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Noah Roklov is not only a good Jewish boy, but also the one who puts the rest of us to shame. As a young reform rabbi and captain of the Matzah Ballers basketball team, he is revered by Torah-studying teenagers and old kvetchers alike. Of course he loves his mother, while other mothers try to make him their son-in-law. The problem is that Noah has recently fallen in love with the non-Jewish Joanne, who is not just one Shiksa but a sex podcaster at that.

While it may sound like the start of a bad joke, “A Rabbi and a Blonde Go to a Party” is actually the premise of the truly charming new Netflix series. Nobody wants that. Loosely inspired by writer-creator Erin Foster’s interfaith relationship, it’s obviously not the first story in which irrepressible chemistry and incompatible cultures collide, nor the first to feature “shiksappeal” (a term coined in the sitcom). Seinfeld). But even though it rarely deviates from established formulas or shatters expectations, the 10-part romantic comedy manages to spark and land jokes.

A large part of this is due to the individual charisma and lively interaction of the two leads, Adam Brody and Kristen Bell, who have starred in teen dramas The OK And Veronica Mars in the mid-2000s, now wry, witty flirtations act like a millennial Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal (or Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, if you prefer). Both bring spontaneity to a script that’s a bit too snappy and naturalism to the characters, who are properly polarized: He is the wise (if unusually polite) man of God, she the uninhibited, outspoken woman of earthly pleasures. It’s a dynamic that Flea bag Fans already know it all too well.

Where these differences initially trigger an attraction, they inevitably lead to existential and family conflicts. While Noah finds himself caught between his faith and passion, tradition and change, Joanne must grapple with being the woman standing between a Jewish mother (Tovah Feldshuh) and her “beautiful, beautiful son.” The series’ reliance on such stereotypes might have been annoying if it hadn’t been made with so much love and genuine good humor.

Gags about Ashkenazi “delicacies,” gnawing generational guilt, and inappropriate pride in surprisingly Semitic celebrities will obviously resonate more with some viewers than others. But sometimes the series goes too far in the other direction, glossing over the details of Noah’s job so much that you almost forget he’s supposed to be a rabbi, diluting the very specifics that make the central relationship unique.

But as Noah and Joanne develop from two different personalities into a somewhat conventional romantic comedy couple, a great ensemble of pals and cynics – including the lovers’ respective siblings, played by scene-stealers Justine Lupe and Timothy Simons – keep the schmaltz safely at bay .

★★★★☆

Stream now on Netflix