Entertainment

Abbi & Ilana Aren't 'Broad City's Only Funny Gals

by Emerald Pellot

While Abbi and Ilana may be the stars of Broad City, there is one MVP I've had my eyes on from the start. Comedian Nicole Drespel plays Ilana's DealsDealsDeals co-worker, Nicole. Drespel manages to leave a strong impression every time she appears on screen, spewing a quiet and subtle venom at Ilana who can't seem to take work quite as seriously as Nicole does.

We know her from Broad City, but Drespel's got a star resume with appearances on 30 Rock and Vag Magazine. She is also an active actor and teacher at the UCB Theater. What I love most about Drespel is that she has made it a point to align herself with very, very funny women. Much of her work is female-driven and incredibly subversive. Comedy, at its best helps us to understand the world around us, so we need more feminist comedians like Drespel who are willing to turn the movement on its head, point out what we get wrong, what we get right and most importantly when we feminist are just being silly.

These are just five of the many reasons I can't wait to see what Nicole Drespel has in store:

1. She Shines Even In The Tiniest Of Roles

Drespel may have only appeared in a few episodes of Broad City but when she does, boy does she make her mark. Drespel is a necessary foil to Ilana while still seeming incredibly realistic. Whenever Ilana comes to work late, high or disgruntled, you can bet Nicole is there expressing utter disdain to Ilana's total obliviousness.

2. She Appears On Vag Magazine

Call all of your feminist lady blogger friends because Vag Magazine is the best thing ever. The webseries is a satirical parody of feminist publications. The entire cast is made up of women so don't expect any of the mean-spirited venom sometimes flung at feminists on Twitter. The series merely pokes fun at just how gung-ho we can get when we're trying to be super inclusive and super aware. Drespel plays Fennel, an editor on the staff of Vag Magazine, who helped buy the magazine with proceeds from selling reusable maxi pads on Etsy. Fennel even got her own spinoff called "That's Not Feminist."

3. The "Gorgeous Ladies Of Historical Comedy" Is A Genius Blog

Drespel isn't only funny on video, she's a great writer too. Drespel founded a column, Gorgeous Ladies of Historical Comedy, completely devoted to funny women in history. I don't mean recent history either, Drespel puts the spotlight on true pioneers like Mercy Otis Warren born in 1732 and Anne Gracebirdle, a comedic actress during the 1690s.

4. She Is Excellent On Twitter

The best Twitter accounts have a mix of the personal, the humorous and the political and Drespel's got all three in spades.

5. I Mean, She Is Just Generally Really Cool

Drespel's next performance at the UCB Theatre in New York City is named "The Female Gaze." Yes. Yes. Yes. The show is a parody of female talkshows like The View. The description pretty much says it all, "The Female Gaze will unite a diverse group of women to yell at each other in public." Need I say more?

Images: Comedy Central (screengrab); Giphy