Adam Brody wishes he was funnier in ‘Nobody Wants This’ season 1

Adam Brody is sharing his candid thoughts on his performance in the very first season of Nobody Wants This. 

The 45-year-old actor recently revealed that he wished he’d been able to bring a bit more humor to everyone’s favorite hot rabbi Noah after getting the chance to sit down and watch the celebrated Netflix series for himself.

“I watched the first season and thought, ‘Man, I should have tried a little harder to be funnier,’” Brody confessed to Vanity Fair. “I know I’m supposed to be grounded — not that anyone’s this straight man, but I know I’m in some ways an anchor. Yet still, I was like, ‘I wouldn’t hate it if I was a little funnier.’” 

The O.C. alum also emphasized that he believes the series’ upcoming second season is “gonna be funnier” than its predecessor overall. Although, he noted, the laughs may play out a little differently this time around.

“My fear was, one of the things that worked so well in the first season is the romance and all these firsts that are so naturally romantic and sexy: first kiss, first time being with each other, first breakup, first makeup, et cetera,” Brody explained. “Now that we’re a little more domesticated, will it still have that spark? I think it does, but we’ll see.” 

Created by Erin Foster, the first season of Nobody Wants This followed the unlikely romance between Brody’s newly-single Noah and an agnostic sex podcaster named Joanne (Kristen Bell). The semi-autobiographical series quickly became a runaway hit upon release and was subsequently renewed for a second season that is set to premiere on Oct. 23.

The follow-up will also feature some new faces like Brody’s wife (and Gossip Girl legend) Leighton Meester, who will be taking on a guest star role on the series as Joanne’s middle-school-nemesis-turned-mommy-influencer, Abby. She joins the series’ already star-studded cast, which includes Brody, Bell, Justine Lupe, Timothy Simons, and Jackie Tohn. 

Brody and Bell previously teased on Entertainment Weekly’s Awardist podcast that season 2 will contain even more “oh my God” moments, but that they might not necessarily all be centered around their characters.

“I have to be very careful with my words. I think the ‘Oh my God’ moments won’t necessarily be about us, Adam. Would you agree?” Bell teased at the time, to which Brody responded, “I agree with that wholeheartedly.”

Bell continued, “The world has been built out beautifully in a very grounded, realistic way. Because, look, you fall in love with someone and for a while it’s just you and them. The world doesn’t exist. And then slowly the world starts peeking in and you two have to coexist in the world that sometimes can be shocking.”

The pair also confirmed that they didn’t really feel a sense of pressure when it came to reprising their roles onscreen for round two.

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“The pressure, to me, would exist for the writers,” Brody clarified. “And I was waiting to see the scripts and if they could take it to the same heights. And I have been very happy, excited, satisfied, surprised. I’ve loved it. They’ve all done such a wonderful job continuing and expanding. And I think if you like the first, you’ll be very happy with the second season. I know I am.”

Bell added, “I would say I didn’t feel the pressure at all. I felt an extreme amount of excitement and creative juices flowing because people did want this show. That’s a huge reward that rarely comes, I guess. You never know what people are going to want to watch. So I felt excited.”

Season 2 of Nobody Wants This — which everyone very much wants — premieres on Netflix on Oct. 23.