tv

Kristen Bell and Adam Brody's new rom-com has no business being this good.

Gather around, your new fave TV show awaits. And this one is for the millennials.

Kristen Bell and Adam Brody have teamed up for Nobody Wants This, a little Netflix rom-com series that has no right being so goddamn delightful.

I must disagree with the show's namesake, I can confidently declare that everyone will want (to watch) this charming 10-part TV show.

The comedy series was created by Erin Foster (yep that's David Foster's daughter), a TV writer and former creative head of the dating app Bumble, who wrote the Netflix series loosely based on her life.

Bell plays a sex-and-dating podcaster named Joanne as Brody steps into the shoes of rabbi Noah. The cast is rounded out by their wacky side-character siblings, Joanne's sister Morgan (Succession's Justine Lupe) and Noah's brother, Sasha (Veep's Timothy Simons).

The story is set in sunny Los Angeles which perfectly matches the show's bright and optimistic energy.

Watch the trailer for Nobody Wants This. Post continues after video.


Netflix.

Viewers join our two protagonists as Joanne has grown disillusioned with the modern dating app scene and Noah is fresh out of a breakup with his long-term Jewish girlfriend, Rebecca.

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In a classic rom-com trope, Joanna and Noah's paths randomly cross.

It's a meet-cute with a modern twist: they casually meet at a dinner party and find themselves constantly drawn to each other. And like any good meet-cute, there's a series of mishaps as Joanne gets confused over whether Noah is recently divorced before learning he's a surprisingly youthful Rabbi.

Meanwhile, Noah is fretting over his new crush's religion. "Is she Jewish at all?" he asks. His friend Ashley deadpan replies, "There's not a Jewish bone in her body. Unless you put one in her."

The chemistry between these two is immediate. Banter is flying across the room at lightning speed as if they've been waiting patiently to share the screen.

It's unsurprising to learn the actors have been friends for years and together, they just work.

It helps that both their faces were fixtures on our TVs two decades ago.

Seth Cohen is all grown up. Image: Netflix.

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There's no denying that casting Seth Cohen and Veronica Mars in a rom-com — a generation's two biggest collective crushes — is going to hit millennials right in their hearts (and err, other parts of their bodies).

For Adam Brody in particular, this man was the obsession of teenage girls in the '00s, ever since he flirted with fame on Gilmore Girls and then became a fully instated ultimate dream boy on The OC.

In many ways, Noah feels a lot like an extension of Seth: he's sweet, funny, kind and well, Jewish. But unlike Seth, he's shed the neuroticism and insecurities that come with high school and blossomed into quite the well-rounded adult heartthrob.

Joanne shares many similarities with Veronica too: they're both whipsmart, witty and cynical.

It's near impossible to watch Nobody Wants This without accidentally merging their most iconic characters with their newest ones.

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The result is a TV experience that feels like wrapping yourself in a warm blanket of teen nostalgia. The TV show might be brand new but it's reuniting the viewer with two old friends.

The show's hilarious writing feels fresh but oddly, nostalgic. Like meeting up with a familiar friend who always has a funny story to tell you.

Netflix knows exactly what it's doing. Image: Netflix. 

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It should also be applauded how little their ages are mentioned in the series. Both of the actors are 44 which in any other rom-com may have been considered 'over the hill' or pressures would be debated around 'settling down', but this is a refreshing non-issue in Nobody Wants This.

They are simply two sexy people who like each other and start dating. Their ages are irrelevant.

At the show's heart is a love story that the viewer genuinely wants to root for. Throughout the series, the two people go through a range of struggles, some relatable like Joanne getting the dreaded ick or stressing over an ex-girlfriend and others not so much, like Noah fretting over whether Joanne will one day convert to Judaism.

It's because of this combination of high and low stakes drama that makes this show gripping but ultimately stressfree viewing — a delicate balance that most rom-coms fail to nail.

But no matter what conflict unfolds, there's such a heartwarming feeling when these two are together that the viewer remains hopeful that they will make it work. And for one season of a show to build such an undeniable bond within 10 episodes is pretty damn impressive.

Come for the millennial nostalgia, stay for the cute-as-hell love story and pray for season two.

Nobody Wants This premieres on Netflix on September 26.

Feature image: Netflix. 

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