Any first time watchers of the latest season of “Broad City” might have reservations. After all, the amount of shows aired about 20-something New Yorkers probably trumps the amount of 20-somethings actually living in the city.
Thankfully, Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson, who play characters with the same first names, defy perceptions of their show’s genre.
“Broad City” started as a relatively unknown web series that gained enough attention for Amy Poehler (“Parks and Recreation”) to make a guest star appearance, and then become an executive producer when it became a Comedy Central television show. Glazer and Jacobson function as actors, scriptwriters, producers and part-time directors.
The show’s writing reflects the pair’s eclectic contributions to the direction of the series. Ilana is a marijuana enthusiast working hard to hardly work, and a relentless hedonist. Abbi is her best friend, struggling to become an illustrator, but often gets sidetracked with Ilana’s misadventures.
Part of the show’s charm is the realism of the pair’s friendship. They constantly compliment each other with lines like, “You’re young wife material, but taut and teasing still.” Outsiders’ attempts at cruelty and coldness simply don’t register, and a simple “yass queen” is always an appropriate response for any situation they find themselves in.
A stellar supporting cast further supplements their chemistry. Among a robust, rotating list, Hannibal Buress (“Daddy’s Home”) and John Gemberling (“Marry Me”) are mainstays. Buress plays Lincoln, Ilana’s sort of long-term boyfriend, and Gemberling plays Bevers, Abbi’s always-absent roommate’s boyfriend.
The new season uses the same successful formula, but reaches a new level of boldness. For example, within the first few minutes, Ilana’s bike lock that’s wrapped around her waist (don’t ask) gets stuck to a moving truck while Abbi escapes a crane hoisting a port-a-potty onto said truck.
The show’s success is also thanks to its excellent mockery of everyday situations. The first episode depicts a gallery show featuring Abbi’s college roommate, who painted her new abstract work “with the end of a feather. Not the end you write with, but the soft side. Took two years,” the roommate said. Ilana and Abbi take exactly five seconds to ruin the work, and as usual, chaos ensues.
In the most recent episode, to escape work at a co-op, Ilana convinces Abbi to masquerade as her. Abbi meets a dashing hipster, but it’s Fake Ilana who has to flirt with him. In turn, Ilana’s fake descriptions of Abbi charm him and he asks to go out with her. Again, chaos ensues.
Later, Ilana learns Lincoln has slept with someone else. Instead of getting angry, she gets turned on and tries to coerce Lincoln into a more open relationship. As you might have guessed, chaos ensues once again.
Despite this constant chaos, at the end of the day, both friends come back to what is most familiar: sitting on a couch, in an apartment, with pizza and each other. They might be the Stoned Roses more than the Stone Roses, but it works.
Hillary Clinton, one of the many guest stars to have cameos this season, agrees. Even a potential president knows when to bow down to a pair of Yass Queens.
