“Nobody Wants This” Ending Explained: Here's Where Noah and Joanne Leave Off — And What It Means for a Potential Season 2

Netflix’s ‘Nobody Wants This’ ending left fans wondering how Noah and Joanne's interfaith relationship can work, and if there will be another season

Warning: Nobody Wants This spoilers ahead!

Netflix’s Nobody Wants This is a love story nobody saw coming, but that everyone’s rooting for — except the majority of their friends and family.

Inspired by creator and producer Erin Foster’s real-life love story, the Netflix rom-com series follows “Hot Rabbi” Noah (Adam Brody) and sex podcaster Joanne (Kristen Bell) as they navigate a complicated, unconventional romance that many believe is doomed to fail.

After 10 episodes of their on-again-off-again romance, the season 1 finale concludes with a passionate kiss and an uncertain future for the unlikely pair. While it reassures viewers that their love story isn't over, many questions about their relationship linger — a deliberate choice by Foster to keep the finale open-ended.

“I really do think this is the kind of show where you want to give the audience what they want,” Foster told TheWrap in September 2024. “I’m not trying to make some artistic choice that strips the audience of the happy ending that they want. But you also don’t want to clean it up too much where there’s nowhere to go.”

As Foster wished, there is much more to be explored, especially with a big cliffhanger question: How does a relationship between Joanne and Noah work?

Related: Is Nobody Wants This a True Story? How Erin Foster's Real-Life Love Story Inspired the Netflix Rom-Com Series

Here’s everything to know about the Nobody Wants This season 1 ending, from where Joanne and Noah’s whirlwind romance stands to what it means for them going forward.

How does Nobody Wants This season 1 end?

Throughout the series, a big obstacle stands in the way of Joanne and Noah’s romance: his lifelong dream of becoming head rabbi means he has to be with someone Jewish.

In the final episode, Joanne shows up to Miriam’s Bat Mitzvah and tells Noah that she has decided to convert. But after a conversation with Noah’s wannabe-Mrs. Head Rabbi ex-girlfriend, Joanne has a change of heart.

Rather than make Noah choose between his role as a religious leader and his relationship with her, Joanne ends things with Noah, telling him that running after her will only make the split more difficult.

As for the final scene, Foster revealed to TVLine in September 2024 that they filmed three different endings: one where she gets off the bus and he is standing there, another where he says, “It’s you and me,” and a third where they ask, “Well, how is this going to work?”

She added, “We just played with different levels and took a vote and ended up where we are,” which resulted in the final scene of Noah running after Joanne to be there when she gets off the bus, offering viewers what might’ve been the second-best kiss of the season and questions how the couple will make it work.

“I fully understand some people who make the artistic choice to not give the audience what they want, but I don’t think this is that kind of show,” Foster told IndieWire in September 2024. “I don’t want people walking away frustrated or annoyed. I think this is the kind of show where you want to get the thing you’re there to get and I wanted to give people that moment of, ‘We choose each other, but everyone knows we’re giving up a lot to choose each other, so how are we gonna do it?’ And that, to me, felt like a realistic but still satisfying ending still with conflict, so you have somewhere to go.”

As they both pointed out throughout the final episode, Noah can’t have both.

Why doesn't Joanne convert to Judaism?

Joanne was open to converting to Judaism after Noah asked. After all, she doesn’t belong to a faith or stand for any strong beliefs — religiously speaking, that is. However, as her friend Ashley reminded her, she strongly believes in “refusing to pay on dates."

But converting to Judaism is a big deal, and as Noah said, “It’s important that [she] really thought about this.” Thus, although Joanne did “some research” about the spiritual journey, she ultimately realized she wasn’t doing it for the right reasons.

“I’m just not ready and in so many ways, I wanna be. But if I’m being honest, I was only doing it for you. And there’s so many beautiful things about Judaism, and I’m just not there yet and I don’t know if I ever will be,” Joanne told Noah in the final episode.

As for her character’s decision, Bell told TVLine in September 2024 that she felt as though that was one of the most important messages to be taken from the season.

“All of a sudden she realizes the importance of what she’s doing and that this might be the real adult decision she’s ever had to make,” Bell said. “The fact that she pulls back is the most important because she’s finally being true and authentic.”

Does Noah become head rabbi?

Noah’s lifelong dream of becoming head rabbi comes into question when Rabbi Cohen suggests he can't have a non-Jewish girlfriend — or as the current head rabbi says, a “crabcake” — and represent the congregation.

When Noah had thought Joanne was converting, he told Cohen that he was in for the job, should the temple's board have him. Noah was thrilled to give Joanne the update until she came bearing other news of her switched decision.

When Noah goes after Joanne in the final scene, it teases the possibility that he chose her over his dream. However, the ending remains ambiguous, leaving viewers wondering if he fully shuts the door on that opportunity.

Related: Adam Brody Has Never Been Hotter Than He Is in Nobody Wants This. Let's Discuss

Where do Joanne and Noah stand?

Given the kiss in the final scene, it seems like Noah and Joanne are nowhere near ready to give up on their relationship, but the big elephant in the room remains: they have completely incompatible lifestyles.

In September 2024, Brody told Tudum that Noah was telling Joanne, “I put you first. Everything else will work itself out, but I’m saying that you are my priority.”

Plus, Noah still has an overbearing mother determined to keep Joanne away from her son.

Will there be a Nobody Wants This season 2?

If it were up to the star-crossed lovers, they would return for a season 2. When asked by Rolling Stone in September 2024 how long they wanted the series to last, Brody and Bell agreed: “Till our faces fall off.”

Foster echoed that sentiment to TheWrap in September 2024, saying she would “love to do a season 2.”

She added, “There’s so much more story to tell so if people like the show, then I would be really excited to keep telling it.”

The series has not been officially renewed at Netflix for another season. But with a spot on Netflix’s Top 10 in the days following its premiere and a nearly perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes, the cast and crew are hopeful.

“We’re getting a really positive response,” Foster told IndieWire in September 2024. “And so I think the conversations have definitely started to happen about a potential season 2. ... I mean, I want my show to be on the air as long as possible!”

In her conversation with TVLine, Bell expressed her enthusiasm for potentially exploring the myriad of possibilities that lie ahead for her character.

“The excitement with a season 2 is like, Where is it gonna go? Are they going to let the factors of the world affect what they feel between them, and isn't that kind of a topic everybody thinks about once in a while? Like, ‘Do I want what I want or do I want what society wants for me?’ ” she said.

There are still many more questions unanswered among the tribe, too: Did Morgan and Joanne get a podcast deal with Spotify? Will Miriam hang out with Caleb? What’s going on between “the loser siblings”? How will Esther confront Sasha after learning he betrayed her trust?

Time will tell, Bubbelehs.

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