Rabbi Maya Zinkow knew she would have a strong reaction to Netflix’s new rom-com “Nobody Wants This” the moment the trailer dropped last month.
But she did not expect to have problems with the show, starring Kristen Bell as an agnostic podcaster who falls for a young, weed-smoking “hot rabbi” played by Adam Brody, within four minutes of the first episode.
So Zinkow, a 32-year-old campus rabbi at the University of California, Berkeley’s Hillel, took to her Instagram stories to express outrage about what she believes is the show’s decision to use stereotypes about Jewish people.
“I just don’t find it funny,” Zinkow told NBC News, “especially at a time when Jews are under such a microscope.” Her running commentary on the series has since gained traction on social media, prompting her to make a highlight reel on Instagram.
“A part of my work is being protective of the Jews,” she said.
NBC News spoke with four rabbis about the buzzy series, which has generated intense online reaction, including a steady stream of Brody-focused “hot rabbi” memes, since its Sept. 26 release. The religious leaders, who hail from a variety of denominations, all agreed that “Nobody Wants This” is an imperfect representation of the rabbinate and Jewish culture. Still, their levels of discontent with the series varied.
The show has received widespread praise on social media. But with it has also come added scrutiny, including from many Jewish viewers who have called out the depiction of Jewish women. A spokesperson for Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Some of the rabbis also said that despite its issues, “Nobody Wants This” and its light comedy provide a welcome distraction from the Israel-Hamas war and growing antisemitism in the U.S.
“For a sad reason, the timing couldn’t be better,” said Rabbi Steve Leder, the former senior rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles and a consultant on the show. “It’s like a joke at a shiva — it helps. I believe jokes at a shiva are appropriate and healing.”
Adam Brody and Kristen Bell in “Nobody Wants This.” Saeed Adyani / Netflix
The 10-episode romantic comedy depicts a romance between Rabbi Noah Roklov (Brody), a joint-smoking basketball-loving son of Russian immigrants who dreams of leading his synagogue, and Joanne (Bell), an irreligious Angelino who co-hosts a successful sex and relationship podcast. After meeting at a dinner party, the pair struggle to reconcile their undeniable chemistry with their wildly different backgrounds and beliefs. Their will-they-won’t-they relationship is punctuated by steamy scenes and witty banter that The Guardian hailed as being “as funny as ‘When Harry Met Sally.’”
The series was created by writer and performer Erin Foster, who loosely based the story on her own experience of falling in love with a Jewish man who insisted on marrying a fellow Jewish person. Foster converted to the religion five years ago.
Viewers have turned to the internet to celebrate the “hot rabbi,” as Brody’s character is known to some of his summer camp students, and have favorably compared him to Hugh Grant in “Notting Hill” and the “hot priest” character in “Fleabag.” Others online have swooned over Rabbi Noah’s emotional maturity and his support of Joanne — the ultimate“green flag.”
The series has also renewed the internet’s love for Brody, who stole the hearts of millennial teenagers nearly two decades ago as Seth Cohen on“The O.C.”
“Adam Brody’s rizz in this show is off the charts. It’s like Seth Cohen grew a beard and realized how fine he was and sent an entire generation of O.C. girls into heat,” one X user wrote. Another posted: “Ok, yes, the Adam Brody hot rabbi show has unlocked something deep within me, I will not be taking questions at this time.”
There has also been forceful criticism ofthe show for its “mean-spirited depiction of women” and the cultural implications of “sexualizing” a rabbinical figure. Nevertheless, the “hot rabbi” memes still remain a major force behind the show’s public reception.
Leder said he consulted on the show by sitting in with the writers, reviewing scripts and providing notes to ensure accuracy in its depiction of Judaism. He took no issue with Brody’s “hot rabbi” character and his lifestyle.
“There is an exaggeration of the characters and the situations because it’s a rom-com,” Leder told NBC News. “It’s not a documentary on the life of a young rabbi. I think that’s a very important distinction.”
Noting that Rabbi Noah does things he would not do — like pulling out a joint at a dinner party with strangers — Leder was pleased overall that the show “opened people’s minds a little bit to the humanity of the rabbi,” a religious figure often portrayed on the screen as being deeply serious and often elderly.
Zinkow said the marijuana-related scene was a relatable moment in the show that “pushed the needle slightly” forward on how rabbis are depicted in pop culture.
“Yeah, I’m a hot rabbi. I’m a real person, I am sexual, I am fun,” she said, relating to Brody’s character. She added that the scene where Joanne slips into a synagogue to hear Rabbi Noah was particularly fun to watch — because it mirrored her own meet-cute with her partner. “I literally met my partner because he was in synagogue and I was giving the sermon,” she said.
Despite those moments of relatability, however, Zinkow took issue with what she said was the show’s use of stereotypes about overbearing Jewish women and the “shiksa goddess” trope.
“The entire premise of the show seems to just miss an opportunity to show what it would mean for a serious religionist … grappling with what it means to be in a relationship with someone who is clearly not a serious religionist or doesn’t care about it,” she explained.
Like Zinkow, Rabbi Sari Laufer was cautious about the show — and planned to avoid it altogether. But after her congregants started asking for her opinion, she caved.
“I love a good rom-com, so from that perspective, I enjoyed it,” Laufer, the chief engagement officer at Stephen Wise Temple and Schools in New York, said. She added that she appreciated “the portrayal of rabbis as wholly human.”
Laufer particularly enjoyed a scene in which Rabbi Noah leads a Shabbat prayer at a restaurant while out with Joanne, depicting “the tension liberal Jews often feel between tradition and modernity.” The rabbi added: “I found myself moved by the portrayal of what it can look like to fit Judaism into a fully modern life.”
But Laufer said she had a major problem with the show’s treatment of its female characters — especially the “incredibly dated and quite honestly cringey” way some of the characters describe Joanne.
“Do I think that there are still Jews who are uncomfortable with the thought of intermarriage and might even use derogatory terminology? Sadly, I know the answer is yes,” Laufer said. “But is that the overarching feeling — and language — within liberal Jewish communities? Absolutely not. I wish that the writers had been willing to push against some of those stereotypes, or more deeply engage with some of the reasons behind the Jewish tendency — if we can even call it that — towards endogamy.”
Rabbi Leora Kaye agreed, taking issue with how often Rabbi Noah’s friends and family throw around the word “shiksa” to negatively describe Joanne, including in one scene where his mother, Bina (Tovah Feldshuh), tries to comfort the rabbi’s ex-girlfriend Rebecca (Emily Arlook) by telling her, “Everyone knows shiksas are just for practice.”
“It’s truly a hateful word. It’s a word that means abomination,” said Kaye, a director at the Central Conference of American Rabbis in New York. Despite that, she said, it’s a “delightful show that digs into pretty deep stuff.”
Jackie Tohn, who plays the rabbi’s sister-in-law, Esther, told NBC’s “TODAY” that she is not worried about the alleged stereotypes on the show. “I love being Jewish. I am so proud to be Jewish,” she said. “I don’t watch the show thinking it makes us look bad. That’s not my takeaway.”
She added: “If you’re looking at a light comedy and thinking it’s fueling antisemitism, that might be something you need to look at truly, right? Like, we’re making a TV show. We’re going to lean into a couple things you’ve heard before about Jews, and then we’re going to try and disprove some of that.”
Foster, the show’s creator who converted after meeting her husband, responded to criticism of how women are depicted by telling Deadline, “They’re not, in my opinion, Jewish stereotypes. They’re comedic points of view.”
She added in an interview with the Los Angeles Times: “What I really wanted to do was shed a positive light on Jewish culture from my perspective — my positive experience being brought into Jewish culture, sprinkling in a little fun, [and] educational moments about things in Judaism that I love without it being heavy-handed.”
And despite the show’s flaws, Laufer agreed it was a fun escape from a difficult year for Jewish Americans.
“It was like a Hallmark holiday movie but for Jews,” she said. “I think it was clearly written with love for Jewish tradition and Jewish culture and maybe even Jews themselves.”
