The first semester hasn’t even ended and yet I’ve watched Broad City seasons 1-4 twice. This hilarious and relatable show is a must-see for women in their twenties as main characters Abbi and Ilana navigate a post-grad, New York City landscape.
It’s the classic combination of the serious, more introverted friend and the loud, outspoken one who always seems to come up with or get into situations. This sitcom, which is produced by Amy Poehler, airs on Comedy Central, which allows for the show to cover topics which may be taboo for more conservative stations.
The two main characters were created as realistic portrayals of co-creators Jacobsen and Glazer for a project. The show was originally developed as a web-series from 2009-2011 before it was picked up and produced by Amy Poehler.
Abbi Abrams, played by Abbi Jacobsen, is around 25 and graduated from college with an art degree, which she hasn’t been able to put to use. Abbi lies to her parents who think she’s showing her art in galleries across NYC, while also working as a celebrity trainer at an upscale, trendy gym. In reality, though, Abbi isn’t even a trainer at this gym, instead, she spends her days as a cleaner and hoping to someday be promoted to a trainer position. Her art is only discussed in passing and used more as a last-resort method to raise money.
Ilana Wexler, portrayed by Ilana Glazer, is around 23 and graduated from NYU. Ilana is the more vocal of the two women, with pride stemming from being a millennial, Jewish, a strong Hillary Clinton supporter, and Long Island native. Ilana is portrayed as being the much less put-together friend as she barely does any work at her job for a Groupon type company called Deals Deals Deals!. Living in a gritty New York apartment with a male friend Jaime, Ilana has been seeing a dentist named Lincoln for much of the series and their relationship causes both characters a lot of turmoil. Ilana believes in more modern romance, shying away from labels and monogamy while Lincoln wishes for them to be more than just friends-with-benefits, asking Ilana to be his girlfriend many times throughout the series.
And while the main characters are iconic enough, the supporting characters are key to the plot.
Lincoln: The hardworking dentist who is both loving and devoted to Ilana, he even pays for her to have a tooth refilled which he knows she wouldn’t be able to afford. He’s the classic too-nice-for-her guy who seeks a serious relationship which Ilana wants nothing to do with. You can’t help but root for this complicated couple.
Bevers: The main antagonist of Abbi and her roommate’s boyfriend. We never actually see Melody, Abbi’s real roommate, who is often said to be doing some type of mission work out of the country. Instead, she lets her boyfriend stay there who seems to exist only to antagonize Abbi by throwing out her things, walking in on her, or eating her food.
Tre: Abbi’s boss at the gym, Tre is portrayed as your typical gym-rat. But the two grow closer throughout the series and for reasons I won’t reveal, Tre helps Abbi move up from being a cleaner to a trainer.
The show has also featured well-known actors such as Kelly Ripa, Fran Drescher, and Seth Rogen, as well as Amy Poehler.
So, if you’re looking for a Friday-night TV binge, definitely check out Broad City if you’re in the mood to laugh. With four seasons and a fifth set to premiere in January, Broad City has had many positive reviews as audiences and created a strong fanbase.
Seasons 1-4 are available on Hulu and will make you laugh about the struggles of young adulthood and appreciative of lasting friendships.
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