There isn’t much of a will-they-won’t-they vibe for the central couple on Netflix’s Nobody Wants This. When Kristen Bell’s agnostic shiksa podcaster Joanne falls for Adam Brody’s hot rabbi, Noah, it is not a matter of whether they’ll get together, but how they’ll make their interfaith relationship work. But another pair on the show has a trickier dynamic: Noah’s eccentric older brother, Sasha (Timothy Simons), who helps run the family business, and Joanne’s free-spirited younger sibling, Morgan (Justine Lupe), who cohosts a sex and dating podcast with her sister.
“You have, like, no husband energy at all—that’s scary,” Morgan says to Sasha, shortly after meeting him and learning he’s married to a woman named Esther (Jackie Tohn). But they eventually bond over being their family’s respective black sheep—though Sasha doesn’t understand why Morgan is one, since she’s “cool as hell,” always has “a witty comeback,” and looks “like a total smoke show.” Later, Morgan confesses to having a sex dream about Sasha. As Joanne and Noah’s relationship blooms, their siblings grow ever closer, a bond that Sasha conceals from his wife. “It might be a little weird, but I enjoy talking to you, is that so bad?” he asks Morgan in the finale, shortly before Esther discovers their texts.
The chemistry between Morgan and Sasha, which sometimes feels more palpable than that of the lead couple, has left viewers feeling confused but compelled. Series creator Erin Foster has said season two of the hit series, which welcomes Girls executive producers Jenni Konner and Bruce Eric Kaplan as new showrunners, is “going to wrap up their weird ‘Is it romantic?’ thing.” But that hasn’t stopped fans from calling for a spin-off, making couple-y fancam videos, and, in some cases, even rooting for the characters to cheat with each other.
In a chat with Vanity Fair, it’s quickly clear that Simons and Lupe’s lively onscreen banter mirrors their offscreen relationship. Lupe joins the Zoom first, worrying over her casual set-up just as Simons pops onscreen under even more relaxed circumstances. “Eating yogurt in front of the aurora borealis is so sick,” Lupe says, snapping a photo of Simons on her phone. “With a fork!” Simons points out, adding with a wide-eyed grin, “Shit’s going real well for your boy.” Says Lupe, “I was sitting here feeling self-conscious about the fact that I’m in a baseball cap, and then you take it a step lower with your whole situation, so I feel a little bit better.”
Below, the not-so-secret weapons of Nobody Wants This riff on potential romance between their characters (“Maybe the lack of clarity is somewhat the point”), election anxiety, and their show’s unifying appeal: “People are fucking desperate for Adam Brody to cup their face and kiss them.”
Vanity Fair: It’s so fun to speak with you both together. Morgan and Sasha were my favorite characters on the show.
Justine Lupe: Will that be in the article, though?
Timothy Simons: Obviously, I don’t work at Vanity Fair. I have no power, but it kind of feels like that should be the headline.
Lupe: I agree.
I’ll let my editor know your input. Before we dive into Nobody Wants This, as two actors who were part of shows with very iconic election episodes—as Willa on Succession and Jonah on Veep—how high is your own election anxiety at the moment?
Lupe: Pretty high.
Simons: Pretty high. I will say, the episode was called “America Decides,” the one where somebody actually firebombed a vote storage center—and that was really what swung the election in Succession. That’s definitely popped into my head recently and makes me a little nervous.
Lupe: I know. The entire backstory of what’s going on in the news cycle and the way Connor’s whole subplot plays out, it was all so depressing. I remember while we were shooting it, I had so much fun, and then when I saw it within the context of the show, it actually rattled me and made my stomach hurt watching that episode.
