When the final two words of a television pilot are “a shiksa,” delivered with unmistakable disdain by a Jewish mother, you know you’re in for something different. 

For the past two years, “Nobody Wants This” has given us that: a sitcom about a rabbi.

Starring Adam Brody as Rabbi Noah and Kristen Bell as Joanne, his non-Jewish girlfriend, the hit Netflix series has made Judaism central to its storyline, from Shabbat dinners to synagogue politics to the complicated question of conversion.

The show’s debut in September 2024, nearly a year after Oct. 7, 2023, was particularly significant. At a moment when so much of the public conversation surrounding Jewish identity was difficult and painful, a mainstream television series celebrated the lighter side of Jewish life, even as it raised questions about interfaith relationships and, for some, stereotypes about Jewish women. For many viewers, myself included, it offered a much-needed escape from the discourse around antisemitism, insecurity and the polarization over Israel.

But just weeks before the premiere of its third season on Thursday, the conversation surrounding the show took an unexpected turn. In an interview with GQ, Brody, who is himself Jewish, said of Israel’s war in Gaza, “Put me down as thinking it’s a genocide. Put me down as wanting a free Palestine.”

Brody’s comments drew widespread criticism that extended beyond the pro-Israel community, reigniting broader conversations about actors speaking out on political issues and........

© The Jewish Week