Before Nobody Wants This, Adam Brody and Kristen Bell Ruled Wes Craven’s Scream 4
Before lighting up Netflix’s Nobody Wants This, Adam Brody and Kristen Bell teamed up in Wes Craven’s Scream 4—he as deputy Ross Hoss, she as Stab’s Chloe—proof their on-screen spark started in a slasher.
Before they were charming the entire internet in Netflix's Nobody Wants This, Adam Brody and Kristen Bell had already crossed paths a few times — including a very fun, blink-and-you-miss-it connection inside Wes Craven's Scream 4. Yes, that Scream 4.
The Scream 4 crossover you probably forgot
Back in 2011, Bell and Brody both showed up in Craven's fourth Scream. Brody played Ross Hoss, a deputy with the Woodsboro Police Department. Bell popped in for a meta cameo as Chloe in the in-universe Stab sequel — and in that movie-within-the-movie opening, she turns out to be the one doing the stabbing. They never share a scene, but their characters end up linked: Ross is later killed by Ghostface, and the Stab films (where Chloe exists) are built around the Ghostface persona. It is very Scream in the most Scream way.
Quick refresher: Scream 4 brings Sidney Prescott back to Woodsboro after a decade away. Critics were largely on board; it sits at 61% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Other team-ups before Nobody Wants This
After Scream 4, Bell and Brody kept finding each other on set. In 2013's Some Girl(s), directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer, Brody plays a writer — literally credited as The Man — road-tripping to make amends with exes before his wedding. Bell plays Bobbi, the ex he almost married before bailing. Reviews were mixed-to-positive, but the cast got praise, and the film landed at 53% on Rotten Tomatoes.
They reunited again in 2017's CHiPs, the buddy-cop action-comedy. Bell plays Karen Baker, Brody shows up as Special Agent Clay Allen, and the movie... did not land. Rotten Tomatoes has it at 20%.
- Scream 4 (2011): 61% — Brody as Deputy Ross Hoss; Bell as Chloe in a Stab meta-scene
- Some Girl(s) (2013): 53% — Brody as The Man; Bell as Bobbi
- CHiPs (2017): 20% — Bell as Karen Baker; Brody as Special Agent Clay Allen
How old clips helped lock the casting for Nobody Wants This
Those earlier collaborations turned out to be more than IMDb trivia. When Netflix's Nobody Wants This was casting, Kristen Bell was already onboard, and the hunt was on for her co-lead, Noah. Casting director Brett Greenstein says they did the whole worldwide search thing — but Bell kept championing one specific name.
"Kristen Bell was attached, and we knew the priority would be finding Noah since the show is really a two-hander. We went through the regular casting process, looking for Noah all over the world."
Behind the scenes, Bell was pushing hard for Brody, telling the team, "Noah is Adam Brody." After running through auditions, the casting team pulled together footage of Bell and Brody from past projects to see if the spark was really there.
"Some clips were compiled where she and Adam had worked together in the past. Everyone could see the chemistry right away after watching those, and we made the offer to Adam," Collin Daniel said.
Cut to now: the duo is heading back for Nobody Wants This Season 2, which hits Netflix on Thursday, October 23, 2025. If Season 1 was your thing, this pairing is only getting better with age.
Nobody Wants This is streaming on Netflix. You in for more Bell and Brody?