“NOBODY WANTS THIS” SERIES FILMING SITES TOUR

There’s a new entry into the “Fun Event” category in Los Angeles, and my friend Marc and I were among the very first to experience it last week. The   Nobody Wants This tour of locations sites was like nothing either of us had ever done before, and trust me—between the two of us, we thought we had done everything in LA by now.

A company out of New York, On Location Tours, takes people on bus tours around major cities, showing them sites from popular movies and TV shows, such as Gossip Girl and Sex In the City in NYC.

And since the Netflix series, Nobody Wants This, (starring the adorbs Adam Brody as a rabbi and Kristen Bell as his non-Jewish love interest,) is perennially in that service’s Top 10, On Location Tours decided to begin their Los Angeles tours with that series’ featured locations. Good call.

Truth be told, (as always,) up until the day before the inaugural tour, I had never seen that series. I sort-of wanted to, (because Mr. X and I are big fans of Adam, and I heard that his equally adorable wife, Leighton Meester, is also on the show occasionally,) but between my covering other events just about every day/night, coupled with my insane sports-watching, there’s no time for much else. (Just ask the neglected Mr. X!)

But knowing I would be taking this tour, Mr. X and I made the supreme effort to stay up almost overnight to watch the first five, (of twenty,) episodes of the show the night before. And…we loved it!!! It has such clever writing and excellent performances. We hope to get back to it sometime this summer, if I can finally get a few free minutes.

So here’s how the press junket for the inaugural Nobody Wants This tour worked. We all met-up in Koreatown at a place I had never heard of, the Audrey Irmas Pavilion. I still don’t know the purpose of that building, but it features really unique architecture, which I always appreciate. We boarded a big charter bus with the most pleasant driver ever, which was a bonus. Our tour guide was my fellow Brooklynite named Rachel, who told us her boyfriend lives in France, so perhaps that’s why she has all that time to watch and study the entire series. (I can’t believe that I forgot to compare our hometown notes during a break!)

We drove by many locations that are featured in the TV series, such as homes, stores, and outside areas, like one where the couple first kissed. We stopped in front of most of them for a few minutes while Rachel explained the scene(s) to the assemblage. Since I’ve watched only five episodes, and Marc has seen only one, most of the places didn’t mean much to us on the level of the show, but we loved learning of new aspects of LA. And of the couple of houses that are on sale because everyone in LA wants to know more about those possibilities!

The interesting thing for me was, even though some people refer to me as “Miss LA,” because I love this city soooo much, and they think that I know absolutely everything about it, (which I definitely do not,) and it’s always suggested that I do a “Karen tour” of the town, I got to learn a lot of new things about that Koreatown-Hollywood area. There was even a little park in a section called Windsor Village! Who knew?! (Well, I have a feeling my Korean pals do.)

Actually, the revelation of the tour for me was that tiny Harold Henry Park right in the middle of Koreatown! I’ve lived in LA since I was a teenager, and had never even heard of it before!

Another thing that especially interested me is the very famous art installation outside of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA.) Since it’s right near my Screen Actors Guild headquarters, I’ve, of course, passed by it at least a hundred times in my life. But I never knew that it has a title—Urban Light—nor that it’s made up of two hundred and two formerly-working street lamps! And that they operate on solar power, and that in 2018, the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation paid to have them switched to LED, (like I don’t already love that boy enough!) I don’t know how those tidbits relate to Nobody Wants This, but I love gaining knowledge like that, especially about my beloved adopted city.

That was the first of three stops the tour made where the participants could get off the bus, so we got to see the lamps up-close and personal, which was a lovely perk. I, of course again, have no time to visit museums, so I loved being an LA tourist at that location for a bit.

Speaking of being a tourist, I think visitors to LA will really enjoy this activity. Even jaded Angelenos who are Nobody Wants This fans, (which must be a big number since it’s one of the top rated shows,) should be on board for this tour. If even I learned something new about LA on this one, I’m sure that everyone will!

Marc made a big suggestion for you potential tour guests, with which I totally concur. We strongly recommend that you bring a snack so you don’t make the one rude mistake that we did. (And you know how much I detest rudeness; I’ve been up at night this week, making myself sick that I was not good to those few people, even by accident.) Since I’d tell on others, I have to also tattle on our behavior: When the rest of the guests went into a resale store to shop, (which is a scheduled stop,) Marc and I went a few edifices down to get sandwiches instead—he was starving and I desperately needed water. Even though we ordered right away, and there were no other customers there, the kind girls making the sammies took longer than we expected, which, in turn, caused us to hold up the bus for about five extra minutes, which you know I hated doing. So I say that everyone should bring a snack. And a big bottle of water! You’ll be glad you did. (And so will the rest of the guests!)

For all the pertinent info on this tour, click here: onlocationtours.com/locations/nobody-wants-this-series-filming-sites-tour.