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For Erin Foster<\/strong>, success didn\u2019t come easy. Before creating Netflix\u2019s Emmy-nominated Nobody Wants This<\/em>, she had racked up more than a decade of rejections in Hollywood. At the Televerse Festival FYC panel for the hit series, Foster was candid about how many projects she\u2019d attempted before one finally broke through.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like my 14th project,\u201d she said. \u201cI got really used to failing and really used to something being special to me, but not special to anybody else. You don\u2019t know when you\u2019re so close to it if it\u2019s going to resonate. And I just got very lucky with this cast.\u201d<\/p>\n Those years of setbacks made Foster doubt whether her unconventional vision could translate. Nobody Wants This<\/em> is built on small, hyper-real moments \u2014 conversations that feel more like lived experience than scripted comedy. \u201cIn the past, I\u2019ve had feedback like, \u2018It feels like a play,\u2019 or, \u2018Not enough is happening,\u2019\u201d Foster explained. \u201cThere aren\u2019t big comedic moments. I don\u2019t write traditional jokes. So sometimes I thought maybe it would just be too small. The irony is it ended up being so big.\u201d<\/p>\n That clear but risky approach attracted Kristen Bell<\/strong>, who earned her first Emmy nomination for playing Joanne. Bell recalled being both intrigued and nervous when she first read Foster\u2019s script. \u201cErin had such a creative vision that hadn\u2019t really been done before \u2014 slower and more hyper-realistic,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t trust myself at first. I\u2019d keep asking her, \u2018Did I do that right? Is there enough here to make someone stay on this channel?\u2019 And she\u2019d say, \u2018Calm down, it\u2019s enough. Trust me.\u2019 And she was right.\u201d<\/p>\n That trust led to one of television\u2019s most talked-about scenes of the year: Joanne and Noah\u2019s kiss at the end of the second episode. What Foster described in the script as \u201cthe best kiss in the history of the world\u201d turned into a viral moment.<\/p>\n \u201cMax pressure,\u201d Bell admitted, laughing. \u201cWe were so nervous to get it right. Adam<\/strong> [Brody<\/strong>] is such a present actor \u2014 you can throw anything at him and it feels real. We talked a lot about how to choreograph it. Everything fun to watch is anticipatory, so we wanted to stretch it out as much as possible. His hand came up slowly, then mine followed. Comfort can be incredibly passionate, and that\u2019s what we wanted the audience to feel.\u201d<\/p>\n The kiss landed so powerfully that it even stunned Bell\u2019s husband, Dax Shepard<\/strong>. Watching from afar with friends, Shepard sent Bell a voice memo in the middle of the scene. \u201cThey were screaming,\u201d she said. \u201cHe was so excited for these two characters to kiss. That says a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n Foster confessed her minimalist stage direction came partly from discomfort. \u201cI don\u2019t know how to write romance novel lingo,\u201d she said. \u201cSo I just wrote, \u2018Really amazing kiss.\u2019 But there was strategy. I didn\u2019t want him to initiate \u2014 it felt more appropriate that she would. And I wanted it to surprise the audience, like when you\u2019re on a date and you think, \u2018Wow, we\u2019re really not going to kiss,\u2019 and then it happens.\u201d<\/p>\n That moment didn\u2019t just click with viewers \u2014 it exploded. GIFs of the kiss circulated across social media, fan edits went viral, and the scene became emblematic of the show\u2019s slow-burn romantic style.<\/p>\n For Foster, the scene\u2019s success felt especially rewarding after years of doubt. \u201cFailing isn\u2019t as fun as this,\u201d she said with a grin. \u201cIf this had been my first show, I might have thought I was just going to make hits forever. But because it took me so long, I can really appreciate it. It\u2019s very surreal.\u201d<\/p>\n Best of Gold Derby<\/strong><\/p>\n Sign up for Gold Derby’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n