Part of Broad City's charm lies in how New York City is as much of a character as anyone else on the show. The New York of Broad City is a surreal playground where anything can happen, and anyone in the world can appear. From celebrities to street urchins, alter egos to hallucinations, the world of Ilana Wexler and Abbi Abrams is filled with a colorful assortment of characters that come and go over the course of Broad City's five seasons.
Though there is no shortage of bizarre people in New York City, some people left a bigger, weirder impact than others. Get ready for the 10 weirdest bit characters Broad City had to offer.
10 Marla Bevers
Although Bevers remained a constant source of frustration in Abbi's life, it was the introduction of his sister Marla in season one's "Hurricane Wanda" that truly drove home just how strange the Bevers clan is.
Though Marla is physically and mentally nearly identical to her brother, she is also considerably more aggressive and confrontational. When she realizes that someone has left poop in her shoes, she grills everyone in the apartment while they ride out the storm, creating a situation equal parts awkward, hilarious, and weird.
9 Kirk Steele
The first alter-ego on this list, Kirk Steele is the persona that Trey, a Soulstice trainer and Abbi's boss, adopted when he made a series of pornographic videos at his home in Florida in the mid-2000s.
Though Trey has moved on from his Kirk days, Ilana discovers his past alias and Abbi takes the opportunity to blackmail him into a better position at Soulstice. Despite the alter ego, Kirk is almost identical to Trey in both demeanor and look, making the alter ego a weird, but rather weak, cover.
8 Cheese
Initially introduced in the very second episode of the series, Cheese is a friend of Abbi's from college who has since reformed her partying ways. Despite Cheese's high horse, she is actually nowhere near the level of maturity or sobriety that she pretends that she is.
While chastizing Abbi for still smoking weed at 25, she's chasing pills with white wine. She appears again in the first episode of the fifth season; Abbi and Ilana find a lost child at a mall and look after her until they find out that she's Cheese's daughter. Cheese once again chastises their immaturity, but Abbi and Ilana now know to pay her no mind.
7 Pam
Played by the incomparable Amy Sedaris, Pam is a manic and jumpy realtor who shows Abbi a series of apartments in season one's "Apartment Hunters."
The apartments she shows Abbi include a literal hallway, as well as a murder scene. Pam becomes increasingly desperate as each apartment will not work for Abbi's needs, claiming that she needs money or someone will break her legs, implying that she may or may not have debts tied to the mob.
6 Val
Abbi's Judy Garland-esque, drunk doppelganger, Val is the second alter ego on our list. Her introduction is teased during the season two premiere, but she does not appear in full force until the episode "FOMO," when Abbi blacks out and leads Ilana to an underground bar.
Armed with her signature song, "Get Happy" from Judy Garland's Summer Stock, Val is a favorite among the patrons, including a specific patron appearing later on this list.
5 Bobbi Wexler
Bobbi is arguably too much of a regular character to be on this list. Though she only appears in eight episodes and doesn't show up until season two, Bobbi's shadow looms large over Broad City.
From the moment Bobbi appears on the screen, it is obvious she is not only where Ilana gets her trademark attitude, but she is everything Ilana aspires to be. Watching Bobbi is like watching Ilana 25 years into the future, where she has grown wiser but no more demure.
4 Kelly Ripa
Kelly Ripa is a very real person, but the Kelly Ripa that appears in Broad City is somewhat fictionalized (probably). After she loses her jacket while Abbi is working coat check, Abbi hunts down the jacket to return it.
When she gets to Kelly's apartment, however, the Kelly she meets is nowhere near the Kelly who is on Live! With Kelly and Michael, but instead a hard-drinking, potty-mouthed party-drug user. She throws a gift basket from her apartment window and encourages Abbi to do the same, but when she hires males escorts for the two of them, Abbi decides she has had enough.
3 Linda Lodi
The perpetually beleaguered temp manager Linda Lodi is played by the master of unhinged middle management, Rachel Dratch. She first appears in season one's "Working Girls," when Ilana takes a temp position as the receptionist at Linda's temp agency.
Linda rushes out to a salon to fix her haircut, and later creates a scene counting gumballs for an estimation contest. She appears a few other times during the series, including in season five. At this point, she is completely down on her luck and rents "office space" on the sidewalk from Ilana.
2 Bingo Bronson
A cross between a stuffed animal and a hallucination, Bingo Bronson really comes to life in the second season episode "Wisdom Teeth" when Abbi experiences the after-effects of her wisdom tooth anesthetic.
While Abbi cuddles with her stuffed toy, she envisions him coming to life and leading her on an adventure around Brooklyn, culminating in a trip to Whole Foods, where Abbi throws a jar of manuka honey at an unlucky shopper. Bronson makes a few other appearances through the rest of the series, but "Wisdom Teeth" is certainly the episode where he shines the brightest.
1 Garol
Garol first appeared in season one's "Working Girls," and her impact since has been indelible. Sitting at a desk in an otherwise empty warehouse on North Brother Island messily eating yogurt, she ruined Abbi's day and elevated an already great episode of Broad City.
Everything about Garol is bizarre - her name, her demeanor, the way she seems to be everywhere at once. She shows up a few more times throughout the series, including a notable appearance during "FOMO," where she is seated next to Ilana when she discovers the truth about Val.
https://ift.tt/2ZW5sdi
July 24, 2020 at 05:30AM
