From 2011 and 2017, the hit sitcom, 2 Broke Girls polarized critics with its raunchy humor and racy jokes. However, the two stars of the show were largely praised for their chemistry as a pair of initially reluctant best friends who end up working together at a diner. The pair known as Max and Caroline, and played by Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs respectively, were complete opposites.
However, this fact often made for the funniest moments as they played off their contrasts. While Max came from a poor, single-mother background, Caroline was once from a wealthy family but is left penniless when her father is jailed for operating a Ponzi scheme. Backed up with a great supporting cast that included the likes of a memorable Jennifer Coolidge, the show had a large following and was very popular at its peak.
By Season 6, however, declining ratings, the need to create space for new shows, and other factors led to its sudden cancelation. Unfortunately, because of this, the show never got a proper finale. As we remember this sometimes controversial, but always hilarious show, here are our picks for the funniest episodes of 2 Broke Girls.
10 And The Near Death Experience (Season 3, Episode 18)
By this point in Season 3, Caroline has been dating a French pastry chef named Nicholas. The problem is, he's still married when the two get together and after Caroline finds out, she wants to end the relationship. Nicholas explains that he and his wife, who is back home in France, have an open marriage.
However, when Nicholas tells Caroline he wants to leave his wife for her, Caroline becomes more desperate to end the relationship. Her conundrum makes for some hilarious moments as she agonizes over everything, and it all drives her a little crazy. In a memorable episode, she and Max also end up on a ledge together, both terrified of falling off.
9 And The Soft Opening (Season 3, Episode 1)
The first episode of Season 3, this one saw the girls reopening their cupcake business at the back of the diner. The business was, of course, their plan to pull themselves out of poverty and generally became the underlying premise of the entire show. On the night in question, the girls experience a rare dose of good fortune.
Since a famous rock star dies in front of the door, the influx of fans to the location helps them make a killing in sales. However, their boss at the diner, the hilarious Han (Matthew Moy), isn't very happy with the pair of them. This leads to some typically dark and hilarious banter between Han and the girls, which was often a focal point of the show's funniest elements.
8 And The Booth Babes (Season 5, Episode 11)
Living in poverty often leads the girls to come up with some sidesplitting ways of saving money. In this episode, in order to gain entry into a video game conference for free, the pair become "Booth Babes."
After getting into the conference, the girls get their share of attention from the gamers. However, they also find out that one of Han's friends has designed a video game and created characters based on them for it. They realize this was without their permission, so they wind up demanding they be compensated for their likenesses being used.
7 And The Candy Manwich (Season 2, Episode 6)
At the beginning of the episode, Max and Caroline take a break and go out for lunch. They meet Andy, the handsome owner of a candy store. Caroline catches his attention and he asks her out. While she's initially delighted about this, she ends up experiencing a series of very humiliating situations.
Believing this will make Andy think less of her, she becomes very despondent. In a subplot, Han and Sophie (Jennifer Coolidge) fight because of her taking up a spot in his diner every night. The banter between these quirky side characters is hysterically funny at times.
6 And The Reality Problem (Season 4, Episode 1)
The girls are about to lock up their cupcake store for the night, but Max wants to count their tips. They wind up being held up by a hipster criminal, but Max shouts at him, and he gives them a tip instead. Later, they're approached by a woman who wants to know if an episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians can be filmed at their store window. They realize they've never seen the show and spend a night at Sophie's place watching it.
They become addicted to the show and when the appointment is canceled, they're devastated. This episode featured some standout moments such as Max referring to gloves as "hand condoms," and making "hate cupcakes" for Kim Kardashian when their opportunity to meet her is canceled. By its end, there's an amazing twist as the real Kim Kardashian does end up making a cameo.
5 And Martha Stewart Have a Ball: Part 2 (Season 1, Episode 24)
Season 1 of the show had a famous two-part finale, with this episode clinching it. Following on from part one, the girls scheme to find a way to attend The Met Ball when they hear Martha Stewart will be attending, so they can get her to try their cupcakes. After managing to get suitable ball gowns to wear, they encounter unexpected transport issues.
Hilariously, this leaves them with no choice but to ride their pet horse, Chestnut, across the Brooklyn Bridge to get to the ball. Along the way, they flirt with cops, and later, Caroline is assaulted by a woman in a fur coat. After managing to sneak in as caterers, they encounter the real Martha Stewart in the bathroom. She overhears them and is intrigued by their drive, offering to try their cupcakes. Later, Max makes a bold decision and breaks up with her boyfriend Johnny for good.
4 And the Three Boys With Wood (Season 2, Episode 7)
In another hilariously memorable episode from Season 2, Caroline shares a romantic relationship with Andy, the handsome candy store owner. However, she grows frustrated when he finds out who she once was and feels intimidated by her previously wealthy background.
Meanwhile, Max hires two strapping Amish men to help her build a barn for Chestnut. Sophie takes a shine to them, but Max kicks her out. Caroline later behaves in an unrefined way, so Andy can feel more comfortable. When she gets drunk and makes advances on one of the Amish guys, Andy finally kisses her.
3 And The Not Broke Parents (Season 3, Episode 20)
By this point in the show, Max is in a relationship with Deke, who has sophisticated and wealthy parents. When the Pastry Chef School Max is keen on closing down, Zeke thinks he might be able to get his parents to buy it and keep it open. This requires a visit that doesn't go well. With Caroline around, when Zeke's parents learn who she is, they are turned off since they were some of the people who lost a lot of money to her dad's scheme.
Max is angered by their change of heart and lets it out that she knows about Zeke's mother's checkered history. Zeke's parents force him to choose between their money and her. Max isn't happy to stay in the relationship and trades him back to his parents for a deal she makes with them.
2 And The Rich People Problems (Season 1, Episode 4)
Very early on in the show, while Caroline's old life is still fresh in her memory, she initially has great difficulty adjusting to poverty and pines for her old comforts. This forces Max and her to go on a hilarious mission to her former townhouse to retrieve her much-needed old mouthguard.
Episodes like this set the tone for the show since they comically played on the vast contrasts in the two girls' socioeconomic backgrounds. It was also these kinds of tropes and Caroline's rich people's woes versus Max's street-talking cynicism that made the show a hit from the beginning.
However, the show's humor was also often criticized for being insensitive and low-brow. Here's a snippet of what Kris Hekmi writing for TV Fanatic had to say about the show by looking at both sides of the critical divide.
"It's a bit crazy that a sitcom that drops the B-word so often, and makes sexual jokes without any hesitation, can tug at my heartstrings as "And the Rich People Problems" did.
Hekmi later added the following.
"Hate it or love it, the show-runners have given both leads a helluva mouth. And not the dainty, cutesy kind of mouths that only giggle and sing sugary stuff but the kind that curses and makes crass jokes."
1 And 2 Broke Girls: The Movie (Season 6, Episode 22)
Ok, so this episode may not necessarily have been the funniest in the show's history (there are after all over 130 hilarious episodes to choose from), however, it usually tops most fan's lists for the best one ever. A lot of that is likely down to nostalgia since this episode was the last one ever. Since the show was unceremoniously canceled, it never got to have a planned finale, so this was it.
Despite the show's producers not knowing when they wrapped Season 6 that the finale would be the last episode ever, they still did such a great job with it, that fans did get an overall happy ending — though without the full closure on every aspect they might have wanted. By this point, Max and Caroline have a thriving business and Caroline has a movie premiering.
In a sweet twist, Max's boyfriend, Randy proposes, and despite looking like they might break up earlier in the season, she says "yes." At the premiere, Caroline also damages a $10 000 dress, so it looks like they might have to still work at the diner a little longer. It was all good though, since, the last time we see them, the girls had still come a long way, both had great love lives and still had their diner family, all happy and intact in the end.