&34;Romance is such a big part of this story,&34; creator Erin Foster says. Nobody Wants This team says season 2 will 'give audiences what they want' (exclusive

"Romance is such a big part of this story," creator Erin Foster says.

Nobody Wants This team says season 2 will 'give audiences what they want' (exclusive)

"Romance is such a big part of this story," creator Erin Foster says.

By Samantha Highfill

Samantha Highfill

Samantha is a writer based in Los Angeles. Television is her one true love, and she tweets about it. A lot.

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September 2, 2025 1:56 p.m. ET

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"I'm not in the business of discontinuing your favorite lipstick."

*Nobody Wants This* creator Erin Foster isn't actually talking about lipstick. She's talking about Noah (Adam Brody) and Joanne (Kristen Bell) and the relationship that had audiences happily putting down their ice cream when the comedy premiered on Netflix in September of 2024.

The first season, which followed unapologetically unfiltered podcast host Joanne as she fell for witty (hot) rabbi Noah, captivated audiences with the utterly charming story of two adults who genuinely love each other — and perhaps more importantly, like each other. "This is Erin's genius," Bell tells **. "Her ideas are hyper realistic. No one has made a show about people in their early 40s that didn't have kids, who don't wanna be on dating apps, and haven't found their person."

And Foster wants to reassure you that she's not interested in ruining that in season 2. "The genre shouldn't be set up to frustrate you," Foster says. "I think that it can be eye-opening and not just be unrealistic sweeping romance but not rob the audience of the thing that is landing for them."

Adam Brody as Noah and Kristen Bell as Joanne on 'Nobody Wants This'.

Erin Simkin/Netflix

That thing is Noah and Joanne, who ended last season with one of those sweeping romantic gestures when Noah chased down Joanne in a parking lot after she tried to end things to save his career. As he told her that he couldn't have both — the life of a head rabbi and a relationship with a shiksa — he kissed her. It's an incredibly romantic gesture that is sure to be followed by a healthy dose of reality when season 2 picks up a few weeks later.

"The crux of his story is figuring that out," Foster says. "Because you make a big grand gesture and in a movie, you end on that note and you never hear from them again. As fun as rom-coms are and what a great category they are of TV and film, they also do set the tone for 13-, 14-year-old women and men about what they should expect in adult relationships and what romance feels like and that's not an accurate characterization. The moment doesn't end there. If you make a big sweeping decision, you have to deal with the consequences, so what does that look like?"

Bell agrees. "It's the opposite of what was given to us in the '80s with John Cusack standing outside with a boombox," she says. "That's great, but that fades, and there's a reality to what women want and this show is exploring that."

Timothy Simons as Sasha and Justine Lupe as Morgan on 'Nobody Wants This'.

Erin Simkin/Netflix

That reality, for Noah and Joanne, will involve learning each other's annoying habits, merging friend groups, and the many firsts that come in the beginning months of a serious relationship. "There are high stakes and then there are things that are stakes in every relationship, which is like the first dinner party and who's going to get along," new showrunner Jenni Konner says, who joins season 2 alongside her fellow showrunner Bruce Eric Kaplan.

The duo, who previously worked together on HBO's *Girls*, didn't have a lot of notes when they began work on the new episodes. "I didn't want to change the show at all. I loved it," Konner says. "The way I approach everything I work on, if I haven't written it, is that I need an incredibly clear, strong, unique voice and that is Erin in a nutshell, so that drew me to it immediately. I was just like, 'More of the same!'"**

Jackie Tohn as Esther and Timothy Simons as Sasha on 'Nobody Wants This'.

Erin Simkin/Netflix

For Foster, season 2 means the chance to prove that what they did last time wasn't a fluke. Season 1 landed three Golden Globe nominations and three Emmy nominations, not to mention a couple of Critics Choice wins for Brody and Bell. "Of course it's intimidating when something hits the way that it did because you're like, 'Oh god, how do I do this thing on purpose when I sort of did it accidentally?'" she says. "What I told Jenni when we first talked about the show is, 'I really would like for it to feel seamless where if you're binge watching, you can't tell what was season 1 and what was season 2.'"

But, as is the case with any second season, the show also has more time to dedicate to other characters outside of the central couple. And this time around, Morgan's (Justine Lupe) getting a love interest, played by Arian Moayed. "Morgan has a big season," Foster says. "She finds a romantic connection in a fairly inappropriate place as a response to her sister trying to level up out of this dynamic that they're both a part of. It's hard when someone decides, 'I actually think I do want to believe in things and I want to try to be chasing this happy ending that we both kind of made fun of.' When one person does that, it has a ripple effect, so we're watching what Morgan's doing in that wake."**

Kristen Bell as Joanne and Justine Lupe as Morgan on 'Nobody Wants This'.

Erin Simkin/Netflix

And yet, Morgan's love story, in many ways, brings us back to the sister dynamic. "Justine and Kristen have such great chemistry together," Foster continues. "It's very hard to take two people who are not related and make them feel like sisters and they just do such a great job."

Bell adds, "I really see this season as being a love story between the sisters, and I think it's so beautiful."

***Sign up for **'s free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.***

Alongside Moayed, the series will introduce Miles Fowler, Alex Karpovsky, and of course, the much-anticipated Leighton Meester as Brody's real-life wife joins the fun as Joanne's middle school nemesis Abby. "It got so incestuous," Bell says with a laugh, before explaining that Meester's on-screen husband is played by Joe Gillette, who is the real-life partner of Jackie Tohn, who plays Esther. "I had a blast on set saying, 'Jackie's boyfriend is playing Adam's wife's husband and Adam's wife is playing Jackie's boyfriend's wife,'" Bell continues. "It was like breaking the sim."

And despite working on the same show, *Gossip Girl*, for many years, this marks Bell and Meester's first time sharing the screen. "I know Leighton's extremely talented, but I did not anticipate what a comedic sniper she was gonna be," Bell says. "She is effervescent in that episode."

Arian Moayed as Andy, Justine Lupe as Morgan, Kristen Bell as Joanne, Adam Brody as Noah, Jackie Tohn as Esther, and Timothy Simons as Sasha on 'Nobody Wants This'.

Erin Simkin/Netflix

There is one thing, in particular, that put a lot of pressure on the writers as they crafted season 2, and it has everything to do with putting down that ice cream. When season 1 premiered, Noah and Joanne's first kiss caused quite the stir. So the question remains: Can they deliver another major romantic moment?

"I think we have a few of them," Konner says, with Foster adding, "The characters themselves have this heat that doesn't just go away and they have such chemistry. Romance is such a big part of this story and it's so important to maintain that. We've seen rom-coms where you see the comfortable part of the relationship where everyone's wearing their retainers and they're scheduling sex. That's not what this is. It's still really romantic because there's still so many more firsts for them to go through together. So yes, I think that we did it and we found really creative ways to show you romance that aren't tropey."

'Nobody Wants This' creator breaks down her 3 favorite season 1 moments

Adam Brody and 'Nobody Wants This' creator Erin Foster reveal how they crafted that perfect first kiss

Furthermore, Konner says, "There's one you'll see in the first episode which is a very romantic gesture that I would give you all my money if you can find another example of that being a romantic gesture in another TV show."**

For Bell, it's pretty simple. "We are going to give audiences what they want. They came here to see these people fall and be in love," she says. "We want to watch them interact. It worked for season 1, let's stick with it." Plus, as Konner reminds us, "It's not easy staying a happy relationship."

But, at least for now, your favorite lipstick is safe. ("I'm still mad about Lancome's Matte Mocha," Konner adds.)

*Nobody Wants This* season 2 premieres Oct. 23 on Netflix.

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