Collegiettes, we don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that we’ve discovered the most hilarious new show on TV, and that if you don’t decide to binge watch the first season after reading this article, we’re like, seriously questioning your judgment. It only took us about two days to watch all 10 episodes of Broad City, and it took us an even shorter amount of time to realize just how much we loved the series, and why. The show chronicles the lives of two single, twentysomething best friends, Abbi and Ilana, who are just trying to get by (while getting high) in New York City. It’s what we’d imagine you would get if you crossed the realistic, inner-city living theme of Girls with the stoner comedy aspect of Workaholics, and the female friendship centerpiece of Sex and the City.
Produced by Amy Poehler, and written by the main actresses themselves, the show’s magic lies in it’s ability to border the line of ridiculous in its depiction of Abbi’s and Ilana’s daily antics, yet still maintain a surprisingly accurate likeness to our own lives. Whether they’re fishbowling the bathroom at work, ogling at men on the basketball court, or trying to scrape enough money together to buy Lil Wayne tickets, Abbi and Ilana aren’t afraid to embarrass themselves, or each other with their adventurous, relaxed (and at times overtly sexual) persona. Their friendship acts as the driving force behind the show because it quintessentially captures what it’s like to only care about having fun with your bestie, regardless of if other people are judging you.
There’s no real central conflict or focal point to the show, which is one of the reasons why Broad City is such an easy watch. Each episode is unlike the next, and is free to tell a different story every week – a reflection of the chaos in the protagonists lives as they try to navigate New York City, despite being broke, young, and not giving a damn. We see the girls get into all sorts of shenanigans, from using their lady parts to store drugs in the episode P*ssy Weed, to accidentally locking themselves out of their apartments and becoming homeless for a night in The Lockout, but no matter what the plotline is, it never fails to leave us in stitches.
Broad City is so much more than your typical stoner comedy. Although the characters aren’t afraid to be kind of disgusting, and a lot of the laughs come from the sheer ridiculousness of the situations, the heart of the show is its sense of female solidarity and carefree, unabashed friendship. Abbi and Ilana are exactly themselves, and that honesty transcends onscreen very naturally. The show is the first of its kind to show women in a typically male-dominated “stoner” image, and the results are two highly original, empowering characters that are challenging the ways women are presented in media.