Lauren Smith
Staff Writer
What started out as humble beginnings is now making a turn toward a stand in the spotlight.
Comedy Central is adding “Broad City”, a new series that started out as a small web show to their long list of “laugh out loud” comedies. “Broad City” follows the everyday events of two best friends living in New York City and the relatable and hysterical situations they find themselves in. The show airs every Wednesday night at 10:30 PM and runs in thirty minute intervals.
Since its January 22 release date, “Broad City” has already received high praise from critics including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, “Time Out NY” and many more. Critics call its web-style comedy refreshing, simply hilarious, and finds the funny in being young. It has brought in applause on its ability to bring together utility artists who can write, produce, direct, and shoot a TV series all on a tight budget.
“Broad City presents a recognizably hilarious perspective on what trying-but-failing looks like from the inside,” says A.V. Club critic Erik Adams.
The show stars two popular online comedians and twenty-something best friends Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer. Both Jacobson and Glazer have participated in projects in Hollywood as writers and started “Broad City” as a web show years before its Comedy Central release.
Their characters in “Broad City” take on the bustling city of New York as they attempt to bring in enough money from their low salary jobs to pay off their sky high rent all while dealing with drugs, sex, relationships, and most importantly, each other.
“The core of the show is the dynamic between mild mannered Abbi and brash Ilana,” says Time’s entertainment critic James Poniowzeik.
“While ‘Broad City’ is not a heartwarming comedy, there’s an undertone of need and connection between them that helps their friendship make sense,” said Poniowzeik. “Abbi needs Ilana to give her a kick into gear. Ilana needs Abbi’s dependability.”
The series also boasts supervision from famous actress and producer Amy Poehler who has had appearances in comedies including “Mean Girls”, “Blades of Glory”, “Parks and Recreation” and numerous others. Poehler began her work on the series in 2011 as executive producer for “Broad City” before it even aired on Comedy Central.
“We were wrapping up the second season of the show and were like, ‘Let’s get someone awesome in on this,’” says Glazer to “The Daily Beast”. “When we heard Amy Poehler was in New York we emailed her and asked her to reach out. She emailed back saying she was a fan of our web show and wanted in.”
“Broad City” is stunningly similar and is even rumored to be the female version of Comedy Central’s “Workaholics”, a series that “Zimbio” calls “satirically bro-y”. Starring Adam DeMamp, Blake Henderson, and Anders Holmvik, “Workaholics” is a series that takes a look into the lives of three men who work and live together as telemarketers. The show has become a popular series on Comedy Central and has aired four seasons since its 2011 airing.
“It’s a totally natural fit considering both Ilana and Abbi are kind of bro-y,” adds “Zimbio”. “They oliberate preconceived notions of how gender is supposed to inform comedy and also commit to physical comedy usually reserved for the dudes of comedy.”