Nobody Wants This offers an epic 2000s teen show crossover, and it’s been a long time coming. Netflix’s new series reunites stars Kristen Bell and Adam Brody, popular for their lead roles in Veronica Mars and The OC. The romantic comedy sets them up for a star-crossed lovers story, referencing their famous teen roles and their respective love stories. As leads of the iconic Nobody Wants This‘ cast, Bell and Brody’s on-screen relationship as Joanne and Noah means so much more to those who loved their famous teen characters.

Coming just a week after its release, the reviews for Nobody Wants This have been fantastic. Fans and critics have praised the show for its revival of the feel-good romantic comedy genre and for its actors’ sparking chemistry. Joanne and Noah’s love story embodies a perfect mix of rom-com tropes, mainly the rebel/law — this time a sex-positive gentile and a rabbi — and the interfering family. From the start, but particularly, in the Nobody Wants This ending, Joanne and Noah’s story echoes Bell and Brody’s teen roles and their relationship struggles.

Kristen Bell & Adam Brody’s Nobody Wants This Characters Feel Like Grown-Up Veronica Mars & Seth Cohen

Nobody Wants This Sets Joanne As Veronica-Messy And Noah As Seth-Confident

Both Kristen Bell and Adam Brody were part of two of the best teen show couples of the 21st century. In Veronica Mars, Veronica and Logan were enemies-to-lovers, with both characters being very troubled. In The OC, Seth and Summer represented the “popular girl who falls for the nerdy guy” trope. If a little immature, they were mostly sweet and healthy. While Bell and Brody’s fictional romantic relationships in their teen drama shows were very different from their current dynamic, Nobody Wants This feels like a crossover in which Veronica and Seth get together.

Joanne, has the same train-wreck vibe that Veronica had… Noah, if maybe not a self-proclaimed nerd like Seth, is, however, a proud and confident rabbi who would never change himself for anyone.

Bell’s character, Joanne, has the same train-wreck vibe that Veronica had. This is something that Morgan, Joanne’s sister, highlights time and time again when she criticizes her for self-sabotaging her relationships. Brody’s character, Noah, if maybe not a self-proclaimed nerd like Seth, is, however, a proud and confident rabbi who would never change himself for anyone. He is very determined, as is Seth, to pursue Joanne, and is willing to learn from his mistakes to make the relationship work. Finally, Joanne and Noah’s shiksa/Jewish dynamic in Nobody Wants This mirrors Seth and Summer’s popular/nerd clash.

Nobody Wants This Is A Great Modernization Of The Early 2000s Teen Drama Show Genre

Nobody Wants This Takes The Teen Drama Into A Mature And Modern Genre

Nobody Wants This brings the 2000s teen relationship struggles to a modern and adult setting. Whether Veronica and Logan, or Seth and Summer, both couples demonstrated that relationships take effort, commitment, and communication. While Veronica Mars and The OC were characterized by their over-the-top melodrama, Nobody Wants This expresses the same message about love through a more organic and mature genre. 

For his part, Noah is more mature than Seth, who usually let his insecurities take the best of him and often acted out of impulse — like when he left Newport without talking to Summer, or when he proposed to her thinking she was pregnant. Noah takes time to make big decisions, like introducing Joanne as his girlfriend to his community, and questioning her when she wants to convert to Judaism for him. Of course, Noah’s maturity responds not only to the TV show’s modern lens but also to the character’s older age.

Like Seth, Brody’s character does not easily share his doubts, and it is up to Joanne (like Summer) to be open and receptive. Joanne is also more willing to make sacrifices for Noah, an aspect that she surprisingly shares with Summer and not Veronica. As opposed to the teen, Joanne ultimately decides what’s best for herself, showing her growth and a more modern and healthy perspective on relationships. Still, there are many similarities between Nobody Wants This and the great romantic arcs from the 2000s teen dramas, confirming they inspired this successful rom-com revival.