Nobody Wants This Creator Erin Foster has pushed back against critics and fans who have said her Netflix romantic comedy show represents stereotypes of Jewish people.
On Monday, the 42-year-old Los Angeles native was asked about Los Angeles Times about how he felt about accusations that stereotypes were evident in some of the show’s Jewish characters.
Foster responded, “I think we need positive Jewish stories right now.”
“I think it’s interesting when people focus on, ‘Oh, this is a stereotype of Jewish people,’ when you have a rabbi as the protagonist. A young, attractive, cool rabbi who smokes marijuana.
Foster asked, “That’s the antithesis of how people view a Jewish rabbi, right?”
Nobody wants this Creator Erin Foster, 42, has pushed back against critics who say her Netflix romantic comedy show represents stereotypes of Jewish people. Photographed in Los Angeles earlier this month.
The show, according to the main logline, “follows the unexpected relationship between a rebellious rabbi (played by Adam Brody) and an irascible, loud, agnostic woman (played by Kristen Bell).”
Foster explained the difficult balance she faces as a creative in trying to culturally flesh out characters accurately.
“If I made Jewish parents like two granola hippies on a farm,” Foster said, “then someone would write, ‘I’ve never met a Jewish person like that before.’ “People don’t know what they’re doing and that doesn’t represent us well.”
Foster based the show in part on her romance with her husband Simon Tikhman, who is Jewish.
She told the newspaper that she converted to Judaism more than four years ago, adding: “I’m Jewish, but I didn’t grow up Jewish… it’s a different thing.”
The show, according to a tagline, “follows the unexpected relationship between a rebellious rabbi (played by Adam Brody) and an irascible, loud, agnostic woman (played by Kristen Bell).”
It’s off to a successful start, reaching first place on Netflix’s Top 10 list shortly after it began streaming, the newspaper reported.
Glamor’s Jessica Radloff said in a review from September 27 from the show, “I can’t imagine any guy watching this show and then saying, “I really want to date a Jewish girl!”
“We come across as controlling, marriage-hungry women who want to plan dinner parties and alienate anyone who doesn’t share those same dreams.”
Foster based the show in part on her romance with her husband Simon Tikhman (pictured), who is Jewish.
The show is off to a successful start, reaching first place on Netflix’s Top 10 list shortly after it began airing.
Foster said she converted to Judaism more than four years ago, adding, “I’m Jewish, but I didn’t grow up Jewish… it’s a different thing.”
Bloomberg News tech reporter Dina Bass wrote on Twitter on Sunday: ‘So do I want to watch Nobody Wants This?’ I love the two main actors: Veronica Mars and OC are two shows that I adore for me.
“But I’m not dying to be bombarded with Jewish stereotypes and, in particular, the nasty, lazy stereotypes that revolve around Jewish women.”
in a Time review on September 26, author Esther Zuckerman said she “couldn’t help but feel disappointed” after watching the show.
“While offering the fantasy of the ideal Jewish man in Noah, the series seems to loathe Jewish women, who are portrayed as annoying, shrews and the ultimate villains of this story,” Zuckerman said. ‘I wanted to get carried away with a romantic comedy. “Instead, I was faced with the reality that maybe this show really hates me.”
Zuckerman said that “the biggest disappointment about Nobody Wants This” is that “what should be a show about a woman’s entry into and acceptance of Jewish culture instead perpetuates the worst ideas about Jewish women.”
Other users echoed similar sentiments, citing different aspects of the series that seemed offensive or inauthentic.
Critics and social media users pointed out aspects of the series that they found problematic
One X/Twitter user wrote in response to Zuckerman’s review: ‘Co-signing the whole thing and the bit of Tovah eating prosciutto was really offensive. Also, what kind of Jewish baseball team practices on Saturdays? I’m surprised that a rabbi was consulted about the series.
Another user said: ‘Thank you for this. I wanted to love it, but I really didn’t like the representation of Jewish women. I didn’t see myself in any of them.
Another user said: ‘Netflix just released a trailer for a show about an agnostic woman who falls in love with a rabbi.
“I won’t judge until it actually comes out, but the trailer was a release with a lot of classic Jewish stereotypes. It’s aptly titled Nobody Wants This.
