Nobody Wants This Season 3 Review: Love, Faith, and Wedding Chaos

Netflix’s original series Nobody Wants This returns for a 10-episode third season with Joanne and Noah taking the next major step in their relationship -- moving in together. Naturally, domestic bliss quickly becomes Noah is constantly tidying up after not-so-neat freak Joanne; Joanne is questioning every wedding tradition in sight; and both families are preparing to turn a small ceremony into a full-scale cultural event.

Kristen Bell and Adam Brody, remain the show’s irresistible romantic center. Joanne still with her agnostic tendencies, funny, impulsive, and suspicious of anything that sounds too much like structure. Noah—better known throughout the Jewish community as the “hot rabbi" remains the more traditional, organized, and increasingly willing to bend the rules for the woman he loves. Their chemistry is still warm and effortless, even when the familiar odd-couple routine, itself, begins to feel a little well-worn.

The season starts slowly. Bell's Joanne begins conversion classes led by Rabbi Eden, played with sharp, irreverent energy by Sarah Silverman, while navigating a frosty classroom dynamic with mean girl-esque Sebastian, an opinionated classmate played by Andrew Rannells. Brody's Noah, meanwhile, is trying to reclaim his position as senior rabbi, but his relationship with Joanne—and their decision to live together before marriage—continues to unsettle the temple leadership and question his commitment.

There are plenty of recognizable romcom ingredients in this season's scenarios -- overbearing parents, awkward dinner parties, exes who become neighbors, and family secrets that inevitably spill out at the worst possible moment. Tovah Feldshuh’s Bina remains a formidable Jewish mother, determined to influence every detail of her beloved son's wedding, from the venue to the guest list. Joanne’s parents, Lynn and Henry, played deftly by Stephanie Faracy and Michael Hitchcock, offer a more relaxed and unconventional counterpoint, giving the season some of its warmest and funniest conversations about love, commitment, and adulthood.

The real surprise, however, is the growing relationship between Morgan and Sasha. Justine Lupe continues to steal scenes as Joanne’s self-absorbed but deeply vulnerable sister, while Timothy Simons brings unexpected sweetness to Sasha as he struggles through his separation from his wife, Esther (Jackie Tohn). Their “make them” movement—born during a podcast appearance—becomes an accidental sensation, leading Morgan toward a possible book deal and eventually an appearance on Andy Cohen’s show.

Morgan and Sasha’s trip to New York is the season’s most charming detour. A hotel room with one bed, a last-minute outfit crisis, a dazzling television appearance, and one almost-kiss push them firmly into friends-to-lovers territory. Their chemistry is surprisingly tender, and their hesitation feels more emotionally complicated than the season’s central romance at times.

The supporting relationships also get room to breathe. Esther, once positioned as Joanne’s nemesis, finds new dimension through her romance with home-buying client, Julian, played by Steven Weber. Their connection gives Esther a welcome chance to step outside the family drama. Joanne’s ex, Travis, played by Avan Jogia, adds another layer of comic awkwardness when he turns up as her neighbor.

The back half of the season is considerably stronger. The Christmas episode, told partly through flashbacks to Joanne’s relationship with Travis, gives the show its most emotional and funniest material. Noah’s attempt to recreate the traditions Joanne secretly misses becomes a touching reminder that love is often expressed through small, imperfect gestures. Sasha, meanwhile, delivers some of the season’s best lines while everyone else falls apart around him.

By the final episodes, the wedding planning has become a battlefield, Morgan and Sasha’s unresolved feelings threaten to fracture the family, and Joanne must confront what conversion truly means to her. Her final immersion in the ocean, accompanied by Noah and Rabbi Eden, is intimate and moving—not because Joanne suddenly becomes a different person, but because she chooses to embrace a tradition without losing herself.

Season 3 occasionally gets bogged down in predictable Jewish-mother jokes, familiar relationship clichés, and a first half that takes too long to find its rhythm. But the latter episodes bring the show back to its strengths -- dry humor, emotional honesty, complicated families, and romances that feel messy enough to be real.

Ultimately, Nobody Wants This remains a gentle, good-natured romantic comedy about chosen family and the strange ways people find their way toward one another. Love, the season suggests, is sometimes something you stumble into—and sometimes something you decide to keep choosing.

What did you think?

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