Hillary Clinton is celebrating her clean sweep of the Democratic primaries on Tuesday in an unconventional way. She will be making a cameo appearance on Wednesday night’s episode of the hit Comedy Central series “Broad City.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the episode in which Clinton appears was conceived a year ago, and the show’s stars, Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, only hoped that the former secretary of state would participate. “You know that meme of Hillary texting? It’s always us, every time,” quipped Glazer during a SXSW panel this month.
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Eventually, Clinton was persuaded to make a cameo, and the highly anticipated appearance, which was shot in December of last year, could — albeit in a small way — help endear her to a younger audience of progressive voters, which have so far overwhelmingly refused to support her candidacy for the 2016 nomination. Even in contests where she has won, Clinton’s showing with the youth vote has been discouraging to say the least, and in a general election fight the Democrats are well aware of how crucial this demographic of Americans can be.
Still, the purpose of the show is apolitical, according to Jacobson, who nevertheless told the SXSW crowd Clinton “is such an iconic figure right now and she has been.”
“For these girls, being around someone like that is not an everyday thing,” she added.
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“Broad City,” which is currently in its third season, has become a breakout critical and commercial hit, making feminist comedy icons out of Jacobson and Glazer. And although the show has a unique appeal to women viewers, it is actually the best-rated new cable comedy among Comedy Central’s predominately male 18- to 34-year-old audience as well. MSNBC reached out to the show’s publicity team and the Clinton campaign for comment on the episode but has not heard back at this time.
The show is known for its irreverent takes on sex and drugs, but has also been hailed as one of the best shows on television due its brashness and willingness to subvert stereotypical gender roles in a genre that has been historically hostile to female performers.
On the set of @broadcity season 3 with @abbijacobson, @ilazer and Amy! #yas pic.twitter.com/KYOAWDSshK
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) December 11, 2015
Meanwhile, this is not the first time in recent months that Clinton has tried her hand at comedy. In October, she made a surprise appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” where she turned in a widely praised performance as “Val” the bartender in a sketch opposite cast-member Kate McKinnon playing an exaggerated version of her:
“We’re trying to make really good TV. I wonder how you’ll feel after seeing it,” Glazer added at SXSW. “I think you’ll agree that it’s a really good episode of TV because Hillary Clinton is in it.”
Adam Howard