Netflix’s Nobody Wants This draws curious parallels to show creator Erin Foster’s real life.
The 10-episode romantic comedy follows the love story of agnostic, outspoken sex podcaster Joanne (Kristen Bell) and unconventional rabbi Noah (Adam Brody), who is canonically nicknamed “Hot Rabbi.” Despite the duo’s immediate chemistry and attraction, all of their family members and friends disapproved of the pairing.
The premise, casting and story lines all bear similarities to Foster’s real life. Erin, one of the daughters of David Foster, converted to Judaism when she married Simon Tikhman in 2019. The pair’s daughter, Noa, was born in 2024. Erin also cohosts “The World’s First Podcast” with her sister, Sara Foster. (The siblings coproduced the Netflix series.)
Nobody Wants This was inspired by Erin’s marriage, minus Noah’s occupation in the clergy. Erin did convert to Judaism after getting married to Tikhman. (She started the conversion process around the same time she pitched the rom-com.)
“This show is based on the only good decision I ever made: falling for a nice Jewish boy,” she told Netflix’s Tudum in September 2024. “But I realized that being happy is way harder than being miserable — there’s nothing to complain about. So, I created this show based on all the ways that finding the right person can be so hard.”
Not only do Joanne and Noah remind Us of Erin and Tikhman, but the show does highlight siblings that cohost a podcast together. On Nobody Wants This, Justine Lupe plays Morgan, the younger yet equally blond sister of Bell’s Joanne.
Was Erin and Sara’s close sibling bond also fodder for Nobody Wants This? Keep scrolling to read everything the actresses have shared:
Becoming Less Cynical
“This show really represents how I view love now, which is so different than how I viewed it before,” Erin told Tudum in September 2024. “Being in a really beautiful, healthy, fun relationship, it made me soften some of my cynicism.”
On Nobody Wants This, Joanne slowly lowers her strong walls when she starts to connect with Noah.
‘Nobody Wants This’ Podcast Easter Eggs
The sixth episode is called “The Ick,” taken from Joanne and Morgan’s podcast episode about dating deal-breakers. In real life, the Fosters discussed relationship “icks” during a February 2024 live podcast taping with social media star Tinx.
One of Joanne’s specific icks about Noah was when he brought an oversized bundle of sunflowers to meet her mother. A similar situation happened in real life. (David shares Erin and Sara with ex Rebecca Dyer.)
“The flowers were so long, and they kept falling over,” Erin recalled to Vulture in September 2024. “Sitting there, I was like, ‘Well, if someone cares this much, then that feels like a weakness.’”
Tikhman, meanwhile, remembers it differently. “I personally don’t remember the sunflowers being that big,” he told the outlet. “But I do remember driving home and thinking, ‘It’s not about the flowers.’”
Not Exactly the Same
“The sister character is not like Sara at all,” Erin said during a September 2024 episode of her podcast. “That was intentional, too. I wanted to create a fun sister dynamic. I had written about our dynamic [and I wanted something different]. I don’t think people will feel like it’s you when they watch it. I really don’t think so.”
Speaking to Harper’s Bazaar, Erin revealed that the sibling relationship onscreen took more “creative license” to create tension.
“Sara was really supportive of me when I got together with Simon. From the very beginning, it’s always been a seamless little throuple that we’re in, the three of us,” Erin told the magazine. “She and Simon have been really close since the beginning, but that’s not as interesting for TV. We needed to create more conflict there.”
A Difference in Dynamics
“There are very few parallels. I mean, the overall concept of converting, but the dynamics are all very different,” Sara told Harper’s Bazaar in September 2024.
The ‘Emotional Places’ Were the Same
While the physical situations were different, Erin revealed on the sisters’ podcast in September 2024 that she copied the “emotional places” that she felt.
“I had my world view set in place, he had his world view set in place, we didn’t come from similar backgrounds,” Erin explained. “He came from a much more traditional place.”
Sara chimed in, noting that Tikhman’s family embraced Erin “very quickly” unlike Noah’s family’s distrust of Joanne.
Bringing Simon’s Heart to Noah
Erin made sure to write her husband’s emotional maturity into Brody’s character.
“Simon just exudes this energy that I assumed wouldn’t match up with mine — that I’d be too negative,” she gushed to the Los Angeles Times in September 2024. “In my past, if I ever chose someone who was good, they were too soft for me — too sweet or a pushover. And Simon is not sweet in a wimpy way. He has a feminist soul with a masculine energy.”
Nobody Wants This is currently streaming on Netflix.
