January 22, 2014 (2014-01-22) – March 28, 2019 (2019-03-28)
Broad City is an American television sitcom created by and starring Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson. It was developed from their independent web series of the same name, which was produced between 2009 and 2011.[1] The sitcom, like the web series, is based on Glazer and Jacobson's real-life friendship, and their attempt to "make it" in New York.[2] The sitcom premiered on Comedy Central on January 22, 2014, and aired for five seasons, ending on March 28, 2019.[3][4] The show received critical acclaim throughout its run and has been ranked among the best television shows of the 2010s.[5][6]
Premise
The series focuses on the lives of best friends, Abbi Abrams and Ilana Wexler, as they attempt to navigate day-to-day life in New York City.
Cast
Main cast
Jacobson (left) and Glazer (right) at Internet Week New York in May 2015
Paul W. Downs as Trey Pucker – Abbi's friendly boss at Soulstice, who is oblivious to her desire to become a trainer.
John Gemberling as Matt Bevers – The lazy, mooching boyfriend of Abbi's absent roommate, Melody, who is a constant unwelcome presence in Abbi's apartment.
Stephen Schneider as Jeremy Santos – Abbi's across-the-hall neighbor that she has a crush on.
Chris Gethard as Todd (seasons 1-2; guest season 3) – Ilana's boss at Deals! Deals! Deals!, a fictional web "deal" company. He struggles to manage Ilana, who comes and goes as she pleases, rarely works and dresses inappropriately for the office.
Nicole Drespel as Nicole – Ilana's co-worker and desk mate, who deeply resents Ilana's unprofessional behavior.
Eliot Glazer as Eliot Wexler – Ilana's level-headed brother, played by Ilana Glazer's real-life brother.
D'Arcy Carden as Gemma (season 3; guest seasons 1-2, 5) – A trainer at Soulstice who is awkwardly friendly toward Abbi.
Susie Essman as Bobbi Wexler (seasons 4-5; guest seasons 2-3) – Ilana and Eliot's mother, who lives on Long Island. She is blunt and frequently confrontational.
Bob Balaban as Arthur Wexler (guest seasons 2-3, 5) – Ilana and Eliot's loving father who lives on Long Island.
RuPaul as Marcel (season 4) - Ilana's ruthless manager at Sushi Mambeaux
Wanda Sykes as Dara (season 4) - The owner of a graphic design firm, who employs Abbi as her assistant.
Clea DuVall as Lesley Marnel (season 5) - A doctor that Abbi dates briefly, before Lesley decides that Abbie is too immature for her.
Glazer and Jacobson met in New York City, where they both attended courses at the Upright Citizens Brigade and were part of a small improv comedy group, Secret Promise Circle.[9] The web series began after Jacobson received poor feedback on a project she and a partner had been working on. Jacobson expressed her frustration to Glazer, and the two decided to work together on a project that became the web series.[10] In February 2010 they started their own web series on YouTube, which proved popular.[9]
Jacobson met Paul W. Downs in improv class and both Jacobson and Glazer met Lucia Aniello through the Upright Citizens Brigade.[9] Both were fans of the web series pilot and Aniello would then direct one episode of the web series.[9] The web series ran for two seasons and the finale starred Amy Poehler.[9]
Development of TV pilot and first season
Amy Poehler became aware of the series and mentored Glazer and Jacobson, becoming executive producer when the show came to TV. When Glazer and Jacobson wrote the pilot script, their characters were named Evelyn Wexler and Carly Abrams[11] respectively, but ended up using their real first names instead. Poehler, Glazer, and Jacobson went to Los Angeles to pitch the pilot.[9] The show was originally pitched to FX, who bought the script and passed a year later,[9] due to it being "too girly", according to Jacobson.[6] Comedy Central committed to the show in 2012 and the pilot was developed, with Aniello directing.[9] For the first season, Jacobson and Glazer were paired with Tami Sagher, an experienced showrunner, with Downs, Aniello, and Chris Kelly completing the writing room.[9] Downs and Aniello would also produce the show, with Downs appearing as Trey in the series.[12]
After the first season, Glazer and Jacobson parted ways with Sagher and became the showrunners.[9] The second season premiered on January 14, 2015, and was renewed for a third season ahead of the premiere.[15]
Final season
Glazer and Jacobson decided to end the show after five seasons.[9] Of their final season, Glazer said: "I feel like we've raised these kids, Abbi Abrams and Ilana Wexler, and we're sending them to college", Glazer says. "We didn't want to just go until it got canceled. We wanted to choose to end it so that it could end as strong as possible. We chose this ending to honor the characters."[8] In their final season, Glazer and Jacobson open with an episode that unfolds like a long Instagram story. Throughout the season, the characters go to MoMA[8] as well as drag brunch.
Reception
Critical reception
Review aggregation website Metacritic gave season one a score of 75 out of 100, based on reviews from 14 critics.[16] Karen Valby from Entertainment Weekly described the show as a "deeply weird, weirdly sweet, and completely hilarious comedy".[17]The Wall Street Journal referred to the show as "Sneak Attack Feminism". Critic Megan Angelo quotes Abbi Jacobson, main star of Comedy Central's Broad City: "If you watch one of our episodes, there's not a big message, but if you watch all of them, I think, they're empowering to women."[18]The A.V. Club critic Caroline Framke wrote that Broad City was "worth watching" despite its "well-trod premise", and that the series is "remarkably self-possessed, even in its first episode".[1] Critics have compared the show to Seinfeld, especially due to the characters' perceived lack of personal development as well as humor involving the minutiae of daily life.[19][20][21]
Season one of the show received a 96% rating from Rotten Tomatoes, based on reviews from 23 critics, with the site's consensus stating, "From its talented producers to its clever writing and superb leads, Broad City boasts an uncommonly fine pedigree."[22]The A.V. Club named Broad City the second best TV show of 2014, Slate named it the best show of the year, and Screen Rant named it the 5th best of the year.[23][24][25] The Writers Guild Foundation listed the script for the first season finale "The Last Supper" as one of the best scripts of the 2010s, describing the show as "a benchmark for writing about buddies".[26]
Season two received positive reviews, with Metacritic giving it a score of 89 out of 100, based on reviews from eight critics.[27] Rotten Tomatoes gave the second season a rating of 100%, based on reviews from 11 critics, with the site's consensus: "Led by two of the funniest women on TV, Broad City uses its stars' vibrant chemistry to lend an element of authenticity to the show's chaotic yet enlightening brand of comedy."[28]Broad City again appeared on end-of-year lists for 2015, placing fifth on Time Out's list and second on Rolling Stone's list.[29][30]Vox named it the second funniest show on television and The Atlantic named "Wisdom Teeth" one of the best episodes of TV that year.[31][32]
Season three received positive reviews as well, with Metacritic giving it a score of 87 out of 100, based on reviews from eight critics.[33] Ben Travers from Indiewire summarizes what he sees as the strengths of the first two episodes of season three: "Each half-hour feels as free-wheeling and wild as Ilana so boldly is, but also as meticulously put-together as Abby [sic] strives to be ... the integration of its two creators attitudes into the core makeup of the series helps to illustrate how groundbreaking Broad City really is".[34] In 2016, Broad City placed 18th in Complex's best shows of the year, 15th on Den of Geek's list, and 14th on Esquire's mid-year list.[35][36][37]
Season four received positive reviews, with Metacritic giving it a score of 85 out of 100, based on reviews from five critics.[38] Rotten Tomatoes gave the season a rating of 100%, based on reviews from 23 critics, with the site's consensus: "Pizza and weird are always in season for Abbi and Ilana in their fourth, wintery year of Broad City's weed-infused escapades."[39]NME named Broad City the 20th-best TV show of the year for 2017.[40]
The final season also received positive reviews, with Metacritic giving it a score of 80 out of 100, based on reviews from five critics.[41] Rotten Tomatoes gave the season a rating of 100%, based on reviews from 25 critics, with the site's consensus: "Glazer and Jacobson give the people exactly what they want in Broad City's final season – relatable content, questionable intimacy, and ingenious escapades through the glorious squalor of IRL NYC."[42]Broad City was named one of the best shows of the year by Junkee and "Stories" was named one of the best TV episodes of the year by Decider.[43][44]
Broad City appeared on many best of the decade lists for television. Vanity Fair named Broad City the ninth-best show of the decade and Rolling Stone named it the 28th best show of the decade.[45][46] It was also named the 20th, 34th and 41st best show of the decade, by Junkee, The A.V. Club and Film School Rejects, respectively.[47][48][49]The Guardian named Broad City the 96th best TV show of the 21st century.[50]The Advocate named the show the 15th-"Most Important LGBTQ TV Show" of the decade.[51]
The first season of Broad City performed well, averaging 1.2 million viewers per episode, becoming Comedy Central's highest-rated first season since 2012 among the younger demographics, including adults aged 18–34.[54] Despite initial commercial success and ongoing positive critical reviews, by March 2016 the show was receiving well under 1 million viewers, with fewer than 600,000 tuning in during the second week of the month.[55]
^Erik Adams; Joshua Alston; Gwen Ihnat; Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya; Myles McNutt; Genevieve Valentine & Scott Von Doviak (December 11, 2014). "The best TV shows of 2014 (part 2)". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
