The Emmy-nominated Netflix comedy 'Nobody Wants This' originally had a different title — here's why it changed

Netflix's romantic comedy television series Nobody Wants This was officially nominated for three Emmys at the 2025 Primetime Emmy Awards, including the debut nom for its lead star Kristen Bell.

The series topped the network's charts on its debut on September 26, 2024, and is currently in production for the second season.

Created by Erin Foster, Nobody Wants This bagged three Emmy noms, including Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actor for star Adam Brody and finally the Outstanding Lead Actress for Bell.

The show follows the unconventional love story between an agnostic woman, Joanne and a rabbi, Noah Roklov. The show, which is deeply rooted in Jewish culture, originally had a different title, as revealed by Foster in an interview with Deadline:

''We struggled with the title. The show was originally called Shiksa [a non-Jewish woman]''

More on this in our story.

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Netflix's Nobody Wants This originally had a different title, here's why it was changed

Since a lot of conversation (and controversy) around Nobody Wants This stemmed from the American Jewish culture in the show, it makes sense that the creators initially wanted to name their show Shiksa.

However, Foster discussed the challenges of this name with Deadline:

''It’s not a word that’s familiar to a lot of people. It’s hard to spell, hard to say. People don’t know what it means.''

She added:

''Netflix is a global company. You have to think of something that’s really clean and commercial. And so we played around with a lot of different titles, but we ended up with this one because it’s the name of the girls’ podcast on the show, and these two people want to make it work, but no one around them thinks it’s a good idea.''

While Shiksa is surely a more befitting title for Joanne and Noah's religiously-charged romance, Foster's fears with this title were understandable. In Nobody Wants This, just like Joanne is unaware of the American Jewish culture and the meaning of the word, so were many people around the globe.

The creators instead decided upon the girls' podcast name, which also forms a nice connection with the overall show. Moreover, with Joanne and Noah's first meeting and their religious differences, nobody wanted them to date and start a relationship. However, the couple eventually found their way to one another.

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Kristen Bell finally made her Emmy debut with Nobody Wants This

While Nobody Wants This premiered with appreciation and praise from audiences and critics alike, it helped actress Kritsne Bell land her first Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

Bell will be competing against her fellow nominees and equally talented actresses, including Uzo Aduba (The Residence), Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary), Ayo Edebiri (The Bear) and Jean Smart (Hacks). While the race to the win will be hard, the 2025 Primetime Emmy Awards finally recognized Bell's award-worthy career, spanning over two decades.

The Gossip Girl actress has previously starred in multiple projects, both on the small and big screens, including Frozen 2, The Good Place and Veronica Mars. However, it was Nobody Wants This which finally landed her an Emmy nomination.

Teasing about the show's Season 2, the actress said that Joanne and Noah's romance will take a much more mature turn (via Entertainment Weekly):

''...You fall in love with someone and for a while it's just you and them. The world doesn't exist. And then slowly the world starts peeking in and you two have to coexist in the world that sometimes can be shocking.”

Nobody Wants This is streaming on Netflix.

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