Erin Foster has responded to criticism over the portrayal of Jewish women in her new TV show Nobody Wants This.
The series, which dropped on Netflix last week, follows agnostic podcaster Joanne (Kristen Bell) as she starts a relationship with an unconventional rabbi named Noah (Adam Brody).
While the romantic comedy has won praise for its exploration of interfaith dating and the chemistry between the leads, creator Foster has now addressed backlash from some critics who suggested the show relies too heavily on stereotypes of Jewish people, particularly that of Noah's immigrant mother, sister-in-law, and ex-girlfriend.
"I think we need positive Jewish stories right now. 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," she told The Los Angeles Times. "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.'"
Nobody Wants This is loosely based on Foster's own experiences.
The actress/entrepreneur, who is the daughter of music producer David Foster, converted to Judaism before she married Simon Tikhman in 2019.
Elsewhere in the conversation, Foster emphasised that it wasn't "appropriate" for her or the other writers to delve into political issues as part of the series.
"That's not what people are coming to our show to watch, and it wouldn't be appropriate for me to tackle that issue because I didn't grow up Jewish," the 42-year-old argued.
"I have a point of view on it, as a person in the world, but that shouldn't be a part of the show. I don't think that it's OK to speak for so many people," she added. "What I really wanted to do was shed a positive light on Jewish culture from my perspective - my positive experience being brought into Jewish culture, sprinkling in a little fun, (and) educational moments about things in Judaism that I love without it being heavy-handed."
