As often as the romance genre is dismissed, it’s one of the hardest to sustain on television. This is particularly true of a series centered on one core couple like Nobody Wants This. The opposites-attract love story of cynical sex podcaster Joanne Williams (Kristen Bell) and earnest “Hot Rabbi” Noah Roklov (Adam Brody) became an instant hit on Netflix thanks to the stars’ electric chemistry and the show’s heartfelt exploration of whether two such wildly disparate souls can make a relationship work.
Alas, however, only so much dramatic juice can be squeezed from the question of “will they or won’t they?” After Noah gave up his dream job as senior rabbi to be with the agnostic Joanne in the Nobody Wants This season 1 finale, season 2 saw him do a complete 180. Between seasons, Nobody Wants This had changed showrunners from Erin Foster (who also created the series) and Craig DiGregorio to Jenni Konner and Bruce Eric Kaplan, who essentially retold season 1 with a meaner Noah and none of the intoxicating, love-at-first-sight frisson.
The showrunners vowed to dispense with this dynamic in Nobody Wants This season 3, with Konner telling Netflix Tudum, “We didn’t have to do any more ‘Will they, won’t they?’ We know they are going to, and it was sort of, ‘How are they going to?’” Thankfully, it’s safe to say they’ve made good on their promise.
Season 3 is a return to form for Noah and Joanne, who are back to their almost sickeningly sweet (but actually very cute) lovey-doveyness as they repeatedly coo, “We live together,” while moving into their new joint home in the season premiere. The life they are building, including Joanne’s conversion to Judaism, isn’t without stumbling blocks, but they are mostly lighthearted and get resolved before the episode ends. Noah and Joanne now have a rock-solid foundation, but in giving audiences that comfort, Nobody Wants This season 3 has sacrificed some serious entertainment value.
Adam Brody & Kristen Bell’s Chemistry Buoys A Low-Stakes Nobody Wants This Season 3
Like a remorseful lover trying to win back a jilted former flame, Nobody Wants This season 3 pulls out all the stops to assure the audience it’s still the same great show they fell in love with. Instead of roses and chocolates, the series accomplishes this by having Adam Brody amp up Noah’s Hot Rabbi game to the hilt.
In the premiere, he literally sweeps Joanne up in his arms to give her her dream morning in their new home. It’s not quite “put down your ice cream“-level romantic, but it’s close. More importantly, it reflects the Noah we get throughout all of Nobody Wants This season 3, as he consistently demonstrates his commitment to Joanne in ways both small and absolutelyhuge.
In season 1, Brody’s swoonworthiness went viral, overshadowing Bell. Hopefully, that doesn’t happen in season 3 because her performance is excellent in her most mature iteration of the character yet. Joanne has grown leaps and bounds, frequently making sacrifices for Noah — beyond sleeping with a top sheet — but she does so without sacrificing herself or her happiness.
Noah and Joanne aren’t perfect. Noah still doesn’t stand up to his mother enough, and Joanne still has Olympic-level skill at sticking her foot in her mouth — telling her conversion class that she’s becoming a Jew for the “cozy vibes” is a memorable example. But they’re perfect for each other, and Nobody Wants This has closed the book on whether that’s a question.
Joanne and Noah’s amusing misadventures are still fun to watch, but Nobody Wants This season 3 has shifted from a watercooler, must-watch to a folding laundry show.
But in doing so, the series raises another question: What is Nobody Wants This if it’s not a will-they, won’t-they romance? If Joanne and Noah’s happily ever after is guaranteed, is there still enough story to sustain the show? Season 3 doesn’t fully know. After the big romantic milestones in the season’s first few episodes, the second half coasts on, well, cozy vibes as Joanne and Noah live their charmed life, complicated only by low-stakes problems.
This is essentially fine thanks to Brody and Bell’s winning chemistry. The phrase “I could listen to them read the phone book” was meant for actors like them, and if they read the phone book as a couple, it’d still be television gold — or at least television silver. Joanne and Noah’s amusing misadventures are still fun to watch, but Nobody Wants This season 3 has shifted from a watercooler, must-watch to a folding laundry show. It’s missing the sparkiness of season 1, and its efforts to find that dynamism in an ill-advised subplot fall flat.
Nobody Wants This Sacrifices Morgan & Sasha’s Platonic Love For A Subplot That Lives Up To The Show’s Title
What makes romance shows so great isn’t just how well they explore romantic love, but all kinds of love, and Nobody Wants This had one of television’s best platonic relationships in “loser siblings” Morgan and Sasha (Timothy Simons). Season 3 marks the first time they’re both single — with Esther (Jackie Tohn) having separated from Sasha in the Nobody Wants This season 2 finale — and it only made sense to address the sexual tension that has been an undercurrent of their friendship since its inception.
It’s impossible to delve too far into Morgan and Sasha’s season 3 subplot without going into major spoilers, but the sheer narrative heft and screen time it’s given isn’t a fraction as entertaining, worthwhile, or deep as what Nobody Wants This explored in their platonic friendship.
What’s even more frustrating is that it’s not like Morgan or Sasha didn’t have anything else going on in season 3. When Morgan’s first podcast episode sans Joanne goes viral, she finds herself more successful and famous than her sister for the first time, a development as fascinating as it is funny. Meanwhile, Sasha is navigating the bleak landscape of dating off the apps, made all the worse by the fact that he never wanted to split with Esther in the first place.
Noah and Joanne’s relationship used to give Nobody Wants This its chaos, but now that chaos lives in the show’s supporting characters, a recipe season 3 didn’t quite get right.
As for Esther, Nobody Wants This has never quite known what to do with her, a problem that continues in season 3. Though she’s no longer the nagging Jewish wife stereotype of season 1, the show went too far in dulling her edges. Her self-discovery journey as a single woman consists of her getting a real estate license and a rich but boring boyfriend, and not much else. Joanne assures Esther she won’t be forgotten even if she’s no longer with Sasha, and, fortunately, Nobody Wants This doubles down on that sentiment at the end of the season.
What’s even better is that as Noah and Joanne establish themselves as a unit, their home becomes a hub for their loved ones to gather, from their blended families — Michael Hitchcock is a particular standout as Joanne and Morgan’s well-meaning but clueless father, Henry — to Joanne’s fellow conversion students, Sebastien (Andrew Rannells) and Amber (Kayla Monterroso Meija), who should have been given more to do. These group scenes are when the season is at its funniest, possibly signaling a future shift to an ensemble series.
Noah and Joanne’s relationship used to give Nobody Wants This its chaos, but now that chaos lives in the show’s supporting characters, a recipe season 3 didn’t quite get right. The good news is that, should Nobody Wants This continue, the ingredients are already there.
All episodes of Nobody Wants This season 3 release October 22, 2026, on Netflix.
- Release Date
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October 22, 2026
- Network
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Netflix
- Episodes
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10
- Adam Brody and Kristen Bell continue to have electric chemistry
- Season 3?s cozy tone is a big improvement over the unnecessary fraughtness of season 2
- The ensemble cast is strong throughout season 3
- The lower stakes remove too much tension and narrative pull
- Morgan and Sasha?s subplot ruins their unique relationship
