Abbi and Ilana weren't supposed to be icons. Honestly, when Broad City Season 1 premiered on Comedy Central in January 2014, most people thought it was just another "struggling in New York" trope. We had Girls. We had Sex and the City. We didn't really need more twenty-somethings crying over rent. But then Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer started running through the streets of Manhattan, and everything changed. It wasn't polished. It was sweaty, loud, and deeply weird.
It worked because it was real. Not "prestige TV" real, but "I just found a loose French fry in my bed" real.
The Web Series Roots of Broad City Season 1
You can't talk about the first season without mentioning where it started. It wasn't born in a boardroom. It was a scrappy YouTube project. Between 2009 and 2011, the duo produced two seasons of web episodes that were basically raw sketches of their actual lives as UCB performers. Amy Poehler—yes, that Amy Poehler—saw the potential. She didn't just give them a "good job" pat on the back; she executive produced the pilot and even showed up in the web series finale.
That DIY energy carried over into the TV show. Most sitcoms take a few years to find their footing. Not this one. By the time the first episode, "What a Wonderful World," aired, the chemistry was already a decade deep. You can't fake that kind of rhythm.
When you watch Broad City Season 1, you’re seeing a refined version of two best friends who spent years figuring out exactly how to make each other laugh in the cheapest ways possible. It’s why the dialogue feels so fast. It's why they finish each other's sentences without it feeling like a scripted gimmick. They were already Broad City before the cameras started rolling.
Why the Comedy Landed So Hard in 2014
Comedy was in a weird spot ten years ago. We were moving away from the multi-cam laugh track era, but we hadn't quite hit the "everything is a dark dramedy" phase yet. Broad City bridged that gap perfectly. It was absurd. It featured a literal "Bed, Bath & Beyond" obsession that felt like a personal attack on anyone who grew up in the suburbs.
The stakes were microscopic.
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In "The Last Supper," the season finale, the biggest conflict is Abbi’s seafood allergy and a very expensive bill. That’s it. There’s no "will they/won't they" romance driving the plot. There’s no massive career breakthrough. It’s just two people trying to survive a fancy dinner without dying or going bankrupt.
The Breakout Moments
Remember the "Work B*tch" montage? It’s arguably the most iconic sequence in the entire series. Abbi is cleaning a literal crime scene of a bathroom at Soulstice—her soul-crushing gym job—while Ilana is literally sleeping in a bathroom stall at her sales job. It’s set to Britney Spears. It’s high art.
It captured the specific millennial malaise of the 2010s. We were told we could be anything, but mostly we were just "cleaners" or "office drones" trying to afford a $12 cocktail.
And then there’s Lincoln. Hannibal Buress was the perfect foil to Ilana’s chaotic energy. His deadpan delivery about being a pediatric dentist who loves pasta remains some of the best supporting work in modern TV. He wasn't the "boyfriend." He was the guy who stayed in the background being the most reasonable person in the room, which, in the world of Broad City Season 1, made him a total weirdo.
The Geography of New York City (The Real One)
Most shows film NYC on a backlot in Burbank. Broad City didn't. They were on the subway. They were in actual bodegas. They were wandering through the confusing corridors of the Port Authority.
New York in this show is a villain. It’s loud, it’s expensive, and it constantly tries to steal your dignity. In "Puccini," Abbi tries to find a package. It sounds simple. It becomes an Odyssey-level struggle involving a creepy neighbor and a missed connection. If you've ever lived in an apartment building with a shared mail area, that episode is a documentary.
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The show also refused to glamorize the "broke" lifestyle. Abbi’s apartment felt cramped. Ilana’s room was a disaster zone. There was a grit to the cinematography that felt a bit grainy, a bit unwashed. It wasn't the "shabby chic" of Friends. It was just... shabby.
Misconceptions About the "Slacker" Trope
A lot of critics at the time labeled Abbi and Ilana as "slackers." That’s a lazy take.
They weren't lazy; they were exhausted.
Ilana works incredibly hard at not working. That takes effort. Abbi is actually ambitious—she wants to be an artist—but the world won't let her. She’s stuck in the "cleaner" role because the gatekeepers won't look at her sketches. Watching Broad City Season 1 now, it feels less like a show about slackers and more like a show about the gig economy before we had a name for it.
They were hustling. They were doing "Deals! Deals! Deals!" just to get by. It was survival comedy.
The Cultural Impact and E-E-A-T Perspective
Looking back with a decade of hindsight, the influence of this show is everywhere. You see its DNA in Awkwafina is Nora from Queens or Insecure. It paved the way for female-led comedies where the women were allowed to be gross, selfish, and incredibly high-functioning idiots.
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Before this, female friendship on TV was often competitive. They fought over guys. They had "frenemies." Abbi and Ilana never did that. Their loyalty was the only stable thing in their lives. Even when they were at their worst, they were each other’s biggest fans. It was a radical depiction of platonic love that hadn't really been centered in that way before.
Expert Take: The Production Quality
Critics like Emily Nussbaum from The New Yorker pointed out early on that the show's structure was surprisingly sophisticated. Despite the stoner humor, the editing was sharp. The transitions were rhythmic. It had a visual language that felt like a music video.
The music supervisor, Matt FX, deserves a lot of credit for the show's vibe. The soundtrack for the first season was a mix of underground hip-hop, electronic beats, and weirdly perfect pop choices. It gave the show an urban, kinetic energy that helped it stand out from the slower-paced comedies of the era.
How to Revisit the Series Today
If you're going back to watch Broad City Season 1, don't just binge it in the background. Pay attention to the background actors. Look at the weird things happening on the New York streets. The show is packed with sight gags that you’ll miss if you’re scrolling on your phone.
- Watch the pilot first, then go back and find the original web series on YouTube. It’s wild to see how many jokes were recycled and improved for the big screen.
- Follow the guest stars. Season 1 had some incredible cameos, from Fred Armisen as a creepy "baby" man to Amy Sedaris as a terrifyingly intense real estate agent.
- Analyze the fashion. Ilana’s outfits are a masterclass in "I found this in a dumpster and it's high fashion now." Abbi’s "blue dress" becomes a recurring character in itself.
The show isn't just a time capsule of 2014. It’s a reminder that even when your life is a total mess, having one person who thinks you're a genius can get you through just about anything.
Practical Steps for Fans and New Viewers
If you're looking to dive deeper into the world of Broad City, start by exploring the UCB (Upright Citizens Brigade) scene where the creators started. Much of the improvisational style of the show comes from that specific school of comedy.
- Check out the "Hack into Broad City" shorts. These are bite-sized Skype calls between the two characters that bridge the gaps between seasons.
- Look for Abbi Jacobson's book, I Might Regret This. It gives a lot of insight into her real-life transition from a struggling artist to a TV star.
- Support local improv. The spirit of the show is rooted in live performance. Find a local theater and see where the next generation of Abbi and Ilanas are cutting their teeth.
The brilliance of the first season is that it doesn't try to be anything other than what it is. It's a loud, messy, beautiful love letter to friendship. It doesn't need a grand conclusion because, in the world of Abbi and Ilana, the journey—even if it's just to the other side of Brooklyn—is the whole point.
Actionable Insight: To truly appreciate the evolution of the show, watch "What a Wonderful World" (S1E1) and then immediately watch the series finale, "Broad City" (S5E10). The growth of the characters is subtle but profound, moving from co-dependency to a healthy, albeit long-distance, adult friendship. This progression highlights the writing team's ability to maintain the show's core humor while allowing the characters to actually age and change with their audience.