Thank us later.
Already renewed for a second season, it’s say to say everybody wants more of the smash rom-com series, Nobody Wants This.
Released on Netflix in September and perfectly satiating our rom-com cravings, the show was inspired by the real-life love story of creator Erin Foster, and stars Kristen Bell as Joanne (a sex-positive podcaster down on her dating luck) and Adam Brody as Noah (an unconventional rabbi having doubts about his relationship).
And with season two assured but likely a while away, it’s safe to say the desire for a modern love story doused in humour hasn’t exactly disappeared. So, to help you (and ourselves) out, we pulled together a list of rom-com shows like Nobody Wants This that are sure to hit the spot while we wait.
Keep reading and get ready to binge.
1. You’re The Worst
Where can I watch it? SBS On Demand
The enemies-to-lovers energy is strong with this one! A rom-com with a cynical edge, the show follows Gretchen, a self-destructive, commitment-phobic PR executive, and Jimmy, an egocentric writer in Los Angeles, as they cross paths at a wedding and enter a relationship neither of them seems capable of handling. Like Nobody Wants This, You’re The Worst gets into the messy and sometimes chaotic side of love. Bonus? There are five seasons to binge.
2. Modern Love
Where can I watch it? Prime Video
Inspired by the eponymous New York Times column, all the plot lines in Modern Love come from real-life love stories that have been submitted to the paper. Besides presenting a plethora of heartwarming stories depicting all forms of love – romantic, sexual, familial, platonic and self – it also has a star-studded cast, featuring the likes of Anne Hathaway, Dev Patel, Tina Fey and Julia Garner, among many others. The show is also anthology-style, so you don’t have to watch it in any particular order, and each episode feels like a mini-movie unto itself.
3. Love Life
Where can I watch it? Apple TV+
Also, an anthology series, Love Life follows a different person each season from their first to last love, exploring “how the people we’re with along the way make us into who we are when we finally end up with someone forever”. Season one stars Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect) as Darb, a millennial struggling to find romance until a one-night stand with a stranger after karaoke changes everything, while season two sees Marcus, played by William Jackson Harper (The Good Place), a book editor having doubts about his 10-year-long marriage.
4. Starstruck
Where can I watch it? BBC iPlayer
Warm and witty, Starstruck is a screwball rom-com that kicks off when Jessie, a 20-something New Zealand woman living in London, has a one-night stand with a man on New Year’s Eve – who she later she finds out is the A-list movie star, Tom Kapoor. Similar to Joanne and Noah, the pair make an unlikely couple, but their chemistry is undeniable, and try as they might to stay away from one another, they just can’t seem to stay away.
5. Fleabag
Where can I watch it? Prime Video
Before there was the Hot Rabbi, there was the Hot Priest, courtesy of Fleabag. Written by and starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge as the titular character, Fleabag is a sharp-tongued, fourth-wall-breaking hot mess just trying to navigate love and life in London. Like Joanne in Nobody Wants This, she’s an atheist woman who falls for a man of the cloth, the latter of whom then must decide between being with her and his being true to this faith.
6. Billy & Billie
Where can I watch it? Apple TV+
Need a little more Adam Brody in your life? This 2015 series flew largely under the radar but received top-tier reviews from fans and critics alike. While the show similarly centres on a couple ‘who should not be together’, it is not your traditional rom-com. In it, Brody plays Billy, who begins a taboo relationship with – wait for it – his step-sister, Billie. When the show first aired, creator Neil LaBute told Variety he thought “it would be interesting to explore an obstacle that society deems taboo in a rom-com format” and “address love’s limits and societal acceptance”.
7. The Mindy Project
Where can I watch it? Apple TV+
While it’s more ‘sit-com’ than ‘rom-com’, the Mindy Kaling series doesn’t disappoint on the love life plot lines. Similar to Nobody Wants This’ Joanne, protagonist Mindy is a sex-positive woman hoping to meet The One who also finds her personal and professional lives entwine (to great comedic effect) as she navigates dating in New York.
8. Catastrophe
Where can I watch it? Prime Video
A British romantic comedy, Catastrophe does what it says on the tin, presenting a four-season love story in all its chaotic glory. When Rob, an American advertising executive recovering alcoholic, and Sharon, an Irish school teacher, find their six-day fling results in Sharon being pregnant, the pair decide to give love a shot.
9. Colin From Accounts
Where can I watch it? BBC iPlayer
One Aussie rom-com worth a watch is Colin From Accounts. Set in Sydney and penned by real-life couple Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall who star as protagonists Ashley and Gordon, the pair’s lives literally collide thanks to a car accident and an injured dog whom they name Collin. Like Nobody Wants This, it presents a flaws-and-all take on love with a couple you can’t help but root for.
10. Love
Where can I watch it? Netflix
Love might be one of Netflix’s most underrated shows. An easy three-season binge courtesy of creator Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up), this irreverent rom-com gives us a down-to-earth look at dating in LA through lead characters Mickey and Gus, two untrustworthy people armed with plenty of emotional baggage – warts, awkwardness and all.
