I told you I was trying to stay away from messy

Continuing my trip down The Guardian's Top 50 TV Shows of 2024

#10 : Nobody Wants This 

More than 20 years after he captured hearts as Seth Cohen in The OC, Adam Brody made his big TV comeback for millennials in this very modern romcom. Based on creator Erin Foster’s real experiences, it followed “Hot Rabbi” Noah (Brody) who falls in love with sex podcaster Joanne (Kristen Bell) – but they faced the problem of her not being Jewish. Could it work? Over the course of very funny episodes, scarily relatable dating scenarios (The Ick was a standout) and a top supporting cast including Succession’s Justine Lupe, we learned that, yes, love wins. And that is exactly what a great romcom should remind us.

This has got such good write-ups (and for the second season as well) that I've been tempted to check it out - but it's never quite happened. Until now...

Yes. Hmmm. It certainly has a lot going for it - it's well written (and, in places, relatively relatable), well acted (with good chemistry between the leads) and it looks very good. But...

...it's very American and very Jewish (funny that, eh?) which isn't anything I have a problem with, but many of the jokes just generally didn't hit with me. It also suffered somewhat because Kristen Bell (who is great in The Good Place) and Adam Brody (who my daughters know from The OC and Gilmore Girls) have such great chemistry that they're obviously going to end up together and I find the whole "but she's not Jewish" thing a bit of a head-scratcher - who cares? Well, quite a few people on this actually, otherwise there wouldn't be a lot of point to it. I'm also going to call out Justine Lupe who's very good (and slightly less bonkers than she is in Succession) with great chemistry with Kirsten as her sister.

I was reminded of Hacks in that there's nothing really wrong with this and I can see why people would like it, but it just didn't push my buttons - which seems a bit odd considering how much I enjoyed Colin From Accounts which it isn't a million miles away from. I wouldn't have any objections to watching it if forced to and I'd probably get a chuckle or two in each episode, but it just doesn't feel like something I need to spend any more time on than the couple of episodes I watched. But if you fall into one of the categories of American, Jewish, dating or just more tolerant than me then you might find this is right up your street.

#9 - Most enjoyable
#11 - You've heard of this, right?

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