Does anyone else remember the Jewish conversion plot in 'Veep?'
"Veep" foretold our political climate and also maybe the plot of Timothy Simons' newest Netflix show, "Nobody Wants This"??
Lots of people have pointed out how the irreverent political comedy show “Veep” foretold the current political climate, including showrunner Armando Iannucci, who wrote in the New York Times about the similarities (and major differences) between our current election cycle and the series which saw Vice President Selina Meyer thrust into the presidential race after the president decided not to run for a second term.
But seeing that today is Election Day (aaaaaaah) and this is Jewish TV Club, I instead would like to distract you from the news by discussing the prophetic nature of “Veep” in connection to the Netflix hot rabbi show “Nobody Wants This,” in what is about to be a totally reasonable article and not at all an unhinged rant brought on by election anxiety hahaha.
That’s right, long before Adam Brody won us over as a shmexy rabbi falling for a blonde “shiksa” named Joanne played by Anna from “Frozen,” White House liaison turned congressman Jonah Ryan (Timothy Simons, who plays said rabbi’s brother-in-law Sasha) was going to convert to Judaism for his Jewish love, the very Jewishly named Shawnee Tanz, in the masterful sixth season of “Veep.”
Like Noah and Joanne, Jonah and Shawnee met through mutual acquaintances — at an event for her father Sherman Tanz, described by the show as a “private prison and payday lending magnate, Israel hyper-enthusiast, billionaire convicted of tax fraud” and described by showrunner David Mandel as “a little bit of a quasi-Mercers-meet-Sheldon Adelson.” Tanz is played by theater star Jonathan Hadary, whose roles right before “Veep” were Old Jew in Arthur Miller’s “Incident in Vichy” and Tevye in a production of “Fiddler” and who would go on to play, yes, you guessed it, a RABBI in Netflix’s “Russian Doll.” It’s all coming together now, isn’t it?!
Their chemistry, just like in “Nobody Wants This,” is instantaneous, with Jonah mistaking Shawnee for her stepmother and hitting on the latter instead of the former, and Shawnee negging Jonah about his inability to eat tiny meatball appetizers, and then having sex with him in his office after he stands his ground. Joanne and Noah could never — they had to wait 32904320 episodes (OK, it was really just two episodes) for a kiss.
Jonah agrees to convert to Judaism for Shawnee (he also forbids people from mentioning pork around her), which leads to one of the most delightful Jewish jokes of the whole series, in which the rabbi, leading his conversion class, asks, “And Moses leads his people to the land of…?”
“Hanukkah,” Jonah pronounces proudly.
“This stupid hat is too small for my head,” Jonah later mutters about his kippah.
“Yarmulke,” Shawnee corrects him.
“This stupid hat is too small for my yarmulke,” Jonah wrongfully corrects himself.
“It’s OK, Yona,” the rabbi, played by actor Phil Abrams, assures him, using the Hebrew pronunciation of his name. “Conversion to Judaism is about a commitment to the Jewish lifestyle.”
“Oh good, cause all this learning is giving me a yarmulke ache,” Jonah responds.
Joanne not knowing what “shalom” means feels like small beans in comparison to this one.
Later on in the season, Jonah, with two months of conversion (or “jiffy Jew classes” as he calls them) left, accuses President Montez (played by Jewish actress Andrea Savage!) of anti-almost-semitism for refusing to cancel daylight saving time.
Just like Joanne, Shawnee is invested in Jonah’s career and run for congress, making him change his entire campaign and also wardrobe, insisting he swap his ties for bowties, which Jonah jokes, in true “Veep” fashion, makes him look like “a Nation of Islam badass.” (Meanwhile, Joanne can’t even get Noah to not wear a hoodie over a button-up.)
Whereas Joanne is ultimately not willing to convert for Noah, at least not yet, Shawnee is willing to be disinherited by her dad for Jonah (though she still has her trust). And while Noah is willing to maybe give up his dream rabbi job for Joanne, Jonah literally gives up his foreskin for Shawnee. After he wakes up from circumcision surgery, he calls his doctor a hot shiksa — OK, so technically he calls her a nurse and also insists that the word is pronounced “shiska,” but still, “Nobody Wants This” was originally titled “Shiksa.” All I can say is, ERIN FOSTER YOU THIEF!!!
To be fair, a few minutes after Jonah wakes up from his surgery, Shawnee dumps him when she finds out his vengeful uncle, played by Ally McBeal’s Peter MacNicol, can get him off the ballot. So that is the end of that great romance, whereas “Nobody Wants This” is getting a second season which will feature Timothy Simons as Sasha who is definitely not cheating on his very cool Jewish wife with a shiska (since I don’t like the word shiksa I think I might adopt this mispronunciation) from “Succession.”
Although some might argue (just me, I am arguing) that Shawnee and Jonah live on in the plot of “Nobody Wants This” so clearly and brazenly stolen from “Veep.” Truly a shanda (or a shadna?).
How are we all feeling today??? What are we watching to distract ourselves from the election?? Let me know in the comments.
I didn’t get quite far enough in “Veep” to hear the “This hat is too small for my yarmulke” joke but I just laughed out loud for real. Also! I drew Julia Louis-Dreyfus and one of Veep’s creators, Frank Rich, last year and it was fabulous! They were talking about how American political reality stole way too much from their show…
I watched the first few episodes of Nobody Wants This and then stopped. There have been better treatments of the subject matter and even those were somewhat cringe worthy. I know many other Jews who love this show, but I found it very hard to believe.