A raunchy podcast host and a hot new rabbi walk into a lesbian dinner party…stop me if you’ve heard that before. What happens next is, of course, the beginning of a complicated romance. The new Netflix series Nobody wants that Maybe it starts off like a bad joke – even the characters joke about the crazy production – but in the end it’s a surprisingly good watch. Considering the series stars two of America’s sweethearts as lovers – Kristen Bell plays podcaster Joanne and Adam Brody plays Rabbi Noah – I’d even say this is the next great romantic comedy we’ve been waiting for.

Romantic comedies begin and end with chemistry. Luckily, Bell and Brody have that in spades, along with plenty of charm. Fans of both actors (a Venn diagram that’s certainly more like a single circle) can attest that these Hollywood darlings, who first captured audiences’ hearts on teen shows, are defined by a certain brand of humor. They give their characters a balanced mix of endearing mockery, light self-irony and reserved charisma. Of course, this quality makes them perfect scene partners for a comically tortured affair. The chemistry between them crackles on screen – when Joanne and Noah meet at the dinner party hosted by their mutual friend Ashley (Sherry Cola), they immediately get into a sarcastic tennis match.

But it’s more than that: Having already gotten glimpses into their lives, we know that they have both suffered from dating partners who can’t keep up with their quick jokes, and that they find an immediate kinship in each other, a rare mutual understanding. Even though they’ve just met and are exchanging witty lies about their lives, their banter and energy seem genuine. And it’s honest in a way that Brody and Bell should embody: When Noah explains that he knows Ashley through a neighborhood watch show, making them “basically both Karens,” Bell’s simple “Oh, wow” is tonally perfect. It’s clear that some Hollywood executive should have cast these two together years ago.

Beyond its stars, Nobody wants that manages to achieve what is crucial for a good romantic comedy: a cast of wonderfully funny supporting characters. Cola makes funny jokes as Ashley, but Joanne’s life is made even livelier by her sister Morgan (Consequenceis Justine Lupe) and through the complex dynamic between her parents, whose marriage ended when her father Henry (Michael Hitchcock) came out as gay and her mother Lynn (Stephanie Faracy) was left single and still very much in love with her ex-husband. Meanwhile, Noah’s life is monitored not only by his extremely overbearing Russian mother Bina (Tovah Feldshuh), but also by his self-proclaimed “loser sibling” brother Sasha (Veepis Timothy Simons) and Sasha’s wife Esther (Jackie Tohn). Noah is in a tough spot at the start of the series: He’s just ended a long-term relationship with a Jewish woman his family adored (and who also happens to be Esther’s best friend). Of course, his family is against him dating Joanne, a non-Jewish woman, and especially one who speaks publicly about sex and dating. But the deeper wrinkle is that the optics of his relationship could jeopardize his role as chief rabbi of his synagogue. Likewise, Morgan worries that Joanne’s relationship with Noah might make her too boring to host her tell-all podcast.

If this sounds like a series full of varying degrees of stereotypes, then maybe it is. But in this crazy cacophony of people trying to control Joanne and Noah’s impressive journey into love lies a deft comedy – one that explores the possibility of living with loved ones even as you actively engage their long-held belief systems put to the test. With so many comedy veterans in the cast, the show sails easily through funny moments: Joanne’s attempts to side with Esther using a strategy reminiscent of Esther Mean Girls‘ Cady Heron plans to win over Regina George; Bina and Joanne wage a silent war over whether Joanne and Noah’s connection will last. and in one episode, Noah has to endure teasing Joanne when she meets her parents (and her father’s surprising new boyfriend) for the first time. Meanwhile, against the backdrop of all these characters wanting different things for themselves, two people vacillate between wondering if this will finally be the relationship that survives and believing that it will – all before they even have the courage to say, “I love you.”

But despite the show’s occasionally absurd tone, that’s what really matters Nobody wants that What’s special is that it feels like it’s taking place in the real world. The series may not engage in complex awards-only conversations, but it explores real questions: What does it mean to be religious today? What are the implications of exposing all parts of your life to the public? What does it mean to be an interloper in another’s culture or community? At what point does it make sense to give up the idea of ​​what you want your career to look like in favor of the possibility of a life that is already in front of you? Religious differences, family disapproval – these things have brought the end of many a couple. The stakes should feel high because of her Are. But instead of making a grand moral claim by answering these questions, the series uses these relatable moral issues as a playground. It ridiculously exaggerates “what if?” scenarios and lets us watch love blossom in a circus of incongruent circumstances without constantly fearing the worst. With 10 episodes of less than 30 minutes each, Nobody wants that goes smoothly and the only thing that makes us want is more of it It.