Nobody wants it, it's sexist – and disrespectful to Jewish women like me

Kathleen William October 5, 2024

First let me say that I really wanted to love Nobody wants thatthe new Netflix romcom series that is trending on social media. I wanted to fawn over it and admire it in all its flawless, fun glory. As someone who has always called Seth Cohen the man of my dreams – I've literally written his name on manifestation boards – I can confidently say that my hopes really couldn't have been higher.

In Nobody wants thatit's like it's everyone's favorite OK Heartthrob has grown up. And he's just as hot, funny and neurotic as he was back in Orange County. Only this time he's a rabbi – one with a worrying level of emotional maturity, self-awareness, and the key element that all slightly chaotic, single Jewish women like me crave: tolerance.

Yes, Adam Brody's hot rabbi named Noah might be the perfect man. And his co-star Kristen Bell plays his arguably perfect – if non-Jewish – wife Joanne. There could be absolutely perfect dialogue that is both sharp and emotionally astute.

But there is something absolutely wrong Nobody wants that That makes it a little difficult to analyze the whole thing: the portrayal of Jewish women.

For those who haven't seen the series, a little background information: It begins with Noah breaking up with his long-term girlfriend. Shortly afterwards he meets the blonde bombshell Joanne and an unlikely romance develops. But there are hurdles: Joanne is not only a “shiksa” (i.e. a non-Jewish woman), but – without giving too much away – her strained relationship with her parents also makes it a little more difficult for her to be vulnerable with men. Hard to understand, girl.

All of this means that Noah is basically the ideal man. Also his brother, who is usually portrayed as a devoted husband and father. But what about the Jewish women in the series?

First there is Rebecca, Noah's marriage-obsessed, conniving ex-girlfriend, whose only ambition is to become “Madam Chief Rabbi.” The main crime in her depiction is that we are not given any description of her beyond that. Put simply, she's a conniving cipher with good hair – one whose sole narrative purpose is to show us Joanne's internalized misogyny and give her the space to overcome it.

Then there's Esther, Noah's sharp-tongued sister-in-law, who admittedly gets some of the show's most caustic lines but is ultimately portrayed as a bitchy, jealous and controlling mother and wife.

The same applies to Bina, Noah's mother, whose stereotypical character is determined solely by her dislike of Noah marrying a “shiksa”.

Even the gaggle of Jewish WAGs (the wives and girlfriends of Noah's basketball teammates) aren't much better. Keyword a Mean Girls-inspired sequence that lists each of their personalities so Joanne can manipulate them into becoming friends with them: one just wants to talk about herself and the other just wants to talk about her wedding in Aruba. Hardly the kind of women anyone would readily warm up to.

By the way, I'm not the only one who finds this problematic. Similar criticism spread online among Jewish women who watched the show. One Shine Author Jessica Radloff wrote that after watching the first two episodes, she said this to her mother: “I can't imagine any guy watching this show then saying, 'I really want to be with one.' Jewish girls!'” 'We seem like controlling, marriage-hungry women who plan dinner parties and want to alienate anyone who doesn't share those dreams.”

The plot is based on the life of writer Erin Foster – she converted to Judaism before marrying her Jewish husband Simon Tikhman. She has since responded to the criticism and spoken out Los Angeles Times She said she aims to show “positive Jewish stories,” adding: “I think it's interesting when you have a rabbi in the lead role, people focus on, 'Oh, that's a stereotype of the Jewish people.' .”

In my opinion, it's a half-baked response that does a disservice to Jewish women, who deserve the same heartwarming, sensitive portrayals on screen as Jewish men. Without that, it's hard not to see it as a bit sexist. And that's a real shame.