Abbi Jacobson on ‘Disenchantment,’ ‘Broad City’
Abbi Jacobson, who celebrates New York in Comedy Central’s “Broad City,” moves to the fantasy kingdom of Dreamland as Princess Bean in Netflix’s “Disenchantment” (due Friday).
Jacobson’s Bean rejects tradition in the animated series from “The Simpsons” creator Matt Groening, which is set in a medieval world of wizards, fairies and the plague. Instead of focusing on romance and wardrobe, Bean likes to drink and go on adventures with pals Elfo the elf (Nat Faxon) and Luci the demon (Eric Andre), who have the big eyes and overbites familiar to Groening’s fans.
Besides “Disenchantment,” Jacobson, 34, is busy with the final season of Comedy Central’s “Broad City;” has a “memoir-esque” book due in October; is writing a TV version of “A League of Their Own”; and is developing new series for Comedy Central.
Question: How does Bean defy traditional images of royalty, and why is that important?
Abbi Jacobson: “The image of princesses – even our obsession with the actual royal family – is the stereotype of beauty and perfection. Bean is not that at all. You get to see how rough around the edges she is. ... She’s allowed to be extremely flawed, which we don’t show very often on TV or film.
Q: Romance isn’t the be-all, end-all for Princess Bean.
Jacobson: In a lot of princess stories, it’s about “When will my Prince Charming find me and start my life?” This is about Bean figuring out who she is. If ro- mance comes into play, great, but that’s not what she’s going after.
Q: What would “Broad City” characters Abbi and Ilana (Ilana Glazer) think of Bean?
Jacobson: I think they would love Bean. … She’s a younger version of (Abbi) in a way. I really love playing insecure and sort of rambling. .
Q: Why did you and Ilana decide to end “Broad City”?
Jacobson: When the fifth season airs, we will have been doing “Broad City” for 10 years (counting a precursor web series). … It’s about our 20s (and) this fleeting period of time where you’re still looking at New York or wherever you are with that romanticism. It just felt like a perfect way to end it.
Q: What’s the final season focus?
Jacobson: This is really going back to the roots of the Abbi-Ilana friendship, what that means and how things change. ... Funny is always our most important thing, but this (season) goes a little deeper.
Q: What was the motivation for your upcoming book. “I Might Regret This: Essays, Drawings, Vulnerabilities, and Other Stuff ” (due Oct. 30)?
Jacobson: Last year, after we finished editing Season 4, I had to be on the West Coast, and I needed a break (so) I drove there. I was by myself for three weeks, and I ended up writing about it. I found myself at a time where I was overwhelmed with work. I had been extremely heartbroken. … It’s sort of a mix of travel essays with very personal stories. It’s memoir-esque, and there’s illustrations. I was very nervous because it’s the most personal thing I’ve put out in the world, but I’m really proud of it.