More than five years later, Ilana Glazer is happy about where Broad City ended.
The Emmy winner recently explained why her and Abbi Jacobson‘s Comedy Central series, which was developed from their web series of the same name, ended after five seasons in 2019 despite the opportunity to continue.
“Broad City was like a big [deal],” she explained on NPR’s Wild Card podcast. “We had signed our contract of seven seasons and then, we both came to it, Abbi and I. And Comedy Central was like, ‘Huh?’ We were like ambivalent and unsure, but I think that’s something I would say is elegant about me knowing when things are at their end.”
Glazer added, “And like being able to trust that I am generative beyond this moment, whether it’s a creative project or anything, you know, but I am secure that I will keep generating new layers and do without thinking. … I think it’s like a rhythm thing. You know what I mean? It’s like a larger scale rhythm thing of like, ‘this is over,’ and accepting the loss too.”
After launching the show as a web series from 2009 to 2011, Broad City caught the eye of executive producer Amy Poehler and landed a five-season run on Comedy Central from 2014 to 2019.
Ilana Glazer, Hillary Clinton and Abbi Jacobson on ‘Broad City’
Comedy Central/Courtesy Everett Collection
Broad City saw Ilana and Abbi as fictional versions of themselves, best friends chasing their dreams and getting into shenanigans in New York City. The show’s final season saw Abbi leaving the city to pursue an art program in Colorado while Ilana stayed to start her career as a sex therapist and launch her “wusiness” (woman-owned business), a line of wigs for your phone.