Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson have been hailed as the bright future of comedy since their Comedy Central series “Broad City” debuted in January.
The misadventures of their characters (also named Ilana and Abbi) in all their goofy, gross, pot-smoking glory immediately gained a cult following and rave reviews, leading Comedy Central to order a second season before the first 10 episodes had even finished airing.
But that presented a problem — one of those “good problems,” but a problem nonetheless — for Glazer and Jacobson, since they had already scheduled a cross-country “Broad City” tour.
“We didn’t just assume we were going to get picked up for another (season),” Glazer said over the phone from New York.
“We were so pumped to do the spring tour, but we had to start writing the second season immediately and we had to postpone,” Jacobson added. “We were mortified and felt terrible. It was our first tour so we were like, ‘Oh my God, of course we have to postpone it.’ “
That doesn’t seem to be a problem for “Broad City’s” fans. Glazer and Jacobson’s 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. shows at the Bluebird Theater on Nov. 21, which were rescheduled from March 24, are both sold out.
Credit “Broad City’s” balance of over-the-top humor and real-life pathos, which has endeared its creators to audiences looking for a break from the slick, cutesy, buttoned-up stuff that passes for humor on most sitcoms.
It’s also a break from the tanned, chipmunk-faced stars of CW network shows, for example, since “Broad City” presents a more realistic TV image of young, single women navigating life in a big city.
“Broad City” has even managed to differentiate itself from another realistic show about Brooklyn-based 20-somethings. Since its launch on Comedy Central, “Broad City” has often been compared to HBO’s “Girls,” as both portray fairly unvarnished, comedic versions of their creators. (And in those comparisons, “Broad City” is often cited as funnier.)
“We get asked about that comparison all the time and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I see it,’ ” said Glazer, who at the time of this interview had just finished discussing the topic at a Comic Con International panel in San Diego. “But it’s also minimizing and dismissive and unproductive. (‘Girls’ creator-star) Lena Dunham is a true, hardworking genius. But it’s up to other people to differentiate the shows. Taking that comparison shortcut passes over a lot of the details.”
The longer “Broad City” and “Girls” remain on the air, the less they’ll likely be seen as outliers in a TV-comedy world dominated by men. Like Sarah Silverman, Amy Schumer or Chelsea Handler, Glazer and Jacobson are more concerned about jokes than grand feminist statements — even if critics tend to lap that stuff up like free beer.
“It was unbelievable for us,” Jacobson said of the critical praise for “Broad City’s” network debut. “I feel like people have been hungry for a show like this, but I’m still amazed by it. So much happens and the plot moves so quickly, so it’s very easy to escape into the show. It’s light and quick and tiny, because it started as a web series.”
Glazer and Jacobson had time to develop and hone their voices on that series, which is produced by Amy Poehler, star of “Parks and Recreation” and co-founder of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, where Glazer and Jacobson met seven years ago.
“These characters are based on us, but getting to do 34 webisodes without a doubt made us so aware of this world that we were creating,” Jacobson said. “So when we went to pitch it, we already knew who all these characters were and what they do. It gave us confidence.”
The love that fans have shown to the creators has helped keep that feeling alive. From elaborate fan-art creations to “Broad City” Halloween costumes and a constant buzz on social media, devotees of the show have been consistently vocal.
Fans have also “gifted” Glazer and Jacobson with quite a bit of cannabis and junk food, given the the important role those things play on the Comedy Central series (Glazer hosted a YouTube series called “Chronic Gamer Girl” about her love of weed, video games and munchies).
“It’s so funny, this idea that people are obsessed with us,” Glazer said. “It gets a lot of attention because of our hyperbolic culture. Everything’s about liking or un-liking, thumbs-up or thumbs-down. But we’ve been there so many times with our own (idols). When you’re living with yourself all day, it seems silly that people are nervous to talk to you. It’s like, ‘I burned a pizza. I’m an idiot. Don’t be nervous.’ But there’s this amplification of our lives through TV.”
John Wenzel: 303-954-1642, jwenzel@denverpost.com or twitter.com/johnwenzel
“BROAD CITY: LIVE” Comedy stage show from creator-stars Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson. 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Nov. 21 at the Bluebird Theater, 3317 E. Colfax Ave. Sold Out. bluebird- theater.net
