Jackie Tohn has a lot to celebrate when it comes to Nobody Wants This Season 2.
The actress, known for her role as Esther Roklov in the popular Netflix series created by Erin Foster, quickly became a favorite among fans in Season 1 for portraying the sharp-tongued sister-in-law of Noah (played by Adam Brody) and the wife of Sasha (played by Timothy Simons). Although Tohn appeared frequently in the first season, she has now been promoted to a series regular for the upcoming season.
During an interview with Decider at the Multicon event aimed at raising funds for those affected by the Los Angeles wildfires, Tohn expressed her excitement about her expanded storyline in Season 2 and the addition of guest stars, Leighton Meester and Miles Fowler. She couldn’t be happier to be involved in this project.
Discussing the upcoming season, the former Glow actress commented, “It’s really exciting. I believe we will get to explore more layers of Esther’s character in Season 2. She was quite straightforward in Season 1, but we’ll see a more dimensional side of her.”
Curt is an accurate descriptor. In the first season, Tohn’s character at one point pulls up to a bar to pick up Sasha, gives him a 10-second countdown to get out to the car, and lays on the horn until he complies. Before driving away, however, she calls Joanne (Kristen Bell) and Morgan (Justine Lupe) “whore #1 and whore #2.” Later episodes let viewers in on some of the struggles of Tohn’s character — including the feeling of inadequacy — so it’s the actress’ hope that the nuance only grows as the series moves forward.
“I think in Season 2, the fans and the writers and me, all of us are like, ‘Oh poor gal, you know, she seems miserable,’” Tohn said. “I think we’re going to hopefully lighten her up a bit.”
And with two new guest stars in Fowler and Meester, there’ll be a lot to smile about on set. Just this week, Netflix announced that Meester — Brody’s real-life wife — would be joining the cast for the highly-anticipated second season. It’s also a Gossip Girl reunion for Bell and Meester, who voiced the narrator and played Blair Waldorf, respectively. Bell also made an appearance in the series finale alongside Rachel Bilson, Brody’s The O.C. co-star. It’s one big family!
Per the streaming giant, Meester will play Abby, the middle-school nemesis of Joanne who is now a mommy influencer. Fowler, best known for his work in Bottoms and The Resident, will play Lenny, a friend of Noah’s who gets set up with Morgan. For Tohn, the new guests are not only welcome but already members of the Nobody Wants This family.
“Oh, God, I want to kiss them both in the face. I love them so much,” Tohn told Decider.
The actress added, “I only know miles from his work, I haven’t met him yet. But Leighton is an angel on this earth. So the fact that she’s going to come party with us is such a dream.”
As for when that party could be happening, that’s up in the air but production is currently in progress. In early February, the cast and creatives confirmed that they are hard at work in bringing their characters back as soon as possible, posting pics from an early table read.
In November, Brody spoke with Variety and gave a general timeline for the second season, confirming that the goal is to drop the next batch of episodes in September, a year out from Season 1’s release.
“We’re shooting in February and hopefully they’ll have it out by September next year,” The O.C. alum told the outlet at the time. Fingers crossed things go according to plan!
The entire first season of Nobody Wants This is currently streaming on Netflix.
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