“Nobody Wants This” creator Erin Foster responds to criticism of the show amid online controversy

“Nobody Wants This” creator Erin Foster has hit back at critics and fans who have claimed that her Netflix rom-com show portrays stereotypes about Jewish people.

The 42-year-old Los Angeles native was asked by the Los Angeles Times on Monday what she thought about claims that stereotypes are evident in some of the show's Jewish characters.

Foster responded, “I think we need positive Jewish stories right now.”

“I think it's interesting when you have a rabbi at the top when people focus on, 'Oh, that's a stereotype of the Jewish people.'” “A hot, cool, young rabbi who smokes weed.”

Foster asked, “That’s the opposite of how people see a Jewish rabbi, right?”

“Nobody Wants This” creator Erin Foster, 42, has hit back at critics who say her Netflix rom-com show portrays stereotypes about Jewish people. Pictured in LA earlier this month

According to a logline, the series is about the unexpected relationship between a renegade rabbi (played by Adam Brody) and an irascible, loud, agnostic woman (played by Kristen Bell).

Foster explained the difficult balance she faces as a creative when trying to flesh out characters with cultural precision.

“If I made the Jewish parents look like two granola hippies on a farm,” Foster said, “then someone would write, ‘I’ve never met a Jewish person like that. You obviously don’t know how to write Jewish. “Guys, you don’t know what you’re doing and that doesn’t represent us well.”

Foster based the show in part on her romance with her husband Simon Tikhman, who is Jewish.

She told the newspaper that she converted to Judaism more than four years ago, adding: “I'm Jewish, but I wasn't raised Jewish… that's different.”

According to a logline, “The series is about the unexpected relationship between a renegade rabbi (played by Adam Brody) and an irascible, loud, agnostic woman (played by Kristen Bell).”

The start was successful because shortly after streaming began, it landed in first place on Netflix's top 10 list, the newspaper reported.

Glamour's Jessica Radloff said in a Sept. 27 review of the show, “I can't imagine a guy watching this show and then saying, 'I really want to date a Jewish girl!'

“We seem like controlling, marriage-hungry women who plan dinner parties and want to alienate anyone who doesn’t share the same dreams.”

Foster based the show partly on her romance with her husband Simon Tikhman (pictured), who is Jewish

The show got off to a successful start, landing at the top spot on Netflix's top 10 list shortly after it began streaming

Foster said she converted to Judaism more than four years ago, adding: “I'm Jewish, but I wasn't raised Jewish… that's different.”

Bloomberg News tech reporter Dina Bass wrote on Twitter on Sunday: “So do I want to see Nobody Wants This? I love the two main characters – Veronica Mars and The OC are two of my favorite shows.

“But like I’m not looking to be bombarded with Jewish stereotypes, and certainly not with evil and lazy stereotypes that revolve around Jewish women.”

In a September 26 Time review, author Esther Zuckerman said that she “couldn't help but feel disappointed” after watching the show.

“While the series expresses the fantasy of the ideal Jewish man in Noah, it appears to abhor Jewish women, portrayed as whiners, harpies and the ultimate villains of this story,” Zuckerman said. “I wanted to be swept up in a romantic comedy. Instead, I was faced with the reality that this show might actually hate me.”

Zuckerman said that “the ultimate disappointment of Nobody Wants This” is that “what was supposed to be a show about a woman's entry into Jewish culture and her acceptance of it, instead perpetuates the worst ideas about Jewish women.”

Other users expressed similar views, citing various aspects of the series that seemed offensive or inauthentic.

Critics and social media users pointed out aspects of the series that they found problematic

In response to Zuckerman's review, one “I’m shocked that a rabbi consulted on the series.”

Another user said: “Thank you so much for this.” I wanted to love it, but I didn't like the depiction of Jewish women at all. I didn't see myself in any of them.'

Another user said, “Netflix just released a trailer for a show about an agnostic who falls in love with a rabbi.”

“I'm withholding judgment until it actually comes out, but the trailer was a blast with a lot of classic Jewish stereotypes.” It's aptly titled, “Nobody Wants That.”