“Nobody Wants This” creator Erin Foster addresses show criticism

Erin Foster addresses critics of her new Netflix show Nobody Wants This.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Foster, who created the series, addressed criticisms of the show, which follows agnostic, unfiltered podcast host Joanne (Kristen Bell) who clashes with a man at a dinner party , which is her complete opposite.

“I think we need positive Jewish stories now. I think it's interesting when you have a rabbi in the lead role that people focus on, 'Oh, that's a stereotype of the Jewish people.' A hot, cool, young rabbi who smokes weed,” Foster said. “That’s the opposite of how people see a Jewish rabbi, right?”

In the series, Joanne has an undeniable connection with the charming, emotionally accessible Noah (Adam Brody), but things are complicated by differing beliefs.

Foster continued: “If I made the Jewish parents like two granola hippies on a farm, someone would write, ‘I’ve never met a Jewish person like that. You obviously don't know how to write Jewish people.' “You don’t know what you’re doing and that doesn’t represent us well.”

The show is based on the love story of Foster, the daughter of Grammy-winning composer David Foster, and her husband Simon Tikhman, with whom she tied the knot on New Year's Eve 2019.

Critics of “Nobody Wants This” address stereotypes about Jewish women

Criticism of the portrayals of Jewish women in “Nobody Wants This” came quickly.

“It's a shame that you can't get excited about the Jewish women in 'Nobody Wants This' – they're one-dimensional and painfully clichéd. Joanne's interest in converting to Judaism to be with Noah is understandable; he is the perfect boyfriend. But who would do that? “Do you want to become a Jewish woman when it looks like that?” wrote an author for the Jewish feminist cultural site Hey Alma.

Jessica Radloff wrote for Glamor that she “struggled with 'Nobody Wants This,'” writing, “Although I love Noah's commitment to Judaism and just the fact that he's one of the best TV boyfriends I've had in quite a while “The same cannot be said for the other Jewish characters in the series – especially the women.”

Review of “Nobody Wants This”: Kristen Bell and Adam Brody are so romantic and sexy

Radloff continued: “Would it be too much to only see Jewish characters in shows without feeling different?”

Author Esther Zuckerman wrote in Time: “What should be a show about a woman's entry into and acceptance of Jewish culture instead perpetuates the worst ideas about Jewish women. I wanted to fall in love. Instead, I just felt like a target.”

Contributor: Erin Jensen

Critics of “Nobody Wants This” address stereotypes about Jewish women

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