Broad City: queerer and queerer with the almighty Clea DuVall

Arts

Mar 4

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As a Jewish, bisexual comedienne, I greatly enjoy watching other Jewish, bisexual comediennes not let the haters stop them from doing their thang. Hence, Broad City is one of my all-time favorite shows; the kind of show that not only makes me scream-laugh and wish I had one iota of Abbi Jacobson’s and Ilana Glazer’s talent, but will also make me deeply wish that Season 5 wasn’t their last. But as a wise article from the Internet once said, the creators of Broad City are fine with it ending - and we should be as well.

Having only 5 seasons gives the show a succinctness that other shows, particularly those on the white-cis-hetero-male-dominated Comedy Central lack (do we really need reruns of Tosh.O? And what the fuck is a Brickleberry?). And in that same vein is the heart of the show, which is Abbi and Ilana’s friendship. It’s a friendship we all know, and yet we don’t, because as we age, our friendships seem to fall by the wayside. But we’ve all had an Abbi or Ilana in our lives at some point, and we’ve all seen the arc of that person and that friendship throughout the years, for better or worse. And in Broad City, the arc is what’s beautiful.

The characters that Abbi and Ilana have created are, well, themselves, or rather, heightened versions of themselves. Those versions blur together, and come into focus both on and off-screen; we’ve known from the jump that Ilana identifies as bisexual, and her proud queerness was ever-present throughout the series. Abbi recently come out as bisexual IRL, both in the press and in her memoir. So it only makes sense that Abbi would, at long last, in the final season of her genius baby, Broad City, have what appears to be a healthy, romantic relationship with a woman, after four seasons of dating men. And that woman is none other than the incomparable lesbian dynamo Clea DuVall (side bar: I Googled Clea’s sexuality just in case she identified something as other than lesbian, got lost in a Daily Mail hole under the pre-Trump title of, CLEA DUVALL STROLLS ARM-IN-ARM WITH LESBIAN LOVER FOR HOLIDAY SHOPPING SPREE, and thought to myself, “Well dang, Daily Mail, how do we know that they’re lesbians?” then saw the dirty Converse that they were both wearing and changed my tune).

Here’s the thing: everyone has a crush on Clea. Everyone. You literally just have to have a pulse, look at Clea, and boom, you’re suddenly gay. I dare a straight person who is reading this to go look at a photo of Clea right now and not turn queer. I DARE you. She is the Momo of gay icons, and she will SLAY YOU.

Unfortunately, there are only six out of eight episodes of the final season of Broad City out so far at the time of me writing this article for you, my adoring public, which means Clea has only been in two of them - and while she admittedly hasn’t been in a TON of scenes, she’s stolen just about every one. Is it hot in here? Look, I’m not just objectifying her looks, I’m also objectifying her talent, because she’s a damn good actor, and is delightful at playing a more comedic role than what her Cleavages (a name I just made up for Clea DuVall fans) are used to. She is dynamic, and the last season of Broad City is on-track to become “queerer and queerer,” like the aforementioned NYT article states. Now, join me in watching But I’m a Cheerleader and spritizing yourself with a water bottle to cool down, won’t you?

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Anna Jones is a writer and producer currently based in Atlanta. She is the proud owner of digital copywriting agency Girl.Copy and independent film production company Tiny Park Productions. She loves a lot of stuff, but mainly: her husband, kid, and cat, writing and filmmaking, coffee and Diet Coke, millennial pink, sushi, gay stuff, and horror films.

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