Nobody Wants This creator Erin Foster talks to The Contending about bringing her own family dynamic into the writing and why she didn’t set out to revive the TV rom-com.
Believe it or not, Nobody Wants This Season 1 showrunner Erin Foster didn’t intend to save the romantic comedy genre when she pitched it, but she did want to write a new type of on-screen man.
“I was not setting out to make something that was the new rom-com or to make people happy [like Ted Lasso],” says Foster. “I was just writing a story that I found interesting, that I wanted to tell. I did really want to show positive masculinity instead of toxic masculinity, and I didn’t want to show it in a wimpy way. I didn’t want women to feel like they had two choices: You can be with this toxic asshole or wimpy, nice guy. I wanted to show the confident, attractive, sexy, cool nice guy. I think women really respond to that because I’m a woman like every other woman who wanted to meet someone like that!”
Of course, Nobody Wants This excels in depicting a budding romance between hot rabbi Noah (Adam Brody) and sex podcaster Joanne (Kristen Bell), but its supporting cast, including Justine Lupe, also features prominently as fully developed characters, including Joanne and Morgan’s father (played by Michael Hitchcock) who came out as gay later in life.
“I come from a really unconventional family structure. My parents have both been married a tremendous amount of times, and I’ve had so many different versions of my family. I’ve written about that before. I’ve written pilots and different shows with dads that marry someone younger. I wanted something different. What would be an unconventional family structure that feels modern that would feel like oil and vinegar for Noah’s family?”
Watch our conversation below!
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