Parents' Guide to

Broad City

By Joyce Slaton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Absurdist buddy comedy is female-friendly, edgy.

TV Comedy Central Comedy 2014
Broad City Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

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age 17+

Based on 3 parent reviews

JuniperBlossom
JuniperBlossom Adult
February 28, 2019
age 16+

Hilarious, Female-Driven Comedy

Hilarious and topical, but full of drug and sex references (marijuana is used often and sex toys are show and mentioned often). Most of the people I have personally seen say the show isn't funny or isn't for them have been men. The show definitely has jokes that men who don't have personal/intimate conversations with women won't understand. I love this show and am sad to see it end.
Leo P.
Leo P. Adult
February 24, 2019
age 18+

Crude, cliche, boring "comedy"

This show is absurd. It tries to force laughs using the crudest methods - like hiding drugs somewhere. The characters have no redeeming value, they are a bother and a nuisance to everyone around them. The episodes are a drag, stretched out the aim of the show of "empowering" women comes off as a poor attempt of being as edgy as they can. Not for any kind of family, and even if you're over 18, your time is better spent watching anything else.
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What's the Story?

Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer are real-life friends in New York whose original web series BROAD CITY is now a half-hour show featuring the pair's semibiographical antics under executive producer Amy Poehler. Both Abbi and Ilana have dead-end jobs: Abbi at an upscale gym, Soulstice, where she longs to teach spin classes but is instead given her very own toilet plunger by her smug, yoga-catchphrase-mouthing boss. Ilana works at a Groupon-like service doing sales, but she takes a lot of breaks and is in a happily casual relationship with her friend Lincoln (Hannibal Buress). During their off hours, the friends video-chat with each other, make plans for parties and concerts, stalk cute neighbors, and generally pal around in ways that real-life young women will probably relate to.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (3 ):

Taking a page from Louie, Abbi and Ilana's antics have an absurdist "only in New York" flavor with a dash of the Seinfeld method of spinning a show out of nothing in particular. One episode features Abbi's epic journey to retrieve a package for a handsome neighbor, which involves a trip to an island neither Abbi nor anyone else has ever heard of. Another involves the girls' pursuit of an extra $200 to get into a concert; when stealing office supplies doesn't work, Ilana convinces Abbi to clean a stranger's apartment in her underwear. Spoiler alert: The client (Fred Armisen) evades paying for the service by pretending to be an adult baby who doesn't understand what money is.

That last anecdote more or less sums up the show. If it sounds amusing to you, Broad City probably will be, too. Jacobson and Glazer have personality and a point of view, and though their trying to make extra money by bucket drumming in the park may not be relatable (particularly for those living outside NYC), the two of them always are.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about other shows set in New York that focus on female friendship, such as Sex and the City and 2 Broke Girls. How are Abbi and Ilana like these other heroines? Are they the same age? The same socioeconomic status? Are they presented differently?

  • Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer are friends in real life. Can you think of other on-screen pairs, romantic or platonic, who are also paired in real life? Does it make a show more real or more funny if the characters are also involved off-screen?

  • One show Broad City has been compared with is Girls, which is also about a set of female friendships among New York twentysomethings. Which one seems more realistic? Which one is funnier? Which one do you like better?

TV Details

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Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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