Amy Kaufman | Los Angeles Times (TNS)
LOS ANGELES — It feels like few shows this year have hit the way “Nobody Wants This” just did. The rom-com received near-unanimous praise from critics — one even called it “as funny as ‘When Harry Met Sally’” — and it secured the No. 1 spot on Netflix’s Top 10 list for TV series hours after its debut. (It’s also already spawned hundreds of thirsty Adam Brody memes on social media.)
But amid the love for Erin Foster’s new series, some in the Jewish community have raised questions about whether or not the show perpetuates problematic stereotypes about Jewish women.
“Nobody Wants This” centers on an agnostic podcast host, Joanne (Kristen Bell), who falls for Noah (Brody, a religious leader known at his temple as the “hot rabbi.” While the couple navigates their new relationship, Joanne is initially met with disdain by the rabbi’s Jewish family. Noah’s Russian immigrant parents — particularly his mother — are reluctant to embrace her, even after she tells them she’s willing to convert to Judaism. And Noah’s sister-in-law remains so loyal to his Jewish ex that she even yells “whore” at Joanne outside of a bar. (That ex, by the way, was so desperate to wed Noah that she preemptively found an engagement ring he’d hidden and started wearing it before he’d proposed.)
“I can’t imagine any guy who watches this show who would then say, ‘I really want to date a Jewish girl!’” wrote Jessica Radloff in Glamour. “We come off as controlling, marriage-hungry women who want to plan dinner parties and alienate anyone who doesn’t share those same dreams.”
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The series was inspired by Foster’s real-life romance: She fell for a Jewish guy who was adamant about marrying someone who was also Jewish, so she converted. It’s been nearly five years since Foster completed this process — she took a 10-week course at American Jewish University in West L.A. — but heading into the writers room, she said she purposefully surrounded herself with colleagues who were born Jewish. “I’m Jewish, but I didn’t grow up Jewish. It’s a different thing,” said Foster, 42.
During the press tour leading up to the premiere of “Nobody Wants This,” questions about the show’s portrayal of Judaism were already being raised. In an interview with …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
