Finished ‘Nobody Wants This’ Season 3? Try these 4 shows next
Finished ‘Nobody Wants This’ Season 3? Try these 4 shows next
‘Starstruck’ trades the rabbi for a movie star, while ‘Trying’ follows a couple figuring out what comes after falling in love.
I think Season 3 of “Nobody Wants This” is a great redemption season for the show. After a fantastic Season 1 that saw Noah and Joanne fall in love, Season 2 felt a bit repetitive, maybe trying to capture the magic of that first season when the characters just weren’t in that same place anymore. But Season 3 is magical in a different way. I really loved Morgan’s work storyline and Sasha’s dating storyline (and their storyline), and then the, er, big moment mid-season just gave the show a thrust that worked, as well as the emotional beats we all wanted. So… what next? Here are my picks for what to watch if you loved the third season of “Nobody Wants This.”
Nobody Wants This
An agnostic sex podcaster and a newly single rabbi fall in love, but can their relationship survive their wildly different lives and meddling families?
Loved ‘Nobody Wants This’? Watch: ‘Colin from Accounts’
“Colin from Accounts” is a little less glossy than “Nobody Wants This,” but they just share so much DNA. The show starts with a very weird and funny meet-cute, where Ashley (Harriet Dyer), a trainee doctor, flashes Gordon (Patrick Brammall), a brewery owner, while he’s driving. Of course, that would distract the best of us, and Gordon accidentally hits a dog while ogling. The two of them take the dog to the vet, and fork over the thousands and thousands of dollars to save him (at the last minute). They name him Colin from Accounts… and slowly fall in love with each other.
There are plenty of similarities here. Gordon and Noah are both steady partners who end up with loud, funny, outspoken women. Ashley has a little bit more chaos than Joanne, but they both refuse to be anything other than who they are. You get all the witty banter, great sexual chemistry, and the awkward realities of becoming intimate with someone new. Now, this show is dirtier (there’s a toilet scene in the very first episode that is both hilarious and disgusting), with a little more physical comedy. But if you want to watch two funny, imperfect people fall in love and make it work, this is the next best thing to “Nobody Wants This.”
Colin from Accounts
Ashley and Gordon are two single(ish), complex humans who are brought together by a car accident and an injured dog. Flawed, funny people choosing each other and being brave enough to show their true self, scars and all, as they navigate life together.
Try out: ‘Starstruck’
“Starstruck” is kind of a sleeper hit. Tara and I found it by accident during Covid, and despite three seasons, no one I know has seen this show. It follows Jessie (Rose Matafeo) — a New Zealander living in London — who’s struggling to make ends meet by working at the cinema / as a nanny. In a drunken New Year’s Eve hookup, she sleeps with Tom (Nikesh Patel). And only later does she come to realize that Tom isn’t just a guy… he’s also a very famous movie star.
Just like the religious and lifestyle clash in “Nobody Wants This,” “Starstruck” generates a lot of its comedy from the lifestyle of the rich and famous crashing into the far less exciting lifestyle of a normal, broke 20-something-year-old. Jessie is just as outspoken and independent as Joanne, constantly sabotaging herself in front of Tom. And she has no interest in changing herself for him. And of course, that’s what he loves about her. This has a British tilt to it, and leans into an awkward, younger chaos, with more partying, drinking, and drugs. But the chemistry between Jessie and Tom is undeniable, and the explicit culture clash between these two mirrors “Nobody Wants This” to a T.
Starstruck
A drunken New Year’s Eve hook-up becomes far more complicated for Jessie when she discovers her one night stand is actually a film star.
Watch next: ‘Trying’
“Trying” deals with a couple who’ve already passed through the courting phase and are now in the “trying to have a baby” phase. Except it’s not nearly as easy as everyone else assumes it is. Nikki (Esther Smith) and Jason (Rafe Spall) live in London and have been trying IVF. But when it becomes too expensive to do another round (and probably won’t work anyway), they decide to adopt. That, of course, brings its own complications: social workers, assessments, paperwork, fees, and their own crazy families.
Much like Noah and Joanne in Season 3, Nikki and Jason love each other and are trying to figure out how to move forward — but for them, it’s kids. There’s plenty of comedy to be had in trying to get pregnant during just the right ovulation period (like on a bus…), but overall this is a bit of a gentler show, more focused on building a family together. There’s less explicit conflict between the two leads, and more a “us against the world” mentality.
Trying
All Nikki and Jason want is a baby—the one thing they can’t have. So they decide to adopt. With their dysfunctional friends, screwball families, and chaotic lives, will the adoption panel agree that they’re ready to be parents?
Wild card pick: ‘The Good Place’
This is the wildcard for a reason because on the surface, it’s not a rom-com. But it IS one of my favorite fantasy TV shows ever. “The Good Place” follows Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell!), who dies and goes to the Good Place. It’s basically a paradise reserved for good, kind, caring people. Except Eleanor is none of those things… she’s just been put here by mistake. Now she has to avoid anyone finding this out, while convincing her assigned soulmate, ethics professor Chidi (William Jackson Harper), to help her become the person the Good Place thinks she is.
You would be forgiven for confusing Eleanor with Joanne. She’s loud, sarcastic, selfish, and just that classic Kristen Bell character. And Chidi is much like Noah: kind, principled, and obsessed with making the morally correct decision (which means he often ends up making no decision at all). And guess what? They fall in love! Eleanor grows (like Joanne!) without losing herself, while Chidi learns from Eleanor how to loosen up a bit. Now, obviously this is more of an ensemble fantasy comedy (you’ve got excellent performances from Ted Danson, D’Arcy Carden, Jameela Jamil, and Manny Jacinto), but the romantic arc (especially in the final season) will leave you with ALL the feelings. Tara and I watched every season, and it actually bows out on the highest of high notes emotionally. Oh, and the big Season 1 twist is EPIC. Watch it.
The Good Place
Eleanor Shellstrop, an ordinary woman who, through an extraordinary string of events, enters the afterlife where she comes to realize that she hasn’t been a very good person. With the help of her wise afterlife mentor, she’s determined to shed her old way of living and discover the awesome (or at least the pretty good) person within.
More to watch after finishing ‘Nobody Wants This’:
‘You're the Worst’ | Hulu
You’re the Worst
Narcissistic, brash, and self-destructive Jimmy Shive-Overly thinks all relationships are doomed. Cynical, people-pleasing, and stubborn Gretchen Cutler knows that relationships aren’t for her. So when they meet at a wedding, it’s only natural that the two of them go home together.
‘Fleabag’ | Prime Video
Fleabag
A portrait into the mind of a dry-witted, sexual, angry, porn-watching, grief-riddled woman, trying to make sense of the world. As she hurls herself headlong at modern living, Fleabag is thrown roughly up against the walls of contemporary London, with all its frenetic energy, late nights, and bright lights.
‘Catastrophe’ | Prime Video
Catastrophe
Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan write and star in a comedy that follows an American man and an Irish woman who make a bloody mess as they struggle to fall in love in London.
‘Love’ | Netflix
Love
Rebellious Mickey and good-natured Gus navigate the thrills and agonies of modern relationships.