While Nobody Wants This is the first time that Brody and Bell have played romantic partners, it is far from either of their first jaunts on television.Brody is known for his work on shows including The O.C., whereas Bell has made a name for herself in shows like Veronica Mars and The Good Place. After watching Nobody Wants This, some good options are available for those looking for a series that is similar to the hit Netflix show.
The O.C.
A Teen Romance Comedy Starring Adam Brody
Over 20 years before Nobody Wants This, Brody made his debut as Seth Cohen in the series The O.C. This is one of Brody’s earliest roles and the part for which he is arguably best known today. The O.C. was also a romantic comedy, but this time involving teenagers. The series ran for four seasons from 2003 to 2007.
Despite The O.C. being a teen romance comedy, it is definitely worth watching for fans of Nobody Wants This. Those who found Brody appealing in the Netflix show will certainly like him in The O.C., as he plays another romantic lead role. Furthermore, Nobody Wants This itself carries many of the early 2000s movie and TV rom-com beats, which make the show more similar than different to The O.C. With all four seasons of the teen comedy available to watch on Hulu, it is a good one to check out.
Veronica Mars
A 2000s Kristen Bell Series Revived For A Fourth Season In 2019
There is no better way to revisit Kristen Bell’s career than through Veronica Mars. Originally released in 2004, Veronica Mars is one of Bell’s earliest shows. Genre-wise, it is different from Nobody Wants This, as Veronica Mars chronicles the mystery that ensues when the protagonist’s best friend is murdered. Like The O.C., however, Veronica Mars is a teen drama.
One of the most exciting aspects of Veronica Mars is the fact that the show grew with Bell. Initially, the series was only three seasons, all of which were released in the mid-2000s when Bell herself was in her 20s. This changed, however, when Veronica Mars season 4 was released in 2019 as a chance to properly wrap up the show. While Kristen Bell has been in many great movies and shows in the last 20 years, Veronica Mars will always be one of her most iconic roles.
The Good Place
A Kristen Bell Comedy With A Religious Tie-In
The Good Place is arguably Kristen Bell’s best TV role to date. The four-season NBC show holds a near-perfect 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, with The Good Place seasons 2 and 4 even getting perfect 100% scores. Bell was even nominated for a Golden Globe thanks to her performance as Eleanor in The Good Place. A charming show, The Good Place is already considered one of the greatest TV comedies of all time.
Of course, religion in The Good Place is far less serious than it is in Nobody Wants This. Nonetheless, the NBC comedy also sees a romance between two people with starkly different belief systems and approaches to the world, this time through the romance between Chidi and Eleanor. Eleanor herself may also seem familiar to those who have seen the loudmouthed Joanne in Nobody Wants This, making for another overlapping quality between the two shows.
Gilmore Girls
Great For Those With 2000s Nostalgia
Gilmore Girls is another great show for those looking to delve into 2000s nostalgia. While the show focuses on the relationship between Lorelai Gilmore and her daughter Rory, the series has its fair share of romance throughout its seven seasons. In a similar vein to Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls also had a second life years after the show initially wrapped. This was Gilmore Girls: A Year In the Life, which ran as a miniseries for four episodes in 2016.
In addition to the similar vibe that Gilmore Girls has with parts of Nobody Wants This, the shows have an additional connection. Nobody Wants This star Brody was in nine episodes of Gilmore Girlsin 2002 and 2003, playing a season 2 character named Dav Rygalski. Audiences interested in Brody’s other performances can appreciate this early role from him, which is worth checking out alongside The O.C.
Burning Love
A Parody Romance Comedy Spoofing The Bachelor
Burning Love is another Brody romantic comedy. It is much less serious than Nobody Wants This, as the series is a parody of reality dating shows, poking fun at series like The Bachelor. This series is great for those wanting to see more of Brody, and especially for those who enjoy more of the comedy side of Nobody Wants This. It features a leading cast including Brody, Michael Ian Black, June Diane Raphael, Ryan Hansen, Ken Marino, Abigail Spencer, Joe Lo Truglio, Janet Varney, and Rob Huebel.
Shows like The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are still popular today, so Burning Love still remains a relevant series. It is an underrated romantic comedy series for those who like a goofier show. It ran for three seasons, but with 22-minute long episodes, Burning Love is a breezy watch, making for easy viewing for the next step after Nobody Wants This.
Billy & Billie
A 2015 Comedy About Taboo Romance
Billy & Billie is another overlooked romantic comedy TV series starring Brody. In the show, Brody plays Billy Jone, who is trying to navigate a dicey romantic relationship with Billie Smith (Lisa Joyce), who is his step-sister. Billy & Billie only ran for one complete season, which aired in 2015. This season was fairly favorably reviewed by its fans, who gave the series a 7.5 on IMDb. The show was created by Neil LaBute and features a leading cast including Brody, Joyce, Gia Crovatin, Phil Burke, and Li Jun Li.
Though the nature of Billy and Billie’s relationship in the series is far different from that of Nobody Wants This, this series also deals with a taboo relationship. Of course, being of two different religious backgrounds cannot be compared to dating one’s step-sibling, but both shows see their main characters face judgment because of the nature of their relationships.
Bad Monkey
An Ongoing Apple TV+ Series That Has Mystery And Romance
Bad Monkey is one of the most different shows genre-wise from anything else on this list. While it is a comedy, Bad Monkey is a mystery series based on the popular novel of the same name by Carl Hiaasen. It tells the story of detective Andrew Yancy as he attempts to look into the death surrounding a rich man named Nick Stripling. It is an Apple TV+ show that recently premiered.
Though Bad Monkey may not be that inherently similar to Nobody Wants This, it does have some overlap in the fact that there are a lot of unconventional romances in the series. Andrew Yancy at one point enters a relationship with someone of a Catholic background, showing one difference in religion. Spirituality also plays a huge role in Bad Monkey, sometimes reaching mystical levels. The presence of religion and spirituality, as well as the series’ unconventional romances, may be of interest to those who have seen Nobody Wants This.
The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window
A Kristen Bell Satirical Mystery Comedy
While neither Bell nor Brody is in Bad Monkey, the former actor got her chance at the mystery genre in the series The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window. Released in 2022, this cumbersomely titled TV miniseries is a satirical mystery take on films like The Woman in the Window or The Girl on the Train. Like Bad Monkey, it exists in the dark comedy space, which might appeal to viewers who like the more cynical, humorous side of Joanne in Nobody Wants This.
Bell plays Anna, the lead in The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window, in a hysterical lead role. It is only a single season, but in these few episodes, Anna has some similarly humorous qualities to Eleanor or Joanne. Those looking for more Bell but not quite ready to fit in all four seasons of either The Good Place or Veronica Mars should definitely consider The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window.
Gossip Girl
A Show Where Kristen Bell Narrates
Gossip Girl sees Bell star in a very different kind of role than she does in Nobody Wants This. In this series, Bell plays an unseen narrator. Gossip Girl originally had six seasons, before getting a two-season reboot that ran from 2021 to 2023. Bell reprised her role as the narrator for the revived version of Gossip Girl.
Even though Bell is not physically on screen in Gossip Girl, there is a lot of character in her voice acting performance. With voice alone, she delivers a performance that is key to the show’s central mystery. Beyond Bell’s role in the show, Gossip Girl itself is replete with drama and romance that will entice viewers interested in this intersection of genres. It is not nearly as comedic as many of the other shows on this list, but is nonetheless a binge-worthy show for those who like Nobody Wants This, Bell in general, or romance shows.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
A Musical Sitcom With A Lot To Offer
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is a CW show that is at once a musical, a romance story, a comedy, and a gripping drama. When Rebecca Bunch is working hard at a New York job, she runs into an old summer camp fling, Joshua Felix Chan, and remembers the moment when their romance began. In awe of this reverie, she moves to West Covina, California, where she has to make brand-new friends and a new career, and what ensues is a four-season romantic odyssey.
While it might be shrouded in song, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend actually does overlap with Nobody Wants This by way of including religious elements. Rebecca was raised Jewish, whereas her love interest Josh has Catholic roots and considered joining the priesthood at one point. The series also features Nobody Wants This actor Tovah Feldshuh, so people who liked her role in the Netflix series can also appreciate her guest appearances as Naomi Bunch in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
