Nobody Wants This: Kristen Bell explains why fans fell for Joanne and Noah’s first kiss

To those of you who have been fans of romantic comedies, Nobody Wants This has become a favorite, as it draws us into its culture-clash love story without shying away from the real aspects of life.

As the second season is around the corner, there has been a rekindled interest in the memorable kiss at the end of season 1 between Joanne (Kristen Bell) and Noah (Adam Brody), and why everyone can not forget the scene.

Showrunner Erin Foster and Kristen Bell herself have provided fresh details on the growth of characters and the chemistry that made Joanne and Noah's first kiss a pivotal moment in romcom history.

Joanne and Noah’s first kiss on Nobody Wants This

Season 1 of Nobody Wants This drew viewers in with its unique, dark humor, which was based on Foster's own experience as a person in an unusual relationship. The show's portrayal of interfaith romance was realistic and sensitive, in addition to its main character's waning wit.

The conversations between Joanne, who grew up agnostic, and Noah, who is a modern rabbi, gave the couple a touch of realism and seriousness, where every step to intimacy was tense and exciting and eventually electrifying. And that is what came through in the scene of their first kiss, a scene now analyzed by fans and critics alike over on the internet.

Speaking at the inaugural Televerse event, Variety quoted Foster as saying:

“Joanne and Noah are now at a place in their relationship for Season 2 where they’re asking each other different questions.”

“Everyone’s been in the first couple months of a relationship, and everyone’s past the threshold where you ask if you and your partner are going to dinner with each other’s families or if you are going to cohabitate with one another. There’s all of these teeny, tiny things that link you closer to someone else.”

Bell added:

“In the [first kiss] moment, it is meant to give the audience the passion of like these two people and their comfort together, because comfort can be incredibly passionate. It’s a deep, beautiful emotion, and we don’t associate it with kissing very much.”

Fans, chemistry, and why that kiss matters

The scene comes early in Nobody Wants This Season 1 episode 2, when Joanne and Noah finally accept that they are indeed attracted to one another, but struggle with the idea that their relationship could work. The timing is well built up: Noah, with his usual easy and firm manner, instructs Joanne to put her bag down and then moves in and pulls her to a kiss.

Videos of the kiss quickly went viral on social media, with viewers commending the scene and comparing its authenticity and chemistry. Commenters extolled the tension, the physical contact, and how the kiss was off-balance in that it was nervous yet raw.

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In an interview with TVLine, Bell confessed that it was probably the best on-screen kiss she ever performed. She added that the combination of comfort and passion together was a rare finding, and it was only at the writing of Foster and the performance laid by Brody that led to it being possible.

“My greatest memory is that I wasn’t prepared for Adam to put his hands on my face as he did with so many of the kisses. And I was like, ‘Oh, this is gonna work.’”

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