EDGEWATER — When "Broad City" co-star/creator Abbi Jacobson wanted to convince Chicago author Samantha Irby to turn her memoir "Meaty" into a TV series, she made a game plan and quickly followed it: jumping on a plane to Chicago and pitching Irby the idea over pancakes at Little Goat.
"When she got off the plane it was like, 'When Harry Met Sally,'" Irby recalled during a discussion with Jacobson at Senn High School.
Andersonville's Women & Children First bookstore sponsored the night's events, which also included a signing of Jacobson's new illustrated book, "Carry This Book." Nearly 900 people attended the show at Senn Friday night.
The pair are now working on a new television show for FX, co-written by Jacobson and "Inside Amy Schumer" head writer Jessi Klein. The series will revolve around stories told in Irby's book "Meaty" and the Chicagoan's popular "Bitches Gotta Eat" blog, and will center on themes surrounding food, relationships, health, sex and more.
All three will serve as executive producers.
Jacobson said she'd first learned of Irby after famed comedian Janeane Garofalo handed her a copy of "Meaty" and insisted she read it.
She did, and after a brief stint of internet "stalking," Jacobson said she reached out to Irby in January of 2014 to meet up in New York and discuss turning the piece into a half-hour series.
Jacobson said she had been searching for a new TV concept in addition to her breakout hit Comedy Central show with Ilana Glazer, but hadn't considered another voice outside her own until reading Irby's book.
After a six-month silence, Jacobson said she finally heard back from Irby, who acknowledged the offer but said it was unlikely she'd been in New York anytime soon.
So in November of 2015, Jacobson flew out to Irby's hometown of Chicago, where Jacobson pitched the idea for the series over a pancake breakfast at Little Goat diner on Randolph Street in the West Loop.
The two decided the show would center around real stories and people based on Irby's life, though Irby made it clear — as a "regular person, not a Hollywood-person" — that she did not want to actually appear in the series herself.
Jacobson said the trio are currently working on the pilot with FX.
See photos from the Senn talk below.
Abbi Jacobson, author and illustrator of "Carry This Book" and co-star/creator of "Broad City" on Comedy Central. [DNAinfo/Linze Rice]
The two met in Chicago to discuss a possible television series while dining at Little Goat. [DNAinfo/Linze Rice]
Samantha Irby, author of "Meaty," a memoir that will become a TV series. [DNAinfo/Linze Rice]
Abbi Jacobson. [DNAinfo/Linze Rice]
Samantha Irby. [DNAinfo/Linze Rice]
Nearly 900 people showed up for the Friday night event in Edgewater. [DNAinfo/Linze Rice]
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