Netflix’s latest romantic-comedy series Nobody Wants This has delighted fans who are shocked to learn that the love story is loosely based on real life.
Kristen Bell and Adam Brody’s new rom-com series, Nobody Wants This, landed on the streaming giant last week and has already garnered huge support from fans who are obsessed with the romantic series.
The rom-com has a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score and fans have hailed the series for featuring the ‘best ever’ kiss on screen.
Fans have compared the hilarious comedy to Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag because of the love story between a normal girl and a hot Priest – or in this case a hot Rabbi.
The story follows the struggles faced by Noah (Brody) and Joanne (Bell) who face criticism from people who can’t understand the love between a rabbi and a non-Jewish woman with seemingly nothing in common.
But many were surprised to learn that this series isn’t totally fictional, in fact the show is based on a real-life romance.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
Creator, Writer, and Executive Producer of the series, Erin Foster converted to Reform Judaism after falling in love with a man named Simon Tikhman.
Unlike Noah in the series, Simon is not a Rabbi, but Erin admitted that she knew early on that if things were to get serious, Simon could only marry a Jewish woman.
While explaining how her life inspired the series, she told Harper’s Bazaar: ‘When I met Simon, he said it would be important to him to marry someone Jewish and asked me if I would convert.
‘It was kind of like, “Yeah. Whatever. I’ll be Jewish.” It didn’t really mean anything to me at the time. It was sort of like, “Yeah, sure, all my friends are Jewish.”’
She then joked that she was in her mid-thirties so just wanted to ‘lock it down’.
‘If he had asked me to be in a cult, I would’ve been in a cult. I was 35 and needed to lock it down. So I thought, “Of course I will.” But then when I went through the process and went to the converting classes at Wilshire Boulevard Temple, it was this really fascinating, expansive, cool world,’ she said.
Erin also revealed that like Joanne’s experience with Noah’s family, her husband’s family were initially perplexed to be around someone so open and opinionated.
‘His parents weren’t really used to someone being so unfiltered, and uncensored, and saying how I feel all the time.
‘That was not something that they were used to, and I wasn’t really used to being with parents where you have to be careful what you say and not swear around them.
‘There was an adjustment period where they were like, “This is the person you chose to bring into our family? Are you okay, Simon? What are you thinking?”’
Speaking to The LA Times, she revealed that Simon’s parents were nothing but delighted to hear that she would be converting to Judaism, which is a different reaction to the one Joanne receives in the show.
‘In real life, Simon’s parents and I have a great relationship. We always have and they honestly never had an issue with me because me converting to Judaism was such an honour for them.
‘To bring someone into the Jewish faith was the ultimate daughter-in-law move; it bonded us in such a great way.’
She explained: ‘But in a TV show, you have to have conflict.’
Erin added that making Noah’s family immigrants was a key narrative plot that was inspired by real life.
‘It’s important that I had Noah’s parents in the show be immigrants because immigrant culture is very different than American Jewish culture.
‘Simon’s parents fled the Soviet Union because they were Jewish. That is a very different experience than someone who grew up in L.A., not being exposed to the kind of antisemitism that they were exposed to. It means something different. It’s a much more sensitive topic, and it’s much closer to their hearts,’ she said.
In the series, Joanne has a close relationship with her sister and business partner Morgan.
Erin has a similar relationship with her sister Sara – best known for playing Jen Clark in 90210 – with whom she founded the fashion brand Favorite Daughter.
Speaking about the collaboration on the Netflix show with her sister, who worked as an executive producer Erin told Harper’s Bazaar: ‘I’m not always great at seeing the things I’m going through in my life as stories to tell for TV. Sara’s more the business side of things, like, “This could make us money.”’
She added: ‘I would say that the best writing comes from personal experience because you can speak to a unique perspective that you have in the situation.’
In the series there was tension between Morgan and Joanne when she first began her relationship with Noah, Erin revealed this wasn’t quite accurate in real life.
‘I think you have to take creative license with things to create more 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.
‘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,’ she explained.
Nobody Wants This is available to stream now on Netflix.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.