Characters / Broad City

Characters from Broad City.

Abbi Abrams

Played By: Abbi Jacobson

An aspiring illustrator who works as a custodian at a high-end gym. She tries to find a balance between being a responsible, self-sufficient adult while being fun-loving and free-spirited like Ilana.

• Alliterative Name: Abbi Abrams.
• Ambiguous Criminal History:
  • Revealed in "Kirk Steele." This one goes by so fast, it's easy to overlook. Following her accidental destruction of Soulstice's giant wall mirror, Abbi panics and brainstorms how to quickly raise $700 in order to replace it. She momentarily considers selling "mushroom chocolates," but immediately dismisses the idea as too risky when she realizes her "record" was only recently "expunged."
  • The subsequent episode "Co-Op" provides a bit more context. Abbi mentions to Craig how she once spent a summer following Phish around as they toured the country, while also selling mushroom chocolates, presumably to cover her travel expenses. (Also see Granola Girl below.)
• Ambiguously Bi: She has had sexual encounters with women before, which one of Abbi's old catering coworkers Morgan mentions in "Destination: Wedding," much to Ilana's surprise.
  Morgan: Okay, when we went to the Hamptons, Darcy and Abbi made out.
  Abbi: It was before I knew you. Ilana, it's not a big deal.
  Ilana: It's a huge deal. You said that if you were ever gonna do same-sex experimentation, it was gonna be with me.
  Abbi: I have never said that to you.
  Ilana: It has been implied.
  Abbi: By you.
• Author Avatar: Is a fictionalized version of Abbi Jacobson's experiences living as a twenty-something in New York City.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: A recurring theme is her steady realization that she isn't as good of a person as she'd like to think she is. For example: during a vacation to her old home town, she finds money she raised for her old school friend after an accident, and realizing she never gave it to her, she tries to find her to do so. She and Ilana keep spending the same money through their search for the house. By the time they get there, they have a third of the money promised, and Abbi's friend just chews her out.
• Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: For Ilana, of course! Not that she's always successful at this, though.
• Competition Freak: Becomes hyper-aggressive and downright dangerous when involved in a competition.
• The Corruptible: Will usually become this under Ilana's influence.
• The Determinator: Spends an entire day chasing her stolen phone around Manhattan just so she can send a text message to her crush.
• Fangirl: Of Oprah Winfrey. She has a huge picture of her in her bedroom and even has a back tattoo of her face.
• Gass Hole: Farts when she gets hugged by Ilana's dad. Then again when she's at the chiropractor's office.
• Gibberish of Love: Her interactions with her neighbor Jeremy, who she has a huge crush on for the first couple of seasons, usually lead to this.
• Goal in Life: She aspires to be a successful illustrator.
• Granola Girl: Abbi was this when she was younger, complete with foul-smelling dreadlocks.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Ilana. They're very close with each other, and Ilana even refers to Abbi as her "soulmate" on various occasions, but despite their more homoerotic tendencies (Ilana making a video dedicated to Abbi's ass, for instance), they're strictly platonic.

• Literally Loving Thy Neighbor: Abbi has a very large crush on her neighbor Jeremy.
• Manchild: She's not particularly mature. Though unlike Ilana, she makes an effort to try and act more adult, though it almost never lasts. This is brought up by Lesley in the season 5 episode "Shenanigans" when explaining why she thinks they should break up.
  Lesley: We're just not on the same page. I'm a doctor. I do jiu-jitsu and have hobbies. And you... You just don't really feel like an adult yet. And I'm sure your life is fun, but it's really just kind of a series of wild shenanigans.
• Mistaken Ethnicity: A Running Gag is that Abbi is constantly told that she doesn't look Jewish, even though she very much is.
  Abbi: I'm a hundred percent Jewish!
  Ilana: Emphasis on the "ish".
• Mistaken for Racist: She unknowingly contributes an illustration for a white supremacist dating service.
• Only Sane by Comparison: She frequently plays the Straight Man to Ilana's antics, but she has a lot of her own foibles as well. She's very much prone to making bad and reckless decisions, and she only manages to be the more seemingly put-together of the main duo because Ilana is just that much more reckless and id-driven.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Ilana's red. Abbi is significantly more considerate and reserved than her best friend and actually attempts to find balance between wild behaving and behaving like a responsible adult.
• The Reliable One: Trey (her boss at Soulstice) continually depends on Abbi's skills dealing with "pube situations" and other cleaning duties throughout the gym. He even suggests she label the cleaning items with her name.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: Generally doesn't put much effort into her looks, but can be an absolute stunner when she wants to be.
• Sizable Semitic Nose: In "Sliding Doors," which depicts two variations of Abbi's and Ilana's first meeting, Ilana is surprised when Abbi mentions that she's Jewish, and specifically points out Abbi's nose as the reason she's doubtful of her Jewish heritage.
  Abbi: Yeah, I'm completely Jewish.
  Ilana: (pointing at Abbi's nose) Check the records.
  Abbi: Had a bat mitzvah.
  Ilana: Did you get work done?
  Abbi: No!
• The Stoner: She isn't a hippie anymore like in high school, but she still gets baked a lot.
• Straight Man: Is this next to Ilana.

Ilana Wexler

Played By: Ilana Glazer

Abbi's best friend, a free-spirited and self-absorbed marijuana enthusiast and slacker. She works at a nondescript sales company called Deals Deals Deals (but rarely does any work and often takes breaks lasting hours) and shares an apartment with an immigrant named Jaimé.

• Author Avatar: Is a fictionalized version of Ilana Glazer's experiences living as a twenty-something in New York City.
• Bestiality Is Depraved: Lands in hot water more than once throughout the series for sharing bestiality videos with her roommates, co-workers, and via the official Deals Deals Deals Twitter account.
• Catchphrase: "Yas queen!"
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Reacts with shock at the slightest suggestion that Abbi could love another person more than her.
  • Played for drama in the final season when Abbi tells her she is moving to Boulder for an art program, while Ilana was hoping to be roommates.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Ilana is loud, proud, gaudy, and often a washout socially mostly because of all those things.
• The Corrupter: If Abbi does something reckless or wild, it'll usually be through Ilana's influence.
• Depraved Bisexual: Confirmed in the episode "Coat Check" which gives Ilana a same-sex relationship without much fanfare, who, as Abbi points out, looks and acts exactly like her. Ilana constantly tries to get Abbi to have a threesome with her (among other things, including a homoerotic dream about Abbi), makes out with a female intern in "Mochalatta Chills," and suddenly gets new ambition at work when she gets the hots for her company's new investor (played by Vanessa Williams) in "Game Over."
• Ethical Slut: She enjoys casual sex, encourages Abbi's liaisons, thinks its hot when her lovers have other lovers, and repeatedly expresses a desire for group sex, but she draws the line if a carnal encounter would violate someone's trust.
• Extreme Libido: One of Ilana's defining character traits. She is capable of becoming sexually aroused by just about anything, at any time.
• Fag Hag: For her drug dealing roommate Jaimé.
• Friends with Benefits: With Lincoln. She's once became horrified upon realizing that she might be in a real relationship with him.
  • As of the last season, she seems to have a similar relationship with Bevers (whose relationship is now open.
• Going Commando:
  Ilana: You don't have to tell me. I don't know where my underwear goes. That's why I go commando all the time!
• Gass Hole: Ilana farts quite a few times over the course of the series, much more than Abbi. While Abbi seems embarrassed most times, Ilana is much more open about it.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Despite her bisexual tendencies, she's this with Abbi.
• Innocently Insensitive: Abbi tells Ilana that she's "so anti-racist that sometimes you're actually really racist." In general, Ilana is fairly well meaning, but comes off as incredibly egotistical and indifferent to the feelings of others.
• Manchild: Ilana is strongly dominated by her id. On occasion this can sometimes be subverted as she is notably more street-smart and confident than Abbi.
• Motor Mouth: She's a very fast speaker.
• Ms. Fanservice: She's very sexually liberated and is proud to show off her body. It's generally played more for laughs than outright fanservice, however.
• Nice Girl: Despite her snark and impulsive personality, she is very much a sweet person who cares for her friends. When she worked as a waitress for a high-end restaurant with a very intimidating and snarky boss, she would make mean comments to some customers (as expected), but makes it clear to her boss that while she can fire off the snark, she shines more when she is lifting people up. One episode even has her compliment a woman on her appearance before chiding her for being an asshole.
• Nice to the Waiter: She is friendly with a local bodega's daughter/cashier on a first-name basis, in contrast to Abbi who cannot remember the girl's name (Truth in Television, it is considered a faux pas in NYC to not know the name of your local bodega owners and employees).
• Quirky Curls: Possesses these. The final season has her scouted by the real life hair care product Deva Curl for how perfect her curls are styled.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Ilana is far more chaotic, extroverted and unconventional than her blue counterpart, Abbi.
• Rummage Sale Reject: She has a ridiculously offbeat sense of style that generally is made up of things she found in the trash, such as gaudy-looking wigs. Somehow, she still manages to pull it off and look great.
• Self-Induced Allergic Reaction: Eats shellfish for Abbi's birthday, fully aware of its effect on her, and is subsequently hospitalised.
• The Slacker: Ilana is constantly late to work and spends her time there sleeping, taking excessive breaks and making plans for her and Abbi.
• The Stoner: While both girls smoke weed, Ilana does this on a more regular basis, and her habit is responsible for at least some of her antics.
• Straw Feminist: Some of her gender-related musings occasionally seem like this.
  Ilana: (After being told Abbi's friend was possibly horribly disfigured) Maybe it's about time there was an elephant woman.
• Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: Subverted. She can at times be rude, inconsiderate, and immature, although she usually means well and in most cases comes to see the fault in her actions by the end of the episode.
• With Friends Like These...: Despite her near worshipful admiration of Abbi, Ilana sometimes ends up screwing her over unthinkingly.

Lincoln Rice DDS

Played by: Hannibal Buress

A successful pediatric dentist with whom Ilana has a recurring sexual relationship, which he wants to turn into a romantic one (Ilana has thus far been unreceptive to this idea). He's a funny, easygoing guy and often plays games and tells jokes with his dental patients.

• Celebrity Resemblance: He's described as looking like Idris Elba.
• Friends with Benefits: With Ilana. Gets deconstructed, as his desire to be in a committed relationship eventually causes him to enter one with another woman, upsetting Ilana.
• Friend to All Children: He's a pediatric dentist and he gets along extremely well with his young patients.
• Hospital Hottie: He's a very attractive dentist.
• Nice Guy: He's charming, funny, and very accepting of his friends' antics. While he wishes he could be in a more normal relationship with Ilana, he's perfectly willing to let her do whatever she's comfortable with doing.
• Only Sane Man: A competent and reliable guy with an accomplished dental career at a young age in contrast to the emotionally stunted and unpredictable Ilana and Abbi.
• The Reliable One: Ilana and Abbi can always count on him, and he's saved their asses on more than one occasion.
• Unfazed Everyman: He's a pretty ordinary guy who is in a relationship with Ilana, who is essentially chaos incarnate. Despite this, he generally always comes off as incredibly calm and laid back regardless of the situation.

Jaimé Castro

Played by: Arturo Castro

Ilana's drug dealing gay roommate, a Guatemalan immigrant waiting to be naturalized. He exhibits extreme guilt over what he perceives as wrongs he has committed against his friends; however, they are usually minor transgressions.

• The Aggressive Drug Dealer: Inverted. He's a drug dealer but also the possibly the sweetest character in the series.
• Camp Gay: Has an effeminate demeanor, pretty face, and wears a purse and furs.
• Caught with Your Pants Down: After Ilana leaves him alone in their apartment. Funnily enough, she seems unfazed by it and she actually compliments his wrist technique.
• The Illegal: He's entered the US illegally, but as of "Citizen Ship" is a legal citizen.

Matt Bevers

Played by: John Gemberling

Boyfriend to Abbi's (always-absent) roommate. He spends his days lounging around Abbi's apartment and is a messy, disgusting freeloader. In spite of this, he has been shown on a couple of occasions to have a sweet, sensitive side.

• Fat Slob: The one thing he does around the apartment is create more messes.
• Fan Disservice: He is constantly caught in compromising positions by Abbi in her apartment, such as being half-naked or in the middle of masturbation.
• Formerly Fit: In season four's Whole Episode Flashback opening episode, he is introduced to Abbi already with his habit of appearing around the apartment half naked, but he is very hunky at the time.
• Hidden Depths: In season three, he displays expert knowledge of women's fashion, which completely surprises Abbi. Apparently he used to work at his grandma's department store every summer when he was younger.
• If It's You, It's Okay: Bevers has not shied away from showing attraction to handsome men on more than one occasion.
• Insistent Terminology: He calls himself Abbi's roommate despite not actually being a tenant in her apartment.
• Last-Name Basis: He's always referred to as "Bevers", and even his mug has his last name inscribed on it.
• Manchild: He seems stuck in perpetual adolescence with no wish to grow out of it.
• NEET: He's very clearly unemployed, and mooches off his girlfriend and Abbi.
• The Slacker: His laziness levels transcend those of the other characters.
• The Thing That Would Not Leave: Despite the fact that his girlfriend is almost never home and Abbi clearly hates his guts and doesn't want him around, he refuses to leave. In fact he tends to treat Abbi like his personal maid than anything else.
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: His girlfriend is (we are told) conventionally beautiful and extremely fit, and he looks extremely frumpy and chubby next to her.
  • In the final season, he and his girlfriend open up their relationship and he sleeps with the leggy and cute Ilana.

Trey Pucker

Played by: Paul W Downs

Abbi's oblivious and eternally enthusiastic boss at Soulstice. He's also a hardcore health and fitness enthusiast.

• Even the Guys Want Him: Bevers states that he would "suck him completely dry" despite being straight.
• Mr. Fanservice: He has an incredibly ripped body as a personal trainer.
• I Was Young and Needed the Money: He used to work as a solo-male porn performer, which he tries to keep quiet.
• Nice Guy: One of the few genuinely nice guys on the show, even if he is shown to be pretty clueless.
• You, Get Me Coffee: Trey constantly sends Abbi to do all the menial cleaning tasks at Soulstice, such as cleaning pubes out of the showers and puke off the floor, not recognizing her potential to be a trainer.

Jeremy Santos

Played by': Stephen Schneider

A very handsome neighbor who lives across the hall from Abbi's apartment. He is very easy-going and friendly.

• Casual Kink: Pegging seems to be a completely normal activity for Jeremy.
• Distracted by the Sexy: Abbi seems to forget how to have normal social interactions when he's around.
• Mr. Fanservice: Abbi has an Imagine Spot where he rubs oil on his muscular body.
• Put on a Bus: He disappears in season two after things go poorly with Abbi.