Spoilers for Nobody Wants This Season 2, Episode 4 are ahead! If you haven’t seen the new season yet, you can stream it with a Netflix subscription.
In the “Valentine’s Day” episode of Nobody Wants This, there were a lot of gifts being given. However, I think the best one had to be Sasha’s dance for Esther. Timothy Simons’ character busted a move for his wife to Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings,” and it was equal parts funny and adorable. So, when I interviewed Simons and Jackie Tohn, who plays his wife, about the new episodes that just dropped on the 2025 TV schedule, I had to ask for the story behind crafting this wonderful moment.
Timothy Simons Recalled Rehearsing And Performing The ‘7 Rings’ Dance
There are a few great binge-worthy Netflix shows that feature fun dances, like Wednesday, and now I think we can add Nobody Wants This to that list. While Sasha is by no means a professional dancer, his commitment was admirable, and the joy it gave Esther was infectious. Timothy Simons also told me that quite a bit of work went into pulling this moment off, as he said during an interview with CinemaBlend:
They asked if I wanted a couple rehearsals, and I said, ‘You got to bump those numbers up. Those are rookie numbers.’ It’s going to take more than that, even for me to get 16 bars. I’m not a dancer. I’ve always been a little self-conscious about dancing, and it was kind of fun, to like – you know, there was a guy who was choreographing it. He was great, very patient with me, and I felt really confident going into when I was actually going to film it.
I love that he found the confidence to own this dance, and I really adore how excited everyone was for it.
When they filmed the “7 Rings” dance for the project on Netflix’s 2025 schedule, extra people showed up to watch it. Talking about the entire crew and even the show’s star, Kristen Bell, being on set for this moment, the Veep actor said:
And then when we actually filmed it, and the entire crew was there, and I feel like [Kristen Bell] had just stopped by to see how it was going to go. That’s when I was like, ‘Oh no.’ And I, like, kind of collapsed like a house of cards for a minute.
Now, while extra people showed up to watch this dance, Timothy Simons made sure Jackie Tohn didn’t see it until it was time to film it. She wasn’t allowed to watch the rehearsal, and it sounded like it was vital that they captured her raw reaction to the dance on camera.
Explaining why it was important for his on-screen wife not to see his moves until action was called, he said:
I did intentionally hold Jackie from seeing it until we were rolling, just because I thought that would be fun for just Jackie herself to see it for the first time, to see what came out of that.
Well, that paid off, too, because the Esther actress’s reaction was priceless.
Jackie Tohn Recalled Her Reaction To Timothy Simons’ Dance
While Esther isn’t the most emotional character on Nobody Wants This and tends to keep a straight face, she couldn’t contain her joy when Sahsa revealed that he’d learned a dance. It turns out, Jackie Tohn couldn’t contain it either, so what you see on screen isn’t just her character’s reaction, it’s hers too, as she explained:
It worked because then they pointed a camera at me, and my real reaction was Esther’s reaction. Lots of jumping up and down, screaming. I was so excited. I have to say, I did not see it coming, like I didn’t think it was going to be a shit show, but I didn’t think it was going be like choreo, choreo.
Oh, it was “choreo, choreo,” and Simons killed it! This was such a sweet gesture from Sasha, and I love how much time and effort went into it behind the scenes, too.
Now, we can all go back and smile as big as Esther did when she saw the “7 Rings” dance for the first time, because not only is it wonderful to watch, but knowing the story behind it makes it even better.