In the early days of the Nobody Wants This Season 3 writers room, there was only one North Star guiding the team: “This season feels like Champagne,” says executive producer and co-showrunner Jenni Konner. Each time the possibility of a new storyline arose for the rom-com’s Angelenos, “We would ask, ‘Is this Champagne?’” says creator and EP Erin Foster. If the answer was no, the plot point would disappear like tiny bubbles in a glass.
The result is the romantic, fizzy, butterflies-in-your stomach new season, which will officially premiere Oct. 22. The first photos of the upcoming 10 new episodes give fans a few hints about what to expect when Joanne (Kristen Bell), Noah (Adam Brody), and all their nearest and dearest — including Morgan (Justine Lupe), Sasha (Timothy Simons), and Esther (Jackie Tohn) — return this fall. Be on the lookout for some big moves as soon as Season 3 begins.
That’s right — Noah and Joanne are moving in together. As EP and co-showrunner Bruce Eric Kaplan explains, “After the ups and downs of Noah and Joanne in Season 2, it was really important to us to be like, ‘Let’s let them have their moment now of settling in and having fun.’” As they make a house a home, Noah and Joanne embrace all the firsts that come with building a life together.
“We wanted to make sure that this couple is still fun and flirty with each other. That’s the thing that makes them special and why they like each other so much,” Foster says. “We talk in the writers room about if your man sees you in your bra and underwear, he’s still going to hope you’re about to have sex. No matter how long you’ve been together. That’s the dynamic we’re looking to emulate in the show — that once you get settled in, it doesn’t have to stop being fun.”
You can get a peek at the pair’s sunny new home life in the photos. In one image above, the couple beams at each other while clinking mugs. They’ve never looked more in love. “We didn’t have to do any more ‘Will they, won’t they?’” says Konner. “We know they are going to, and it was sort of, ‘How are they going to?’” The answer seems to be with a properly caffeinated morning.
“We wanted this couple to be moving in forward motion together and have all these big romantic moments you want to see,” Foster says. “We’re finding ways to do it so that it feels new, real, and there are some fun surprises.”
As Joanne and Noah evolve within their happy love bubble, Season 3 will also explore the counterbalance of what’s going on with their loved ones, Konner says. Following their Season 2 separation, Sasha (Simons) and Esther (Tohn) are thrust back into the dating world, whether they like it or not. As Sasha deals with the awkwardness of swiping and DM flirting, he and Morgan (Lupe) start to feel the pull of something neither of them has been able to name.
While Esther navigates the unfamiliar territory of modern dating in LA, her husband discovers it’s a great time to be on the market as a very tall, very employed man. “We talked a lot about this idea that sometimes the person who wants the breakup is the person that ends up having a harder time being single,” Foster says. “Meanwhile, Sasha starts to gain momentum and have fun experiences. He realizes there’s more out there than his wife.”
Connection may be far closer to Sasha than the 10-mile radius of his favorite dating app. In the new photos, there’s a very cute snapshot of Sasha and Morgan smiling for the camera. Hm.
“What’s interesting about the two of them is that they’re always navigating how they should be with each other,” Kaplan says. By Season 2, their friendship felt solidified. “But then the curveball of Sasha now being single propels us into ‘OK, we are just friends, but now there’s this unspoken thing that exists.’”
Whatever is going on between Morgan and Sasha is only made more complicated against the backdrop of their siblings’ intensifying relationship. “It's very high stakes for Morgan and Sasha,” says Konner.
At least Morgan will have more to think about in Season 3 than just her love life. As the podcast continues to find success, Morgan’s career takes off in a way she never expected. “Morgan’s passion is lapping Joanne,” Konner jokes. Or, as Foster explains, “The sister relationship just has inherent competition baked into it.” With Joanne ensconced in her stable relationship, it’s time for Morgan to figure out her thing.
“It feels real that, at this juncture in Morgan’s life, she would be like, ‘Okay, how can I become something bigger than I am?’” Kaplan adds.
So what will Morgan become? And what does the rest of the Nobody Wants This crew actually want in Season 3? Tune in Oct. 22 to find out, only on Netflix — and press the “My List” button below to make sure you don’t miss out.
