That lack of reality may be the show’s biggest problem. Satire pokes fun at its subjects and can be extremely effective when used correctly. (See: “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”) But most of the choices these characters make feel unlike how anyone would act in real life. Reducing characters to their least desirable traits without sufficient comedic payoff just ends up feeling mean-spirited.

“I didn’t see their behavior as a reflection of the experiences I have of Jewish women in my community,” said San Francisco Bay Area-based Ava Feldman (who is not related to the author of this story). relationships

To Foster’s credit, the Los Angeles Times noted in an interview that “heading into the writers room, she said she purposefully surrounded herself with colleagues who were born Jewish.” But, when asked how she feels about critics calling the Jewish characters “stereotypical,” her response left me wanting more. (She did not return a request for comment for this story by the time of publication).

“I think we need positive Jewish stories right now,” Foster told the LA Times. “I think it’s interesting when people focus on, ‘Oh, this is a stereotype of Jewish people,’ when you have a rabbi as the lead. A hot, cool, young rabbi who smokes weed. That’s the antithesis of how people view a Jewish rabbi, right? If I made the Jewish parents, like, two granola hippies on a farm, then someone would write, ‘I’ve never met a Jewish person like that before. You clearly don’t know how to write Jewish people, you don’t know what you’re doing, and that doesn’t represent us well.’”

Maybe. I don’t know. I think about television shows like “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” or movies like “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah,” which Feldman said “felt very authentic as a portrayal of a modern Jewish family dynamic.” And I wonder what “Nobody Wants This” would have been like had it explored complicated family relationships without reinforcing diminishing and potentially damaging stereotypes. 

Most of the people I spoke to finished the series with similar feelings: They both truly enjoyed and were disappointed by it ― especially, in some cases, the ending.

“I thought Joanne had come to a very mature conclusion, and the idea of someone giving up their entire career for someone they’ve been dating for less than three or four months felt very extreme,” Feldman said.