the start of one of those trope-y jokes, but as fans of Netflix’s runaway hit Nobody Wants This know, it’s actually the foundation of a pretty irresistible binge-watch. The premise? Kristen Bell’s Joanne, an agnostic sex podcaster known for quickly getting the ick from guys, meets progressive and newly single rabbi Noah, played by Adam Brody, and their connection throws her for a loop. Blame it on the casting (it’s a millennial dream!) or how authentic the characters feel, but either way, it’s a hit — and fans are already asking for Nobody Wants This Season 2. Will it happen, though? Absolutely… and the cast just revealed when.
So, when is it? How long must we wait?! Here’s everything we know so far, and the latest update will have fans jumping for joy.
When does Nobody Wants This return?
In a cheeky post shared on the show’s official social media accounts, the cast shook a custom-made Magic 8 Ball to answer a series of questions about what’s to come. When Bell asks, “What is coming on Oct. 23, the Magic 8 Ball appears to respond, “Ask a rabbi.” To which Brody replies, “And the rabbi says Season 2.”
That’s right: Clear your calendars for Oct. 23, 2025, because we’ll all be binge-watching Nobody Wants This.
Who’s in the Season 2 cast?
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Nobody Wants This Season 1.
Throughout the 10-episode first season, fans don’t just watch Joanne and Noah fall in love; they fall in love with this dreamy yet seemingly improbable couple and all the people in their orbit. For those of us who watched Brody as Seth Cohen on The O.C. back in the day, it feels like a homecoming. And when you consider the fact that the show was created by Erin Foster, who starred opposite Brody on The O.C. from 2005 to 2006 as bad girl Heather, well, it just gives you all the warm and fuzzy millennial tingles.
Obviously, Bell and Brody will be back for Season 2, and based on the release date announcement, the other core cast will return, too. Succession standout Lupe is hilarious as Joanne’s sister Morgan, and the fact that Stephanie Faracy plays their mom makes my millennial heart sing (can she put revisiting The Great Outdoors next on her to-do list, please?).
Since Jackie Tohn’s Esther Roklov all but joined forces with Noah’s mom, Bina (Tovah Feldshuh), in waging war against the sisters, it seems like a safe bet they’ll both stick around. And with Esther’s husband Sasha at the center of the drama between Esther and Morgan, you can’t very well cut him out, can you?
I personally would love to see more of Ryann, played by Bell’s The Good Place costar D’Arcy Carden, as well as Joanne’s no-nonsense friend-slash-podcast-producer Ashley, played by the always hilarious Sherry Cola.
Netflix has made the series’ next installment even more irresistible by announcing some truly incredible guest stars as well.
According to Variety, Nobody Wants This has confirmed two big ones: Miles Fowler and Leighton Meester. You may recognize Fowler from the series A Man on the Inside or the 2024 film reboot of Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead. He’s set to appear on Nobody Wants This as Lenny, “Noah’s Matzah Ballers teammate who gets set up with Morgan (Justine Lupe).”
Meester, of course, played the iconic character Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girls, along with a whole slew of roles since. And, oh yeah, she’s married to Brody! Meester will slip into the role of Abby, “Joanne’s middle school nemesis who is now an Instagram mommy influencer.”
What could Season 2 look like?
Although Season 1 gave fans a happy ending, it’s also an ending with a lot of question marks. Did Noah truly turn down his dream job as head rabbi to be with Joanne? Will Joanne ever get to the point of being ready to convert — for herself and not just to be with Noah? And would she really be happy assuming the responsibility that comes with being a head rabbi’s wife, as explained to her by Noah’s ex Rebecca (Emily Arlook)?
Foster hopes they get the chance to dive in and explore the possibilities. “I just want to continue where we leave off. We took Season 1 really slow in their relationship. We didn’t move too fast, and I think it worked out really nicely, and so, I want to be able to continue that in a potential Season 2 and not move too quickly,” she told TVLine.
Also talking to TVLine, Brody explained he feels like — at least for now — Noah is ready to give up his dream job for his dream girl: “I like to think he’s chosen Joanne, and the rest will work itself out, but that’s not his primary concern. I don’t know if, in the light of day, he still feels that way, but in the moment, I feel like that’s what he’s communicating.”
Bell believes Joanne has found herself in a real “Gift of the Magi situation,” where she’s willing to sacrifice her happiness for Noah’s and realizes what it means to truly put him first (“This might be her first adult decision she’s ever had to make”).
“I kind of feel like they’re both trying to compromise for each other, and then the excitement with a Season 2 is, like, where is it going to go?” Bell told TVLine. “Are they going to let the factors of the world affect what they feel between them? And isn’t that kind of a topic everybody thinks about once in a while? Like, do I want what I want? Or do I want what society wants for me?”
What are the odds we get more seasons?
Considering the series boasts an impressive 96% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s pretty clear the collective internet is deeply invested in seeing the love story of Joanne and Noah all the way through.
Ever since Season 1 premiered, it’s been abundantly clear that Foster, Bell, and Brody are all just as invested and ready as the rest of us to see where the love story unfolds from here. When asked in a September 2024 interview with Rolling Stone how long they could see themselves doing the show, Bell and Brody replied, “Till our faces fall off.”
Foster feels like there’s plenty of story still left to tell, too. Speaking to TheWrap, she gushed, “There’s so much more story to tell, so if people like the show, then I would be really excited to keep telling it.” After all, Foster definitely followed the old “write what you know” adage with Nobody Wants This. She based the plot on her own journey of converting to Judaism for her husband, music executive Simon Tikhman.
In other words, it’s looking pretty promising for fans.
This article was originally published on Oct. 4, 2024
