Morgan (Justine Lupe) wears a bonnet and looks dubious.

JUSTINE LUPE

In the smash hit rom-com series Nobody Wants This, Justine Lupe brings life (and laughs) to the loser sister archetype.

Photography by Hopper Stone
Additional reporting by Jean Bentley
20 November 20244 min read

If you’ve never heard the phrase “loser sibling” then there’s a chance you might be one. In creator Erin Foster’s Nobody Wants This, such is the case for Morgan, played by Justine Lupe, who cohosts a relationship podcast with her sister, Joanne (Kristen Bell). While Morgan is always there to pick her sister up from a bad date and be a devoted listener, she struggles to be taken seriously by Joanne both personally and professionally despite their close relationship. 

Lupe (Succession) points out the unique nature of Morgan and Joanne’s deep sisterly bond, which was forged by a shared upbringing and colored by eccentric parents. “They’re really enmeshed in each other’s respective love lives,” she says. “They have a very easy rapport and they feel very comfortable being completely transparent with each other about how they feel.” 

Getting the opportunity to put her stamp on a character in a romantic comedy series was fate. “I’ve always wanted to be in one in any capacity,” she says. “I remember when I was in fifth grade going to the hairstylist and asking for the Meg Ryan in You’ve Got Mail haircut, to which they were like, ‘We can’t do that to you. You’re not going to rock it.’”