How do you know your web series is cool? Having it achieve cult status among the comedy crowd is a good start. Earning not only the Amy Poehler seal of approval, but having her appear in an episode is a great way to push you over the edge and a script commitment from FX definitely doesn’t hurt either. Broad City, the eccentric comedy about two twenty-something New Yorkers from former Upright Citizens Brigade members Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer is so cool it has all three.
The Wall Street Journal called Broad City “sneak attack feminism,” but in a just (and funnier) world what Jacobson and Glazer are doing wouldn’t be groundbreaking. Their comedy is rooted in normalcy. The girls talk about films, sex and food. They dog sit and take yoga classes to bask in the communal thrill without having to fork over much cash. One episode was built entirely around the girls’ polar opposite morning routines. In other words, they’re real people doing real things– sort of like Louis, only with more ladies and laugh out loud moments.
While Hollywood hasn’t quite caught on to just how much fun watching the escapades of two normal (that’s actual normal, not Hollywood’s stylized version of normal) gals can be, Broad City fills the void nicely. The series is something of an anti-Sex and the City with all of the bawdiness and none of the constant chattering about shoes, but the show it most closely resembles is HBO’s late, great series Flight of the Conchords. It even has the occasional musical interlude and guest appearance by Kristen Schaal. Also like Flight of the Conchords, it has perfected the art of deploying quirk.
Some episodes of the series, especially the early ones, could almost be described as gritty. They were grounded in realism and squirm in your seat awkwardness (episode one finds Ilana using a homeless man to make change) that the low-budget shooting style reinforced. But as Broad City has matured over the course of two seasons, so has the style and unique voice of the series.
Chances are you will see some of yourself in the fictionalized versions of Abbi and Ilana. Or at the very least, you’ll see someone you know. My two favorite episodes are The Things They Carried and I Heart New York. In the first, the girls are freaked out about going to a model’s birthday party. Rather than have this dilemma devolve into cattiness, Broad City presents the model as a pretty, sincere and put together woman that Abbi and Ilana feel inadequate around. As executed, it’s a sharp, relatable and darkly funny concept. In contrast, “I Heart New York” is exactly what it says, a love letter to the strange and wonderful randomness that occurs on New York City streets everyday. It also has one of the best endings I have ever had the pleasure of watching.
But that’s Broad City: it’s always a pleasure. Not only because it treats female friendships and worldviews as normal, everyday parts of life rather than the alien concept so many writers can’t seem to grasp, let alone portray, but because it’s smart. And silly. And fun. If it makes it to FX it will hold the distinction of being the network’s first comedy written by and starring women, but whether they get the pick up (which they should, FX) or not these ladies have already earned their cool credentials a dozen times over.
You can watch the first two seasons of Broad City at www.broadcitytheshow.com and be sure to follow the show on Twitter @broadcity.
Images copyright of www.broadcitytheshow.com.
