6 Balloons is Abbi Jacobson as you've never seen her before

There are plenty of Hollywood movies about drug addiction, but in 6 Balloons, the quiet drama from Marja-Lewis Ryan has a different focus: rather than follow the addict, the film instead devotes its attention to Katie (Abbi Jacobson) the sister of heroin-addict Seth (Dave Franco), who both struggles to defeat and enables her brother’s addiction.

For Jacobson, a comedic actress most famous for her role as half of the Broad City duo, the role is a major shift — a surprise, even — in terms of the way audiences usually see her. “I think so, too,” Jacobson tells EW. “I have no idea what people are going to think. I think people might think when they click this that this is a comedy.”

Her costar Dave Franco (Neighbors, 21 Jump Street) is also an actor largely associated with comedy. “It’s really both of our first forays into drama, so it was exciting that we were all in the same boat together going into this,” says Jacobson. “I probably would have been even more insecure about this movie if I was opposite someone who did mostly drama.”

Although both Jacobson and Franco’s IMDb profiles feature Neighbors 2, The Lego Ninjago Movie, and Bojack Horseman, 6 Balloons represents the first time the actors have actually ever worked together. “We met on this project,” Jacobson explains. “We were both in Neighbors, but I was pretty quick — I didn’t work with him on that. And we had both been recording Lego for like a year, but you do that independently. So we met for dinner for this project, and when we were doing rehearsals, and just really hit it off. It’s so funny though; we’ve been in all of these things together but not even together.”

So what’s next for the Jacobson now that she’s proven herself a master of versatility?

“Only drama,” Jacobson deadpans. “Only drama now! Don’t send me any comedies!”

6 Balloons is now available on Netflix.