Joanne and Noah are back, for another season of "will they, won't they," as Joanne considers converting to Judaism for Noah, and Noah considers new career opportunities to be with Joanne. They spend the season exploring more aspects of the Jewish faith, including episodes about naming ceremonies and Purim. However, that's not enough to fill a whole ten episodes, so there's a lot of time spent with two other couples this year - Esther and Sasha, and Morgan and her new boyfriend, Dr. Andy (Arian Moayed).
"Nobody Wants This" feels more like a traditional sitcom than most of the comedies I've been watching, even though it's not a multi-camera show, and even though I've never seen another series be this candid about Jewish characters' struggles with their faith. This season feels like many second seasons of shows that are hoping to be long-running series, especially in the way that it has narrowed down its conflicts to very simple, relationship-centric issues that can be repeated ad nauseum. The Valentine's Day episode is all about Noah trying to create the most impressive Valentine's experience, while Joanne just wants something more personal. Awkward culture clashes are repeatedly assuaged with cute affirmations of devotion. The cast of regulars is also much more clearly defined - Joanne, Noah, Esther, Sasha, and Morgan are the main characters. We still see plenty of Bina, but other formerly recurring characters like Miriam and the Head Rabbi are very scarce.
However, the leads are all strong, and each one of them can carry the show if necessary. Now that Esther doesn't have to be the hostile future in-law, she's much more compelling as she considers having another child what it means for her happiness. Morgan has the most dramatic arc, as is fitting for her dramatic personality, when she pairs up with a new man who seems to be perfect for her, but she might be rushing into things. Then there's Joanne and Noah, who discover that they don't know each other or themselves as well as they thought they did, as they keep hitting relationship snags. The big one, of course, is that Joanne isn't sure about converting, and Noah doesn't want to rush her, but this does impact Noah's life negatively in various ways. On the Jewish faith front, easily the most interesting subplot involves Noah becoming involved with the much more liberal Temple Ahava, run by Rabbi Neil (Seth Rogen), and discovering that he's more traditional than he realized.
There are some good guest stars this year. I want to point out Leighton Meester as Abby, an old friend of Joanne's, who is at the center of the season's funniest episode, where everyone is at a party trying to be on their best behavior. Arian Moayed as Dr. Andy does a great job of riding the line between eccentric and concerning. And then there are Morgan and Joanne's parents, Lynn (Stephanie Faracy) and Henry (Micahel Hitchcock), who prove to be just as much of an aggravation to Joanne this year as the openly disapproving Bina. They were both around last season, but this year lays the groundwork for the two of them to become much more involved, if "Nobody Wants This" decides to go in that direction.
My only complaint with the show right now is that it's noticeably shifting gears to prepare for a longer run than I think it originally intended. Ten episodes isn't a short season by modern standards, and it still feels like it went by too fast and didn't get enough done. An awful lot of time is spent setting things up that aren't going to pay off for a long time, and very little gets resolved. Issues that were pretty central in season one, like the fate of Joanne and Morgan's podcast, seem to have been completely backburnered in the second. I expect that future seasons will address some of these things, but it's frustrating when Noah's employment worries are just ignored after a few episodes, and it feels like we've somehow skipped some important moments with Esther before her big decision in the finale.
Fortunately, a comedy like "Nobody Wants This" has a perfectly reasonable production timeline, and I don't expect it'll be too long before I get a few more answers in season three - assuming the show doesn't get cancelled first.
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