Pilot – The series begins with what appears to be a blind date gone bad. Immediately around the corner from the restaurant, the woman, Joanne (Kristen Bell) encounters the other half of her podcast, biological sister, and getaway driver, Morgan (Justine Lupe). It’s only seconds after this when Joanne is on the air, defending her decision against what Morgan claims has become a recurring theme as of late. The scene will end with Joanne admitting that she could stand to make better relationship choices.

The two brothers Noah (Adam Brody) and Sasha Roklov (Timothy Simons) are introduced next when they return from what appears to be a takeout run for ‘game night.’ After encouraging Sasha to stop letting their mother, Bina Roklov (Tovah Feldshuh), cut his hair, they join Rebecca (Emily Arlook). This encounter will quickly take a 180-degree turn when Noah notices Rebecca wearing the engagement ring he has yet to give her. She not only openly admits to ‘finding’ the ring mother earlier, but she has apparently shared the ‘good news’ with his family. For Noah, this is a huge breach of privacy and although he doesn’t say it at the time, it is suggested that he might end the relationship.

Despite an amicable separation, Joanne and Morgan treat their parents, Lynn (Stephanie Faracy) and Henry (Michael Hitchcock), to a yearly anniversary dinner. They just happen to be arriving at the dessert portion of that dinner when Joanne receives a call from James, with the announcement of a possible acquisition. At the moment, nothing further is revealed but Joanne does mention ideas for a book and spinoff.

Ashley (Sherry Cola) not only invites Joanne to a dinner party scheduled for later that evening but tells her that some possible dating prospects will be in attendance. Joanne doesn’t appear too enthused by this but agrees to attend. Noah appears interested in Joanne the moment he spots her at the party. Despite their brief initial encounter and Noah admitting that he’s recovering from a recent split, they appear to click. The announcement of the meal interrupts them shortly but before she will tell him to look out for the Rabbi in attendance.

Just before sitting down for the meal, Joanne will approach Ashley about Noah, but referring to him as the ‘divorced guy’ confuses things. Ashley will assume Joann is referring to Gary (Eric Satterberg) and tells her that he is a butthole and would make a perfect candidate for her podcast. Joanne won’t discover the mix-up until later during the meal while debating telling a friend if their partner is cheating. As shocked as she is to learn that Noah is the Rabbi, she’s even more shocked to hear his philosophy on the debate. Although they will briefly joke about this, Joanne ends up excusing herself from the meal.

Noah jumps on the opportunity to get some alone time with Joanne and he surprises her again with his universal take on religion. Given her earlier resolution about making better relationship choices, she attempts to scare him by not only sharing her mother and father’s strange relationship but also her lack of belief in God. She apparently fails because he asks her to attend a guest seminar that he is giving Friday. She doesn’t give him a response but he ends the night just as enigmatically by thanking her for helping him to overcome something that evening.

As the days go by, both Joann and Noah will be shown in a variety of scenes, suggesting that they are thinking about each other. He will even begin listening to her podcast and approaches Ashley for more information. Upon learning this, Joanne decides to attend his guest seminar. She’ll enter right in the middle of his whimsical tale about a choking incident at dinner, with the underlying meaning that everything in life can have purposes if you are willing to look for it.

Noah is a huge hit and can barely get away from the Jewish mothers trying to introduce him to their daughters. He’ll practically have to beat them away as he makes his way towards Joanne. His snub does not go unnoticed and this is where the episode ends.

 

Nobody Wants This Series Review

This could be an interesting series if you can overlook all the religious and ‘politically correct’ scenarios. Noah’s contemporary beliefs are certainly intriguing. I honestly know little more than the stereotype about the Jewish culture so this is somewhat interesting to me. That said, it’s not really something I’m avid about learning, so I could imagine it would quickly become stale. All in all, not a very bad first episode. I’d give it a 5.5 out of 10.

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