NOBODY WANTS THIS: Episodes 1.1 to 1.3

Here is the decision. These first three episodes are genuinely excellent television — a four-star romantic comedy with two magnetic leads and a supporting cast that lands every joke. What sets it apart is that it takes faith seriously: Noah is a rabbi whose devotion to God isn't a punchline but the show's beating heart.

It also earns its cautions. Across three short episodes there are 44 obscenities, including 20 "f" words, plus jokes about fornication, references to lesbians and a homosexual father, a rabbi smoking marijuana, and talk of a mother taking ayahuasca. That's a lot packed into barely 80 minutes.

So: if you're an adult or an older teen who can hear all that without harm and appreciate a smart, warm love story that respects belief, this one has real merit — but watch at home, where you set the terms. If you're choosing for younger family members, this isn't for them.

Joanne hosts a dating podcast built on her own romantic misfortunes, egged on by her sister Morgan to finally make better choices. Noah is a rabbi, freshly out of a long relationship and carrying the weight of his family's and congregation's expectations.

They meet by chance at a dinner party and click instantly. Then Joanne learns he's a rabbi — and that she isn't Jewish, a fact that matters enormously to everyone in Noah's world. Can two people this different, pulled by faith, family, and their own baggage, actually make it work? That's the question these episodes set spinning.

Four stars, and here's what they mean. This is a polished, confident series that knows exactly what it's doing. Kristen Bell and Adam Brody give wonderful lead performances, and the supporting players — Justine Lupe, Timothy Simons, Jackie Tohn — bring real comedic firepower.

The show follows a familiar romantic-comedy structure, but it earns extra depth from something most rom-coms skip: sustained, sincere conversations about a man's devotion to his faith and his relationship with God. Noah's sermon on trusting God's plan and his counsel to a struggling married couple give the comedy a spine. The result is entertaining, well-crafted, and more thoughtful than the genre usually allows.

For a Netflix romantic comedy, this show carries a surprisingly moral, even biblical, center of gravity. Noah preaches about trusting God's plan for our lives. He counsels a young couple through the strains of their first year of marriage. When gossip surfaces, he cites the Talmud and tells people to stop. His Jewish faith, and his family's, is portrayed as genuinely important — not a costume, but a conviction. Even Joanne, who isn't religious, is visibly concerned with behaving morally and wrestles openly with the question, "Am I a good person?"

The show also honors family. Both leads are close to their families and take their opinions seriously — a rare and welcome note in this genre.

That said, the picture isn't clean. There are brief nods to feminism, an aura specialist appears (though Joanne firmly denies auras are real), and the series includes references to lesbians and a homosexual father, alongside jokes about fornication and casual drug talk. These sit uneasily against the show's better instincts, and adults should weigh them honestly.

Underneath the romance runs a real question: what does it look like to trust that your life is being guided by something larger than your own choices? Noah preaches it; the show keeps circling it. Scripture answers plainly: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5).

This is a rare thing: a genuinely funny, well-made rom-com that treats faith with respect. It's also loaded with strong language, sexual jokes, and drug references that make it no place for younger viewers. So here's our answer, the same one we opened with: wait and see — watch it at home, where you control the terms. Looking for something the whole family can enjoy instead? Try our latest family-friendly picks.