These Nobody Wants This Easter Eggs Nod To Adam & Kristen's Past Roles

One reason why watching Adam Brody and Kristen Bell fall in love on Nobody Wants This is so satisfying is the huge impact these two actors have had on anyone who grew up in the 2000s. And the new show apparently knows that. As fans have watched the first season of the Netflix rom-com, they’ve started to notice little nods to Brody and Bell’s best-known roles.

Nobody Wants This may be a lighter, more feel-good romance than most of Brody and Bell’s previous work, but it’s not exactly new territory for them. Brody is best known for playing the lovestruck teenager Seth Cohen in The O.C., and Bell’s breakthrough role was as the tough detective with a heart of gold Veronica Mars.

For a certain group, these actors will always carry a bit of those iconic characters with them. And Nobody Wants This capitalized on that nostalgic love with a few Easter eggs sprinkled throughout Season 1.

The O.C.

Brody’s teen drama got a cute nod in Noah’s boss on Nobody Wants This. In Season 1, Noah is trying desperately to impress his superior, Rabbi Cohen. The spiritual leader notably shares a last name with Brody’s The O.C. character, Seth Cohen.

Veronica Mars and Party Down

Bell’s Veronica Mars co-star Ryan Hansen makes a quick but memorable cameo in the middle of the season. Ever since meeting while working on Veronica Mars (where Hansen played douchey antagonist Dick Casablancas), Bell and Hansen have remained close friends IRL and frequently work together.

But Hansen’s appearance isn’t just a Veronica Mars shoutout — it’s actually an even bigger Party Down Easter egg. In Nobody Wants This, Joanne calls her terrible ex Kyle for a little pick-me-up. Notably, Kyle is the name of Hansen’s Party Down character, and he’s even wearing the shirt of Kyle’s fictional band Karma Rocket to confirm this is indeed Kyle from Party Down.

Bell appeared in two episodes of Party Down as a rival caterer to the main group.

The Good Place

Bell’s more recent sitcom got a lot of love in Nobody Wants This. Not only does her The Good Place co-star D’Arcy Carden show up as Joanne’s friend Ryann, but there’s also a nice mother-daughter reunion for the Shellstrops. Leslie Grossman, who played Bell’s character Eleanor’s mother on The Good Place, showed up in Nobody Wants This as the wise Rabbi Shira.

StartUp

There’s also a little reference to Brody’s more recent work in the show. At one point, Noah mentions he lost a lot of money in BitCoin.

The offhand remark seems to be a wink at Brody’s 2016 series StartUp, in which he starred as the founder of a controversial cryptocurrency.