Nobody Wants This: Other Shows Like the Netflix Rom-Com to Watch

Netflix’s latest romcom series Nobody Wants This is a charming story that follows the burgeoning relationship of Rabbi Noah (Adam Brody) and sex and relationship podcaster Joanne (Kristen Bell). The show captures the ups and downs of adult relationships as the two try to balance their strong chemistry and attraction to each other with the lives and careers they had already built for themselves.

If you’re anything like me, watching Nobody Wants This has only made you want to watch more shows of the same vein, something that makes us giggle and kick our feet in the air with glee. Something that makes us feel, something that reminds us that love exists, and that it’s as messy and unpredictable as we are. Nobody Wants This was just renewed for a second season, so thankfully we’ll be getting more of Joanne and Noah’s love story. But if you’re looking for something else to scratch that romcom itch in the meantime, here are some shows you should watch after you finish season 1.

Fleabag

Available on: Prime Video (U.S. and U.K.)

Probably the most obvious choice on this list, there are clearly some parallels between Fleabag season 2 and Nobody Wants This. A woman falls in love with a man of faith, who then must decide between a relationship with her or his relationship with God. Even though Fleabag has a much different sense of humor, these series are perfect companions to each other. Forbidden love is always an intriguing trope in romance, and both shows offer a compelling take on finding love in a relationship that feels almost doomed to fail from the start.

The Good Place

Available on: Netflix (U.S. and U.K.)

The Good Place isn’t an outright rom-com, but it has the same heart as one. Also starring Kristen Bell, this series follows a group of people in the afterlife who soon realize that their eternity in paradise might not be what they expected. It’s hard to talk about this show without giving away some of the big twists throughout, but the important thing you need to know is that the relationships in this show, platonic and romantic, are incredibly compelling. Some of them are unexpected, but all of them have heart.

Starstruck

Available on: Max (U.S.) and BBC iPlayer (U.K.)

Starstruck is a screwball comedy that follows the relationship of Jessie (Rose Matefeo), a directionless twenty-something, and Tom (Nikesh Patel), an A-list actor, after a one night stand on New Year’s Eve puts them in each other’s orbit. Like Noah and Joanne, these two are the unlikeliest of couples, and yet their chemistry is electric. No matter how hard they might try at times, they can’t seem to stay away from each other. They both know that their relationship shouldn’t work, but that doesn’t stop them from trying.

Insecure

Available on: Max (U.S.) and Sky/Now (U.K.)

HBO’s Insecure is an impeccably written show about navigating love and friendship into adulthood. The show follows Issa Dee (Issa Rae) and her best friend from college Molly (Yvonne Orji) as they live their lives as late twenty-somethings in Los Angeles, doing their best to traverse the obstacles of life and love together. They both have their own hangups with relationships, and the show is just as much about the two finding a way to love themselves as it is about them finding love with others. Life and love are awkward and imperfect, and Insecure does a great job of reminding us of that.

Survival of the Thickest

Available on: Netflix (U.S. and U.K.)

Like Nobody Wants This, Survival of the Thickest is a story about finding love after heartbreak. After discovering her partner has been cheating on her, Mavis Beaumont (Michelle Buteau) leaves him and has to figure out how to rebuild her life. She dives headfirst into her career, forging a name for herself as a stylist, not expecting to find love along the way. But she does, and has to learn how to open herself up to love again. Survival of the Thickest is funny, heartwarming, and above all, empowering.

Platonic

Available on: Apple TV+ (U.S. and U.K.)

While not technically a rom-com, Platonic is another story about navigating relationships in adulthood. When old friends Sylvia (Rose Byrne) and Will (Seth Rogen) reconnect after Will’s divorce, they have to find a balance in their friendship between who they were and who they are now. Sylvia is a stay-at-home mom, trying to reconcile the fact that she put her career on hold for her family. Will is reeling from his divorce while trying to run a successful brewery. The two occasionally fall into old habits that aren’t the healthiest, like getting wasted together, but ultimately the two help each other in ways that other people in their lives aren’t quite able to. It’s a reminder that love comes in all kinds of shapes and sizes, and that it’s important to foster relationships with people outside of romance.

Love Life

Available on: Tubi (U.S.) and BBC iPlayer (U.K.)

This anthology series follows a different character in each of its two seasons – Darby (Anna Kendrick) in season 1 and Marcus (William Jackson Harper) in season 2 – showing us different chapters of their life and the loves and relationships that have influenced them the most. Each season offers something different to say about love in adulthood, but both are ultimately charming, compelling stories about the paths each of us take to find our person.

New Girl

Available on: Hulu (U.S.) and Disney+ (U.K.)

New Girl is one of the ultimate romantic comedy series out there. The show follows Jessica Day (Zooey Deschanel) as she moves in to live with strangers in a loft in Los Angeles after she catches her partner cheating on her. These strangers, Schmidt (Max Greenfield), Nick Miller (Jake Johnson), Winston Bishop (Lamorne Morris), and eventually Coach (Damon Wayans Jr.) ultimately help Jess through her heartbreak and surprisingly become like a family by the time the series is done. The relationships and bonds they forge with each other over the course of the show’s seven seasons are strong – they may have their ups and downs, as all adult relationships do, but in the end there’s no shenanigans or hijinks that can tear them down.

Sex and the City

Available on: Max (U.S.) and Sky/Now (U.K.)

Before podcasting became the media behemoth it is now, Carrie Bradshaw was sharing the ups and downs of her sex and dating life through her column in Sex and the City. Carrie walked so Joanne could run in Nobody Wants This, which is why Sex and the City is perfect to watch next. There are obviously some things in the series that are a bit dated, but at its core, the show is about how Carrie and her friends navigate their relationships, with men and with each other. These women might be a bit messy and make some questionable decisions, but that’s why we love them, and are able to relate to them.

All 10 episodes of Nobody Wants This season 1 are available to stream on Netflix now.