Here’s some personal context: I spent most of my day before watching this episode in a health clinic, dealing with strep throat, waiting, waiting, waiting. It goes without saying that it was a less-than-ideal way to spend my day. I turned on “Wisdom Teeth”, and suddenly all was right in the world. The long day faded away. The pain in my throat faded away. It was almost as if I was high on four Vicodin and some strong weed.
Seconds into the second season premiere of Broad City, it’s unbelievably exciting to be back in the company of Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, two of the most wonderful and delightful people on our little planet. In the first season, this simple comedy seemed initially to not be much more than a funny hangout show. Quickly though, the intense friendship between these two characters developed into something truly beautiful, one of the very few female friendships on television of such strength, honesty, and mutual adoration. The exploration and celebration of that relationship is what makes Broad City so special outside of its consistent hilarity, and judging on the premiere, nothing’s changed.
It’s difficult to describe what the show is to people, because it’s definitely not as simple as describing as a faux talk show. Here’s the premise as simply as can be put: Eric Andre plays himself as an incredibly inept public access talk show host. It doesn’t stop there though, as the guests he has on aren’t always the actual person. For example, Russell Brand is a homeless old black man, and a young black man shows up in a blonde wig as Reese Witherspoon. Celebrity impersonators of George Clooney and Jack Nicholson will appear as their doppelgangers and participate in low-rent late-night games like “The Coffee Challenge” and “What If It Was Purple?”. Joining as his co-host is comedian Hannibal Buress, and he’s a perfect laid-back foil to the insanity of Andre. He spends most of each episode berating Andre, then eerily standing behind the guests while they are being interviewed, interjecting with thoughts that range from deep to pot-induced. Just as Andre spends the opening credits tearing down his own talk show set then replacing it, he’s also dismantling every notion of the talk show and repurposing it to his zany means.