Why Broad City Is Your New Favourite Comedy

I have been spending a lot of my recent time on Twitter begging the sentient @sbs2 account to secure my new favourite comedy, Broad City. Yesterday, they confirmed that my pleas had not fallen on deaf ears, and that “the option is being explored”. Several other anonymous sources followed up by confirming there is a good chance SBS will be showing Broad City in the future. Yes, I am one of the world’s most important investigative journalists; thank you.

@Brocklesnitch You’re pleas have not fallen on deaf ears. The option is being explored…..

— SBS 2 (@SBS2) April 8, 2014

If you haven’t heard of Broad City, firstly it means you are not following me on Twitter, and that is probably your key mistake in life. Secondly, it is a hilarious show created by and starring two young comedians from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (UCB), and my future best friends/wives, Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, playing characters named Abbi and Ilana.

Originally starting as a web series, it was brought to Comedy Central in 2013 in as a ten-episode season, with the help of executive producer Amy Poehler. It has quickly become one of the funniest shows on television, with a second season already ordered. Here are some reasons to tune in if you won’t just take my word for it:

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1. Created By And Starring Women

WOMEN ARE CURRENTLY FUNNIER THAN MEN is something I would say if I wanted to be inflammatory and flip the usual argument on its head. (I only mostly believe it.) Instead, I will say that a lot of the people creating or starring in the funniest stuff at the moment are women.

You shouldn’t watch Broad City because you want to support women in comedy — although that is admirable. You should watch Broad City because it’s fucking hilarious. 

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2. Girls Getting It

Broad City is a show about two gorgeous, single women in their 20s living in New York — and as such, the characters talk openly about sex. But unlike similar discussions you might find in other shows about single women in New York (Caroline In The City), it is not pensive or angsty. It is fun and hilarious. Broad City’s feminism is demonstrated by how casual they can be, how entitled and still in control they are. They have all of the power, and their friendship remains the main focus. Ilana has a regular sex partner, Lincoln, but in a twist, HE is the one who wants to make it monogamous.

One of the most refreshing things about the show is that there are several (non-explicit) scenes across the series where both of Abbi and Ilana RECEIVE CUNNILINGUS. The main thrust (pun intended) of a sex scene focusing on the pleasure of the female character? In the form of oral sex no less? Have you ever seen such a thing on television? Well no, not often. And while the scenes can be very funny, they are not there to serve as a joke. They are just women having sex with men because they want to. Mind-blowing, I know.

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3. The Third Lady: Mary Jane

Another refreshing part of this show is the prevalence of marijuana use. Now, while I personally of course would never use or condone any kind of illegal drug hello fun police officers who read this website, a lot of women do. And these women are almost never portrayed on screen — especially as independent from their boyfriend or some other man.

When was the last time you saw a woman on film buy her own pot and then smoke it with her female friends? On Broad City bitches, that is where. In one excellent episode of the show, Abbi’s storyline revolves around her trying to buy pot by herself, because she’s “an adult”.

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4. Best Guest Stars Ever

Because the stars of the show and Amy Poehler are both UCB-connected, they have access to a great lineup of amazing comedians. My favourite regular on the show is Hannibal Buress, who plays Ilana’s main hookup Lincoln. Hannibal is a rising star in stand-up comedy, and is very, very funny (for a man).

Along with Hannibal, the first season guest stars included Janeane Garofalo, Amy Sedaris, Jason Mantzoukas, Amy Poehler, Fred Armisen, Chris Gethard and Seth Morris. WHAT MORE COULD YOU PEOPLE POSSIBLY WANT?

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5. Pop Culture References, Diversity And Surrealism

Even though both Abbi and Ilana are quite a few years younger than me (sob), they still do things that I would do — like ask for ’90s hip hop at bars, and reference Roseanne and Alex. P. Keaton. (If you are reading this and do not recognise the names of ‘Roseanne’ and ‘Alex P. Keaton’, you make me a bit sick.)

Diversity is also a great feature of Broad City, without it feeling forced or tokenistic (*cough* Donald Glover on Girls *cough*). It’s obvious that the lives of the women are reflected genuinely in the show, if not in an extremely exaggerated way. It has diversity in its depictions of race and sexuality, and traditional gender roles are subverted constantly. There are also some really interesting moments for Ilana in particular, in regards to gender itself.

If all that wasn’t enough, there are wonderful touches of surrealism in some scenes — like in the clip below, where they play homage to Missy Elliot’s famous costume in her ‘The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)’ film clip.

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6. It Is Fucking Funny

IT. IS. FUCKING. FUNNY.

I am not convinced I didn’t dream this show into existence. If you like hilarious and original television comedy, I strongly suggest you check out Broad City when it hopefully airs in the not-too-distant future. Please feel free to contact me at any time if you would like to talk about how great it is, or perhaps how great I am for maybe bringing it into your life.

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Until SBS2 bring the show to Australia (please), you can watch more Broad City by visiting their YouTube channel, or head to their website.

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Rebecca Shaw is a Brisbane-based freelance writer and co-host of the comedy podcast Bring A Plate. For dumb jokes and crazed rants, you can follow her on twitter @brocklesnitch