While age gaps seem to be the romantic comedies’ go-to trope in recent months, Netflix’s Nobody Wants This presents characters in the same age group and older than usual. The Idea of You, It Ends With Us, and A Family Affair, all feature age gaps between their characters, and sparked some conversation. Because of this, the age of Nobody Wants This’ leading cast has been a discussion topic for creators, critics, and audiences alike. The consensus is that Joanne and Noah’s age, despite how old Kristen Bell and Adam Brody are, is a point in favor of the Netflix series.

While the Nobody Wants This’ ending highlights the difficulties of a romantic pairing between a gentile and a rabbi, the show constantly remarks that Joanne and Noah face common midlife dilemmas and pressures. The mature lens to their relationship and their willingness to embrace each other’s long-term goals and settled lifestyles have been crucial to the positive reviews for Nobody Wants This. Even if actors Adam Brody and Kristen Bell were hesitant to play a different age than their own, the creator’s accurate and relatable story allowed them to understand and support the Nobody Wants This couple.

Kristen Bell Was 44 Years Old When Filming Nobody Wants This

Joanne Is 30 Years Old In Nobody Wants This

Nobody Wants This started filming in March this year and wrapped in early June, making its lead actress, Kristen Bell, 44 years old during production. The actress has confirmed that, in Nobody Wants This, Joanne and Noah are around the same age, or at least are both in their 30s (via Armchair Expert). As opposed to their performers, Joanne, like Brody’s character, has just reached a professional sweet spot and is ready to take her career to the next level. Realistically, this milestone comes when a person is in their 30s.

While Bell recognizes Joanne’s age was a principal concern, she got behind the idea by thinking that “in a hustling, buzzing city of podcasts and influencers… you can push your desire to settle down much farther down the line.” Fittingly, the characters’ ages respond to the true story inspiration behind Nobody Wants This. Foster was interested in depicting how hard it is to find love, and defended that “It takes a few decades as an adult to learn who you are and be smart enough to pick the right person,” a fact true to her experience (via Tudum).

Adam Brody Was 44 Years Old When Filming Nobody Wants This

Noah Is 30 Years Old In Nobody Wants This

The couple’s age in Nobody Wants This meant a different thing to actor Adam Brody and the way he visualized Noah, however. In conversation with podcast host Dax Shepard, he confessed to being troubled about playing someone 10 years younger. Brody was, like Bell, 44 when filming the Netflix series, and Noah is supposed to be in his 30s. The actor claimed it took him a while to reconcile the fact that his character had gone through the long process of becoming an ordained rabbi and still had no wife and kids, especially considering he is a traditional Jewish man.

Looking at Noah’s arc in Nobody Wants This, his age fits him very well. When his long-time girlfriend skips the marriage proposal, a frustrated Noah exclaims, “it seems like you’re checking off items on a list… I don’t think that’s how it should feel.” It is hinted that Noah had doubts about proposing, and probably had postponed doing it for years, ergo the ring being hidden. It makes sense that he remains unmarried despite being in his 30s, especially, as the series sees Noah finally break free from familiar and communal pressures that kept him from finding the right person.

Sources: Armchair Expert, Tudum