'Broad City,' and other web series that made successful jumps to TV

Before Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer were frolicking around New York on Comedy Central’s Broad City, they were frolicking around New York on their YouTube series of the same name. The two launched the web series in 2009; within a few years it morphed into a critically acclaimed television show that’s often heralded for its successful web-to-TV transition. And it’s not alone.

Turning a web series into a TV series isn’t easy: As Amy Poehler said at a Paley Center talk for Broad City, “web series to television is sort of like organ transplant. You just have to make sure that the heart doesn’t die on the way to the patient.”

So on the occasion of Broad City’s season 2 premiere, here’s a list of those web series that didn’t suffer heart failure during their transition to TV:

Broad City

A web series needs fans to make the jump from internet to TV, and Broad City had a very powerful one: Amy Poehler. The Parks and Recreation star liked the series so much that she signed on to executive produce the television version—which is such a hit that Comedy Central renewed it for a third season before its second even premiered.

Broad City returns to Comedy Central Wednesday at 10:30 p.m.