Thank you Netflix for this Jewish romance
Jackie Tohn plays the unhappy sister-law of a rabbi who goes rogue in Nobody Wants This which starts this week
Warn your family as, from today, you will take control of the TV. A series about a rabbi on the rebound is about to take over your life. Why? Because if Rabbi Noah Rokolov was in north-west London, he would be the hot topic at every Kiddush – and not because he is hot, but because he’s fallen head over tallit for a podcaster who is a natural blonde and an agnostic. And no, she didn’t renounce her faith – she was never Jewish. In fact, she’s so clueless about Judaism, she asks if synagogue membership includes a gym and supportively signs the cross by the bimah. “That’s not us,” says ‘hot rabbi’ sweetly.
Enough with the spoilers as you’re now challishing to watch Nobody Wants This from the stable of Modern Family producer Steven Levitan and written by Erin Foster, who drew from personal experience. As she explains: “This show is based on the only good decision I ever made: falling for a nice Jewish boy.”
Like Joanne, played by Kristen Bell, Erin didn’t grow up Jewish, but converted as an adult and says: “I wanted to tell a Jewish story, but from the perspective of an outsider who chose Judaism.”
Tempting as the Torah may be, Joanne’s head is turned by a rabbi who looks like Adam Brody (Seth Cohen on The OC). A Jewish actor playing a rabbi? Could this series get any better? Well, It does. Cool Rabbi Noah plays basketball on a Jewish team called the Matzah Ballers and his brother Sasha (Timothy Simons) is married to Esther, who Jackie Tohn describes as “mouthy, opinionated and Jewish – so kind of like me”.
We are on Zoom with Jackie in LA, but I’m soon wishing we were in the same room. Cracking jokes, kvelling about her rescue dog Glen, and gossiping about last night’s Emmy parties – she feels like a mate. She has been friends with Kristen – who is also the series’ executive co-producer – for 20 years and she realised Jackie was the right age to be Esther and would easily channel a classic example of “the sort of woman a Jewish man marries so he’ll never have to make another decision” quips Jackie. “But I still had to audition.”
Jackie has been auditioning since she was nine. “I faced a remarkable amount of rejection for a child, which I didn’t really process as I was always such a wise ass, but it must have bummed me out at a certain point because in my mid 20s, I started doing music, touring and putting out albums.”
Another turn around in her early 30s took her to musical comedy, which led her to playing comedian Gilda Radner in the film A Futile and Stupid Gesture and, after that, a lead on Glow, the Netflix hit about the crazy world of women’s professional wrestling in the 80s. Jackie was Melanie “Melrose” Rosen, the saucy fame seeker, who wore the kind of lingerie Lycra that ‘Esther’ wouldn’t even wear to do the cleaning. Aagh, Esther who is so angry about her rabbi brother-in-law going rogue she can’t get through Havdalah. “Not only because he’s the vibe of the temple, but for selfish reasons as she and her husband Sasha did everything together with Noah and Rebecca.”
I’ve not mentioned Rebecca, Esther’s bestie, so as to not spoil the broiges that awaits you. Jackie’s phone pings off camera .It’s a WhatsApp message. The Nobody Wants This cast has a group chat. “It’s called Shiksas & Sheigetzers,” laughs Jackie “We all got into the Jewish theme and Tim (Sasha) who isn’t Jewish started saying ‘Shabbat shalom’ to everyone when we started filming. I had to tell him, Dude, it doesn’t mean what’s up? It’s only for Fridays.”
The starring role as aggravated Esther got Jackie’s parents, Al and Bella posting proudly on Insta. Bella is the daughter of Polish Holocaust survivors, although Jackie says her grandmother never talked about it. “But we are all here because of her strength, tenacity and perseverance and so, if she didn’t want to talk, I certainly wasn’t going to pull out a camcorder.”
Holocaust denial horrifies Jackie. “I wasn’t there for all the other wars and tragedies that took place , but I can’t imagine telling people who experienced them it didn’t happen”. Nobody Wants This is a welcome antidote to all the terror and heartbreak we have watched on the small screen over the past year and although it will appeal to many, its warmth and humour will feel especially good to a Jewish audience and it’s also not political. “We stay out of the weeds of all that and jump head first into the friendly, cultural stereotypes, stay away from a bunch and make some valuable points too.”
Jackie is hoping for a second series; that her romantic musical comedy is sold and her film The Floaters gets a release date. As our cheery chat is over, I tell her my problem with Nobody Wants This. I don’t want it either. We need to hold on to hot rabbis! “Interesting,” says Jackie. “ I think people will have all sorts of reactions. Or maybe think who cares?” From today you really will.
Nobody Wants This is on Netflix
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