Ilana Glazer on why ‘Broad City’ ended earlier than expected

More than five years later, Ilana Glazer is happy with where Broad City ended.

The Emmy winner recently explained why her and Abbi Jacobson’s Comedy Central series, which was spun off from their web series of the same name, ended after five seasons in 2019 despite the option to continue.

“Broad City was like a big (deal),” she explained on NPR’s Wild Card podcast. “We had signed our contract for seven seasons, and then we both came to it, Abbi and I. And Comedy Central was like, ‘Huh?’ We were kind of ambivalent and unsure, but I think it’s something I would say is elegant in that I know when things are over.”

Glazer added, “And like being able to trust me to be generative beyond this moment, whether it’s a creative project or something, you know, but I’m sure I’ll 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 rhythm on a larger scale, like ‘it’s over’ and also accepting the loss.”

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.

Broad City saw Ilana and Abbi as fictional versions of themselves, best friends chasing their dreams and getting into arguments in New York City. In the show’s final season, Abbi left town to pursue an art program in Colorado, while Ilana stayed to start her career as a sex therapist and launch her “wusiness,” a line of wigs for your phone.