Sara and Erin Foster for PEOPLE’s Creators of the Year.Photo:Jenny Gage & Tom Betterton
Jenny Gage & Tom Betterton
Erin and Sara Foster have had the kind of record year that anybody would be crazynotto want.
The sisters watched their clothing brandFavorite Daughtergrow while they enjoyed the continued success of their podcastThe World’s First Podcastand their brand new Netflix showNobody Wants This, for which Erin serves as creator and both she and Sara executive produce, quickly hit no. 1 on the platform’s most-watched list.
With certainly no lack of creativity between them, the sisters — two ofPEOPLE’s 2024 Creators of the Year— reflect on their last 365 days and the moment they knew they were, perhaps, really on to something special withNobody Wants Thisstarring Kristen Bell and Adam Brody.
Erin Foster and Sara Foster attend Netflix’s Nobody Wants This - Favorite Daughter Fan Screening at Bay Theatre on September 19, 2024 in Pacific Palisades, California.Charley Gallay/Getty
Charley Gallay/Getty
“Every time you’re making something, you believe in it, right? You hope that it could be a success. And after so many things don’t work out and don’t become a success, I started to get used to this idea that maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t. I’ve believed in things plenty of times that didn’t go anywhere,” Erin says. “Sometimes things are really good, and people don’t care.”
“And maybe we’re not funny,” Sara offers. “Maybe we actually have no idea what we’re doing.”
“[But] we saw these really unique, special moments happening when we were shooting. We saw thechemistry between Kristen and Adambeing palpable. We sawAdam being such a star and so hotthat we felt like, for sure people are going to love that. And Kristen is so flawless, but still, ‘Who knows?'” Erin remembers wondering.
Sara, however, can pinpoint the exact moment when she felt her confidence in the show’s reception surge.
“I remember when I knew. I watched [the episodes] all back to back with a couple weeks left of shooting — just rough edits. And I remember coming to set being like, ‘Holy s—, the show works!'” she says. “You watch it and you just want more and more.”
Adam Brody stars as Noah and Kristen Bell stars as Joanne in episode 110 of Nobody Wants This.SAEED ADYANI/NETFLIX
SAEED ADYANI/NETFLIX
The series isloosely based on Erin’s life— emphasis on the loosely, says Sara, because fans have been quick to assume that fact makes her Morgan, the sister of Kristen Bell’s character Joanne.
“People think that Joanne and Morgan is Erin and me, which it’s not. I mean, it is a little bit, but it’s not,” Sara insists.
“But it is,” Erin chimes in.
“But it is. But it’s not,” Sara concedes.
“Almost anything I’ve ever written has two sisters in it,” says Erin (she and Sara are the daughters of music producerDavid Foster). “And when I got together with my husband — I had been in really toxic, bad relationships my entire adult life — and then in this healthy relationship, I realized there’s all these new challenges that come up when you’re with the right person. You have to fix all your bad habits. It feels like it’s your first relationship, so that was interesting to me. I hadn’t seen a show that was about that.”
And, as much as Sara fields the inevitable comparisons to Morgan, Erin’s husband,Simon Tikhman, has also had to reckon with the newfound interest in whoheis in the wake of Adam Brody’s portrayal of “hot rabbi” Noah.
“He hates it. He’s very proud of us and happy for our success, but he wishes that he was not pulled into it,” Erin admits with a laugh. “I mean, first of all, he really doesn’t want to be on some pedestal as this perfect guy because that’s a lot of pressure.”
“Also, he’s not a rabbi!” Sara interjects. “People look to him now like he’s this holy man. He’s like, ‘Uh, I own a management company. I’m an entrepreneur!'”
Simon Tikhman and Erin Foster attend Netflix’s Nobody Wants This - Favorite Daughter Fan Screening at Bay Theatre on September 19, 2024 in Pacific Palisades, California.Charley Gallay/Getty
Tikhman would much rather relinquish the spotlight to his wife and sister-in-law, who are thrilled to see how the “ecosystem” of ventures they’ve created for themselves has flourished.
“Favorite Daughter had an amazing year. It’s something that we take so much pride in, and I didn’t even realize the way that the show coming out was going to then create so many more sales at Favorite Daughter. That’s not something we thought about before,” says Erin of their clothing line.
And, while they left the costuming of their characters strictly up to the costume designer, Erin says that there were some sweet, unplanned moments of synergy.
“And we were careful to not push it on anyone, but let them choose it if they wanted to. So there’s a couple outfits sprinkled throughout,” Erin reveals. “In the camp episode when Joanne and Noah have their first Shabbat, and she’s at her meeting, she’s in head-to-toe Favorite Daughter.”
Sara adds, “Kristen was wearing Favorite Daughter pants when I met her.”
Sara and Erin Foster for PEOPLE’s Creators of the Year.Jenny Gage & Tom Betterton
So, while the duo is busy at work on the show’s second season, Erin admits she’s still yet to binge the first (and, she says, she’s in good company: Adam Brody hasn’t watched it all back, either).
“Well, if you haven’t done it yet, you’re probably not going to do it,” Sara jests.
“I don’t think I will,” says Erin. “I’ll watchseason 2!”
As for when fans can expect the next installment ofNobody Wants This?
Erin is tight-lipped but offers a tease: “Netflix wants the show to come out the same time every year. So look to when it came out last year,” she says with a smile, “And I think it’ll be around the same time next year.”
Nobody Wants Thisis available now to stream on Netflix.
source: people.com
