Nobody Wants This Creator Erin Foster Explains Why She Cast Leighton Meester in Season Two

Nobody Wants This is the most talked-about show of 2025, with the popular Netflix series gearing up for the release of its highly-anticipated second season.

And with Kristen Bell and Adam Brody reprising their roles as agnostic sex podcaster Joanne and rabbi Noah, and the returning star-studded ensemble cast from Justine Lupe to Jackie Tohn, it's set to be a stand-out season.

Most of the conversation around season two has surrounded the casting of Leighton Meester, Brody's IRL wife, with the Gossip Girl star coming onboard as a season two guest star.

This is something show creator Erin Foster opened up about this week, explaining her plans for Nobody Wants This season two in an interview with Deadline. And during the sit-down, Foster opened up about Meester's inspired casting.

"The story came first, and then we were thinking of who to cast in that role," she recalled. "And I think I had just seen Leighton maybe at the People’s Choice Awards. She’s so cute. She’s so adorable and funny and quirky and cool, and they have a sweet relationship. And she was really on my mind after that, and I think she’s obviously so talented.

"We have this episode, and there was this role of this girl named Abby," she continued, before crediting executive producer and showrunner Jenni Konner for the inspired casting.

"I want to give credit to Jenni," she stated. "On a chat when we were talking actresses, she was like, 'Leighton for Abby?' And we were all like, 'Wait a second, that’s a really good idea.'

"Then we asked Adam first how he felt, and he was like, 'I love it. If it’s funny, see if she responds to it'," Foster added. "And so I quickly went into the scenes and tried to beef up the character as much as I could and give her as much fun. And there’s an extra scene now.

"They didn’t have any scenes alone with each other originally," she continued of Meester and Brody. "And so then I went in and I was like, 'OK, I’m going to give them a scene alone and kind of throw in a couple moments that people would grab onto and have fun with.' But I really think it was Jenni’s idea to cast her. She’s got a very good casting brain and it worked out perfectly. I mean, Leighton is so funny."

Well, this is exciting.

Nobody Wants This season two is set for release on Netflix on 23 October 2025.

We will continue to update this story.