While the list of A-listers who have joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe is long and diverse, another list that’s worth looking into is the wild group of actors, performers and others who have said yes to doing cameos. So, in celebration of those folks, here are the 32 best cameos in the MCU. 

Harry Styles As Eros In The Eternals 

Big names pop up in the MCU all the time, however, they’re almost always well-known actors. While Harry Styles has had a few acting roles, it’s not his primary profession, so yes, it was shocking when the singer showed up as Eros, Thanos’ brother, in the post-credits scene of The Eternals. However, since the film’s release in 2021, Styles’ future in the MCU has remained unknown, leaving his role as simply a cameo and nothing more.  

Blake Lively As Lady Deadpool In Deadpool & Wolverine 

Leading into Deadpool & Wolverine’s release, the speculation about who would play Lady Deadpool was running rampant. However, it wasn’t all too shocking when it was revealed that Ryan Reynolds’ wife Blake Lively was playing the female variant of her partner’s merc with the mouth.  

Sam Neill As Odin’s Actor In Thor: Ragnarok 

While the Thor: Ragnarok cast is stacked with legends like Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Mark Ruffalo, Jeff Goldblum and more, Taika Waititi also assembled quite the ensemble of cameos to play a troupe of actors in Asgard who put on a play about Thor and his family. This included Jurassic Park’s Sam Neill, who portrayed Anthony Hopkins’ King of Asgard, Odin.  

Stan Lee As Various Characters 

While future MCU projects sadly won’t have any in-person Stan Lee cameos, we can always re-watch the Marvel movies in order to see the legendary comic writer. Before his death in 2018, Stan Lee made cameos in just about every Marvel project, whether it was from Marvel Studios, Fox or Sony. 

Some fan-favorite cameos from him included his role as a security guard in Captain America: The Winter Solider, a New York resident being interviewed on the news in The Avengers and an astronaut telling a story to the Watchers in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, among many, many, many others. 

Matt Damon As Loki’s Actor In Thor: Ragnarok 

In the play Loki orchestrated in Thor: Ragnarok that tells the (not so true) story of him and his family, Matt Damon was cast to play the role of Tom Hiddleston’s God of Mischief. Which honestly, is inspired casting. Damon also popped in the non-MCU Deadpool 2. 

Kevin Bacon As Himself In Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special

Bringing a joke from Guardians of the Galaxy full circle almost eight years later, Peter’s hero Kevin Bacon finally appears. However, it’s kind of against his will, because Drax and Mantis decide to go to Earth and steal the Footloose actor to give to Chris Pratt’s character as a gift of holiday cheer.  

Miley Cyrus As Mainframe In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, we see a group of Ravagers approach The Guardians. One of them is a robot head named Mainframe, and it's voiced by Miley Cyrus.

Trevor Noah As Griot In Black Panther

Much like how Paul Bettany voiced J.A.R.V.I.S., Trevor Noah voiced Griot, Shuri’s artificial intelligence she uses at her lab in Wakanda in Black Panther. 

Melissa McCarthy As Hela’s Actress In Thor: Love and Thunder 

Adding to the mix of A-listers playing actors who are playing Thor characters (try saying that five times fast), Melissa McCarthy took on the role of Cate Blanchett’s Hela – the goddess of death – in Thor: Love and Thunder. She joined the theatrical company that already featured Sam Neill, Matt Damon and Luke Hemsworth to reenact the events of Thor: Ragnarok in Taika Waititi’s second movie about the God of Thunder.

Kenneth Branagh As Asgardian Distress Call In Avengers: Infinity War

You probably know that Kenneth Branagh directed the first Thor movie. However, what you might not know is he provided a meaningful Easter egg for Avengers: Infinity War. He voiced the Asgardian Distress Call that was played after Thanos attacked their ship. 

Luke Hemsworth As Thor’s Actor In Thor: Ragnarok 

Who else could play Chris Hemsworth’s Thor in an Asgardian play about the adventures of the God of Thunder and his family? Truly, picking Luke Hemsworth to play his real-life brother’s character was fantastic! The added bonus that makes all this even better is their other brother, Liam Hemsworth also auditioned to play the god back in the day. 

Bruce Campbell As Pizza Poppa In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness saw director Sam Raimi’s return to the superhero genre. With him came his The Evil Dead star Bruce Campbell, who played Pizza Poppa in the Doctor Strange movie. 

Bill Maher As Himself In Iron Man 3

During a montage of news clips in Iron Man 3, Bill Maher pops up as they’re talking about War Machine’s rebrand into The Iron Patriot. 

Charlie Cox As Daredevil In Spider-Man: No Way Home

If you saw Spider-Man: No Way Home in theaters on opening night, you likely heard applause when Charlie Cox made his big-screen MCU debut as Matt Murdock. While he played Daredevil for three seasons on his Netflix show, and he has returned as the character since this cameo where he was giving Peter Parker legal advice, this was the first time we’d seen Cox back in action in years. 

Tom Morello As Gaurd In Iron Man

Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello made one of the first cameos in the MCU when he popped up for a quick second in Iron Man. In the movie, he played a guard in the Ten Rings camp that Tony Stark was being held at. 

Joan Rivers As Herself In Iron Man 3

Along with Bill Maher and a bunch of other TV personalities, Joan Rivers popped up to rib on War Machine’s rebranding in Iron Man 3. 

Harry Dean Stanton As Security Guard In The Avengers

In The Avengers, there’s a security guard who finds Bruce Banner after he crashes into the Earth as Hulk. That guard is played by Harry Dean Stanton, who is best known for his roles in classic films like Alien, The Green Mile, Paris Texas and Repo Man. 

Justin Theroux As Police Officer In Iron Man 2

Not only did Justin Theroux write Iron Man 2, but he also had the smallest blink-and-you-’ll-miss-it cameo, per CBR. He played one of the police officers who arrested Justin Hammer and escorted Pepper Potts off the premises toward the end of the film. 

Rob Zombie As Ravager Navigator In Guardians of the Galaxy

In many of James Gunn’s movies, Rob Zombie makes a cameo. After doing that for Slither and Super, he lent his voice to his friend's first Marvel movie by voicing a Ravager Navigator in Guardians of the Galaxy. 

Megan Thee Stallion As Herself In She-Hulk: Attorney at Law

We can thank Jameela Jamil for Megan Thee Stallion’s incredible cameo in She-Hulk. The rapper appeared in an episode of the Disney+ show during a courtroom scene, and then she popped up one more time to twerk with the titular attorney. 

David Hasselhoff As Himself In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

When Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill was a kid he’d pretend that David Hasselhoff was his dad. So, in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Hasselhoff was part of one of the songs on the soundtrack – “Guardians Inferno” –  and it plays during the end credits. And at the very end of those credits, you can see his face pop up as he says the final words of the song. Talk about an epic cameo.

Brett Goldstein As Hercules In Thor: Love and Thunder

In the post-credit scene for Thor: Love and Thunder, Brett Goldstein appeared as Hercules. In his brief scene, he was shown speaking with Russell Crowe’s Zeus. It was thrilling to see the Ted Lasso star show up as the son of Zeus, however, it’s been years since that happened, and he hasn’t shown up again. 

Ken Jeong As Security Guard In Avengers: Endgame

Before the Russo Brothers were making big fancy Marvel movies, they worked on Community. So, it’s always fun to see actors from that show pop up in the MCU. For example in Avengers: Endgame, Ken Jeong appeared for a quick cameo as a security guard who is watching over the storage unit that Ant-Man’s van is in. 

Nathan Fillion As Monstrous Inmate In Guardians of the Galaxy And Headpool In Deadpool And Wolverine

You can see Nathan Fillion (looking like himself) as a major member of the supporting cast in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, as he plays Master Karja. However, before that, he had a cameo in James Gunn’s first Guardians movie, because he voiced “Monstrous Inmate.” After that, he voiced Headpool during the Deadpool variant fight in Deadpool and Wolverine. 

Brad Pitt As The Vanisher In Deadpool 2

Now, I fully realize Deadpool 2 wasn’t technically in the MCU, but Deadpool and Wolverine is, so this counts. One of the most fun cameos maybe ever came when Brad Pitt appeared for a split second in the Ryan Reynolds-led sequel to play The Vanisher right as he gets electrocuted. 

Joe Russo As Grieving Man In Avengers: Endgame

Joe and Anthony Russo are best known as the guys behind the camera who led some of the best Marvel movies, including Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and, of course, Avengers: Endgame. So, in this big finale for the MCU’s Infinity Saga, Joe Russo made a cameo as part of Steve Rogers' support group. 

Yvette Nicole Brown As S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent In Avengers: Endgame

The Russo Brothers didn’t forget their roots, and included multiple members of the Community cast in their Marvel movies. This included Yvette Nicole Brown, who played a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent that Tony Stark and Steve Rogers run into when they go back in time to steal Pym Particles. 

David Bradley As Tower Keeper In Captain America: The First Avenger

David Bradley is a legendary British character actor, and you’ll likely recognize him for his role as Filch in the Harry Potter cast or as The Doctor in various episodes of Doctor Who. He also notably played a small role as the Tower Keeper protecting the Tesseract in Captain America: The First Avenger.

Danny Pudi As Com Tech #1 In Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The Russo Brothers adore their Community cast, so in their first Marvel movie, they gave Danny Pudi, Abed himself, a little cameo. For a brief minute, you can see him as Com Tech #1 during the beloved Captain America sequel. 

Garrett Morris As Car Driver In Ant-Man

While Ant-Man himself is played by a comedy legend, that actor being Paul Rudd, there’s another hilarious icon in this cast. Yep, original Saturday Night Live cast member Garrett Morris (who actually dressed up as the superhero on the sketch comedy show back in the day) appeared in this movie as a man driving a car that Ant-Man fell onto, and it’s fantastic!

Matthew McConaughey As Cowboypool In Deadpool and Wolverine

When all the variants of Deadpool appeared to fight Deadpool and Wolverine, one of them was Cowboypool. Fittingly, the Western Merc with the Mouth was voiced by Matthew McConaughey.

Henry Cavill As Cavillrine In Deadpool and Wolverine

When Wade Wilson was looking for a Wolverine to bring back to his universe, he came across one version of Logan who was played by Henry Cavill. After seeing fanart of the former Superman as the X-Man, it was clear he was a good fit for the part, and it was incredible to see Deadpool and Wolverine act on the fans’ wishes. 

As you can see the range of these cameos is wide, and frankly legendary. And we’re sure that as Marvel continues to release movies and TV shows, the iconic cameos will keep coming. 

It’s official, Avatar: The Last Airbender is making its way to the world of live-action. This classic animated series was a staple for many kids who grew up with Nickelodeon, and now it’s headed to Netflix with a new cast playing the iconic fantastical characters. 

The first season of the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender is slated on the 2024 TV schedule for a February 22 release, and the first look at The Last Airbender’s core characters and its official trailer got us really hyped for this show. So, we figured it's about time we break down the expansive cast that Netflix has confirmed for its upcoming series. 

Gordon Cormier 

The master of all four elements, and the Avatar tasked with defeating the Fire Lord will be played by 14-year-old Gordon Cormier. Aang is the main character of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and the story follows his journey to perfect every type of bending after being on ice for 100 years. So, like our titular character, Cormier is setting off on a big journey as the kid who has been chosen to “save the world.” 

Before being cast as everyone’s favorite Airbender, Cormier appeared in the holiday movies A Christmas Miracle and Christmas Under the Stars. He also voiced a character in Team Zenko Go and appeared in the mini-series The Stand.  

Kiawentiio 

Playing Katara, one of the best female benders in the Avatar universe, is Kiawentiio. Katara and Sokka have been whisked away on a worldwide journey with Aang, and while the Avatar learns to master all the elements, she becomes a master water bender. 

Before taking on this legendary role, Kiawentiio appeared in the Netflix series Anne with an E as well as the short N’xaxaitkw and the film Beans. 

Ian Ousley 

Sokka, is the boomerang-loving boy and non-bender among the core characters, will be played by Ian Ousley. While he might not be able to bend like his sister, Sokka is a great strategist, incredibly funny and overall a big ball of charisma. 

This marks the first principal role for Ousley. Before being cast as Katara’s big brother, he had small roles on shows like Young Sheldon, 13 Reasons Why and Physical. 

Dallas Liu 

Dallas Liu will be playing Zuko, our beloved prince of the Fire Nation, and a man trying to catch the Avatar. We already know Liu and Cormier have an A+ rivalry brewing, making them the perfect pair for this iconic duo, and I can’t wait to see how this young actor plays out the complex and brilliant story of Zuko. 

Before signing on to play the scarred prince, Liu appeared in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ted Rings as well as the comedy PEN15. 

Elizabeth Yu 

Zuko’s sinister older sister Azula will be played by Elizabeth Yu. The royal fire bender is a hot-headed character, who acts as her father’s right-hand woman. She is out to take down the Avatar and her brother at times, making her one of the scarier characters in the series.

Before playing the master fire bender Yu starred in two other films: Somewhere in Queens and May December. The Last Airbender will be her first TV series. 

Paul Sun-Hyung Lee 

Keeping things in the royal fire family, Zuko’s beloved Uncle Iroh will be played by Paul Sun-Hyung Lee. Iroh acts as a mentor and father figure to the young fire bender, and he is also his nephew’s moral compass. 

After appearing in 272 episodes of Train 48, Lee popped up in various projects before landing the role of Appa on Kim’s Convenience. Then, before making his way to the world of benders, he was in a galaxy far, far away playing Captain Carson Teva in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. 

Daniel Dae Kim 

The primary antagonist of Avatar: The Last Airbender is Fire Lord Ozai, and he’ll be played by Daniel Dae Kim. The evil leader of the Fire Nation has been part of a generation of leaders who have corrupted their nation, and now Aang and the gang are out to stop him.

The actor behind Zuko and Azula’s evil father has a long career in the entertainment industry, but seeing him play a true villain will be new. Before the Netflix series, Dae Kim starred in Lost, Hawaii Five-0 and the series of Divergent movies, among many other projects. 

Ken Leung

Admiral Zhao is the primary antagonist of the first season of the animated Avatar: The Last Airbender, and he'll be played by Ken Leung. As a servant of the Fire Lord, he is out to capture the Avatar, however, he is also really rude and violent toward Zuko.

Leung is best known for his recent role in the HBO Max series Industry and for his time as Miles on Lost. 

C.S. Lee 

Avatar Roku was the master of the elements before Aang took over the mantel. He acts as a guiding light to the young Avatar, and provides context to the Fire Nation’s complex past. 

C.S. Lee is best known for his time on Dexter, where he played Vince, and has also played recurring characters on shows like East New York and Chuck. 

Maria Zhang 

Suki is the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, an absolute legend and Sokka’s love interest. She’ll be played by Maria Zhang, and this will be her first major project. Before this, the actress starred in shorts like All I Ever Wanted and Dear Mom.  

Yvonne Chapman 

The creator of Kyoshi Island, founder of the Kyoshi Warriors, and the Avatar who came before Roku and Aang is Avatar Kyoshi. She will be played by Yvonne Chapman who is best known for her role in the CW series Kung Fu.

Amber Midthunder 

Along with playing a powerful woman in Prey (and its potential sequel?) Amber Midthunder has joined the Airbender cast as Princess Yue. 

Yue is the princess of the Northern Water Tribe, and plays a pivotal role in the final portion of the first season of the animated series. 

Along with Prey, Midthunder is best known for her work in Legion and Roswell, New Mexico among other projects like Hell or High Water and The Wheel. 

A Martinez  

Pakku is a master water bender from the Northern Water Tribe who helps Aang and Katara, and plays a pivotal role in both of them mastering this type of bending. He will be played by A Martinez, who played Jacob Nighthorse in Longmire and appeared in the live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop.

Arden Cho 

June is a bounty hunter who goes around the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom on her shirshu, which is a creature who can sniff out just about anything. She pops up throughout the show to execute various missions to find people, however, her allegiance is always unknown. 

Arden Cho will play this incredibly cool character. She’s best known for starring as the badass Kira on Teen Wolf, and she recently starred in the Netflix series Partner Track.  

Utkarsh Ambudkar 

Bumi is the high-energy King of Omashu who is a childhood friend of Aang. The chaotic and hilarious Earth bender will be played by Utkarsh Ambudkar. 

Ambudkar is known for his work on Ghosts and Free Guy. He also had a movie on the 2023 movie schedule, World’s Best. On top of acting, he’s also a fantastic freestyle rapper.  

Danny Pudi 

Aang and the gang meet the Mechanist and his son Teo when they visit the Northern Air Temple. He’s an engineer and inventor, and this fun character will be played by Danny Pudi.

You’ll likely recognize Pudi for his role as Abed in Community. Along with the NBC cult classic, he is in Mythic Quest and voices Huey in Duck Tales. 

Lucian-River Chauhan 

The Mechanist’s son Teo is a high-flying, high-energy kiddo who becomes friends with Aang, Katara and Sokka when they visit the Northern Air Temple. 

The youngster will be played by Lucian-River Chauhan, who has appeared in shows like Heartland and Gabby Duran & The Unsittables. 

James Sie 

One of the most fun recurring characters/Easter eggs in The Last Airbender is the Cabbage Merchant, the poor man who just wants to sell his cabbages in peace. What makes this an even better Easter egg is the live-action Cabbage Merchant will be played by James Sie, the voice actor who originated the character in the animated series. 

Momona Tamada 

Ty Lee is one of Azula’s friends and a master gymnast. Playing the bubbly character is Momona Tamada, who was previously in The Baby-Sitters Club. 

Thalia Tran 

Mai, is the exact opposite of Ty Lee, and the much more serious friend of Azula. She also plays a big role in Zuko’s life, but no spoilers here. Thalia Tran will be playing the monotone warrior, and she’s best known for voicing a character in Raya and the Last Dragon.  

George Takei 

A true legend has been hired to play the face-stealing spirit Koh. When Aang travels to the spirit realm he’ll be met by George Takei’s voice and one haunting spirit. Of course, Takei is best known for his work in Star Trek as Sulu and he’s had a successful voice acting career.  

Randall Duk Kim 

Also joining the spirit world is Randall Duk Kim who will voice Wan Shi Tong, the owl who runs the Spirit Library. This role will be added to quite the list of voice acting work for Duk Kim as he played Oogway in the Kung Fu Panda movies. On top of that, he also played the Keymaker in The Matrix Reloaded. 

As you can see there’s a lot to look forward to from this massive ensemble, and if you’ve seen the animated series, you know that this isn’t even a fraction of all the characters we have to look forward to as the show moves forward. While it will be a while before we see this cast in their roles, you can go back and watch the original Avatar: The Last Airbender with a Netflix subscription, and you’ll be able to find its live-action companion there too super soon.  

Six seasons and a movie! The prophecy has been fulfilled! Well, it's going to be, anyway. 

Community was beloved by many when it premiered on NBC way back in 2009, igniting careers for some of its cast and crew such as Donald Glover, Alison Brie, Danny Pudi and so many others, but since its ending in 2015, fans have been wondering if a side-comment made about The Cape from Season 2 of the show would come true for Community. 

The comedy ended up getting those six seasons, but it’s been long rumored and hoped that a movie might someday happen. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the cast got back together for a virtual table reading of one of the episodes, reigniting those rumors of a possible movie. The Community movie has officially been announced. But when exactly is this film going to come out? Who is going to return to Greendale Community College? This is what we know. 

What Is The Community Movie Release Date?

At the time of updating this in May 2024, there is no set release date for the Community film, but we do have plenty of other updates that give us hope that it’ll at least come out soon. Maybe not as a part of the 2024 movie schedule, but maybe as a part of the one in 2025.  

Also, according to a Deadline report from September 2022, the Community movie is actually going to be premiering on the streaming service, Peacock, NBC’s exclusive streaming platform for some of their shows.

Community has been streaming on Netflix for years at this point, with all six seasons there, and is arguably one of the best shows to binge on Netflix, in my opinion. But, as the Deadline article said, Peacock won the rights to the film in a “competitive situation.” 

It’s not that big of a shocker that the movie would land at Peacock, considering that the series originally aired on NBC, and ever since its cancellation it’s only grown in popularity through streaming platforms like Netflix. 

Several Cast Members From Community Are Set To Return

Confirmed in the Deadline article from September 2022, we know now that several of the original stars of the Community cast are set to return for the sequel film:

Joel McHale as Jeff Winger

Joel McHale is confirmed to return as Jeff Winger in the Community movie. The actor even tweeted out his excitement for the film on Twitter, simply sending “.” while tagging his former cast members’ Twitter handles before the film was officially announced.  

McHale has appeared in films like The Happytime Murders, Becky, Happily, and more since Community ended, and also hosts a show called Crime Scene Kitchen, which was renewed for Season 3. He currently stars in Animal Control. 

Gillian Jacobs as Britta Perry

Gillian Jacobs will return as Britta Perry for the movie. The actress has appeared in movies like Magic Camp, Life of the Party and more, and has held roles in major TV shows such as Invincible and The Bear. 

Alison Brie as Annie Edison

Alison Brie will return as Annie Edison. Her best movies and shows include Mad Men, GLOW, BoJack Horseman, The Post, Promising Young Women and many more. 

Danny Pudi as Abed Nadir

Danny Pudi will return as Abed Nadir for the film. He held a voice role in the reboot of Ducktales, and played a main part on Mythic Quest. He also appeared as part of the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender cast. 

Jim Rash as Craig Pelton

Jim Rash is confirmed to come back as Dean Craig Pelton. He has since appeared in TV shows like Girlboss, black-ish, Harley Quinn, Solar Opposites and more. 

Ken Jeong as Ben Chang

Ken Jeong will be back as Ben Chang for the Community movie. Jeong has hosted a variety of TV shows since then, and even had his own television series called Dr. Ken. 

Donald Glover as Troy Barnes

For a time, it seemed that Donald Glover returning as Troy Barnes would be near impossible, since Glover has had a very busy schedule with new films and his own TV shows like Atlanta and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. However, we can confirm that he will be back as Troy. 

Glover himself confirmed the news in an interview with GQ back 2023, and fans have been eager to see him return to the role after his departure. 

Dan Harmon was quick to say that Glover’s return would probably happen in an interview with Variety in October 2022, so it’s not that surprising that the actor/creator said he would be returning.  

Yvette Nicole Brown as Shirley Bennett

Also confirmed is Yvette Nicole Brown, who will come back as Shirley Bennett for the film. Jeong confirmed the news in an interview with The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon back in January 2024, so it looks like the gang will be all back together. Brown has appeared in various TV shows, such as Big Shot, Mom, Soul Man and more. She even earned a PrimeTime Emmy nomination for her role in A Black Lady Sketch Show.

Is anyone else as excited as I am to see this?

Chevy Chase Will Not Be Back

As expected, it’s been confirmed Chevy Chase will not be back as Pierce Hawthorne. That’s not surprising, as even the Deadline article from 2022 reported that Chase had problems with Harmon behind-the-scenes. 

Then, in an interview with the New York Post in April 2024, McHale himself confirmed that Chase was most likely “not interested” in returning and that even if he was, he’s “not allowed to:”

The Community Film Will Feature A College Reunion

Thankfully, we have some idea of what the Community film will be about. In an interview that Glover did with The Hollywood Reporter in February 2024 before Mr. and Mrs. Smith, he revealed a few details about the movie, including that it’ll involve a college reunion, and that Dan Harmon told him directly what it would be about:

Other than that, there isn’t that much out there confirmed – but I for one am down for a college reunion and Abed being a huge film director. 

Dan Harmon And Andrew Guest Wrote The Film

As confirmed by the Deadline article in 2022, Dan Harmon, the creator of Community, wrote the film alongside Andrew Guest, who has written on shows such as 30 Rock, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and of course, Community, where he wrote six episodes. 

While the screenwriters are set, Harmon is not set to direct the film, and this has not changed as of May 2024. However, he does have people in mind, according to the statement that was in the Variety article: 

I’m sure that as more news begins to come out about the film, we’ll get an update on who is set to direct. But wow, could you imagine the Russo Brothers returning to comedy after directing the likes of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame? I would adore them in the Community world again, but only time will tell. 

Filming Should Begin In 2024

This is probably the news that everyone has been looking forward to for a while. In March 2024, Deadline confirmed that the Community movie is looking to film in the same year, and that Peacock is “working around” Glover’s schedule. McHale says that he has read the script and that it is complete, and that the plan is to film later in the year.

He added that he would be “shocked” if they didn’t begin filming soon. A 2024 filming date makes me excited – and hopefully, that means we might get it next year. 

With this news in mind, I can’t wait to see where this Community movie goes and how our characters are going to return to Greendale after being away from it for so long. Are we going to get Troy and Abed in the morning again? Another Spanish rap? All these questions I need answers to.  

The beloved animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender has been in the process of being adapted as a live-action TV show for a long time now, but things have seemingly been rolling along smoothly, and Netflix has unveiled the last of its big casting announcements. With its core cast already confirmed, and quite a few rumored co-stars having made the rounds, Netflix confirmed the rest of the ensemble, which will include some exciting faces, like Star Trek icon George Takei.

We already know a bit about the show, and it had been announced that the core cast of the remake was set in place. The principal cast includes Gordon Cormier as the Avatar Aang, Kiawentiio as Katara, Ian Ousley as Sokka, Dallas Liu as Zuko, Elizabeth Yu as Azula, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Iroh, and Daniel Dae Kim as Fire Lord Ozai. They had also confirmed various recurring characters including Maria Zhang as Suki and Yvonne Chapman as Avatar Kyoshi. While all this is super exciting, Netflix has confirmed quite a few big names coming in to play beloved side characters like King Bumi, the Cabbage Merchant, and more.

George Takei, Randall Duk Kim And More Joining The Cast Of Avatar: The Last Airbender

The press release from Netflix confirms George Takei as Koh. His character lives in the spirit world and is an ancient spirit that steals the faces of others. In the original show, Koh shows up toward the end of Book One when Aang visits the spirit world while trying to help save the water tribe. I’m positive hearing Takei’s iconic voice will be haunting as Koh, and I can’t wait to see how he portrays the character toward the end of Season 1. 

Along with Takei, Randall Duk Kim will also be joining the spirit world as Wan Shi Tong. The actor known for his roles in Kung Fu Panda and John Wick will be playing the Spirit of Knowledge, who appears as a giant owl that runs the Spirit Library.

Ruy Iskander will join the cast as Lt. Jee. Iskander is known for his work in Yes Day and Benders. Lt. Jee is a fire bender and senior officer helping Prince Zuko find the Avatar.

Last of the new names is Lucian-River Chauhan, who plays Teo, the energetic and hang-gliding expert son of the Mechanist (who I’ll talk more about later). Chauhan is very young, and this is his first massive project, however, he did star with Riz Ahmed in Encounter.

Arden Cho, Utkarsh Ambudkar And Danny Pudi Among Many Confirmed As Part Of The Avatar: The Last Airbender Cast

While these four actors mentioned above are new casting announcements. Netflix also confirmed some exciting names that had been rumored. All the characters mentioned below show up toward the middle of Season 1 when Aang, Katara and Sokka make their way to the Earth Kingdom. 

Arden Cho, who recently starred Partner Track on Netflix and is known for her role on Teen Wolf, will be playing June, the ruthless bounty hunter. She tracks her prey with Nyla, her pet shirshu, who can sniff out anything anywhere. Cho has been a big advocate for breaking stereotypes and advocating for more representation on television, which she did on Partner Track. Avatar: The Last Airbender has also made an active effort to do so as well by casting and showcasing “Asian and Indigenous characters,” as showrunner Albert Kim said in the press release.

Another exciting addition to the cast is Utkarsh Ambudkar as King Bumi. The actor is best known for his role in the CBS comedy Ghosts, which returns to the fall TV schedule this week. King Bumi is a silly, silly guy who rules over Omashu. He was one of Aang’s friends before the young Avatar got stuck in ice, and the two reunite in Season 1. Personally, I can’t wait to see how Ambudkar plays this quirky character in the remake.

Adding to the list of funny guys joining the cast, Danny Pudi, who recently starred in Mythic Quest and was part of the iconic Community cast, plays The Mechanist. Pudi’s character is a talented engineer and the father of Teo, played by Chauhan. The gang meets the father-son duo on a trip to the Northern Air Temple where Aang learns all about the technological advancements and destruction that happened over the 100 years he was frozen.

Along with these three bigger names, the announcement confirmed the full cast for Season 1 of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Some of the other exciting additions include James Sie as the Cabbage Merchant and Amber Midthunder as Princess Yue. The list also confirmed Azula’s right-hand women: Momona Tamada as Ty Lee and Thalia Tran as Mai. These two characters play minor roles in Season 1 but will play huge roles in Seasons 2 and 3.

Avatar: The Last Airbender is a show near and dear to many viewers, including myself. It has stayed relevant for a long time, and after a not-so-great live-action movie, hopefully, this show can bring the iconic characters and stories back to life in a new and refreshing way. Season 1 is in post-production, but there is no release date yet, but this cast announcement is a huge step in the right direction. While we wait for the live-action show to be released, the original animated version of Avatar: The Last Airbender can be watched with a Netflix subscription. 

There are so many pairs of TV best friends which real friends often look up to, thinking maybe, “We could be those two guys!” I’m thinking classic duos such as Monica and Rachel from Friends, Jake and Finn from Adventure Time, or even Lucy and Ethel from I Love Lucy. However, as someone who grew up on the Dan Harmon show Community, in my eyes, no friendship quite beats Troy and Abed’s, as portrayed by the lovely Donald Glover and Danny Pudi.

The Rick and Morty creator is known for creating some loony characters, but no one quite fits the bill like Troy and Abed on Community. They had some amazing moments together, and honestly, sometimes there are so many that it’s hard to rank. However, we are going to try and attempt to do that today.

10. Troy And Abed Trash Talk Everyone Who Walks Past Them (Season 1, Episode 4)

One of the best moments that really started to solidify their friendship on Community was this singular moment in the beginning of the series. It starts out simple, with them sitting on a couch in the study room, mocking everyone who walks past the window. They call these poor unfortunate souls everything from “desperate housewife” all the way to “Saddam Hussein,” each insult flying out quickly.

However, that moment is interrupted when Jeff stops in front of the window and says that everyone can hear them. Their solution? To pretend like they are sleeping. It’s a hysterical moment that really begins to show their friendship.

9. Troy And Abed And Their Adventures With Inspector Spacetime (Various Episodes)

There are so many parodies in Community from the real world – even some like Subway which step into this fictional community college. But, one of my favorites is Abed’s obsession with Inspector Spacetime, a clear parody of the hit TV show, Doctor Who, a series which has been around for almost 60 years.

The fictional show was first mentioned in Season 3 when Britta introduced it to Abed after a void was left in his heart by the ending of his former favorite show, Cougarton Abbey. Troy and Abed eventually began to adopt the roles of Inspector Spacetime and his sidekick, Constable Reggie, traveling through time and space in a red telephone box – much like the blue telephone box of Doctor Who. It’s a great running gag that’s an awesome parody.

8. Troy And Abed Dress Up As Bert and Ernie (Season 1, Episode 17)

It’s so random and out there, but it fits the two characters so well in Community. In this early episode of the show, Troy and Abed decide to dress up as Bert and Ernie, acting out a small sketch where Troy has to return a book (which is pageless, for some reason) to Abed. However, Troy remembers through the sketch that it’s his cousin’s funeral that day and has to cut their puppet parody short.

As I said, this sketch is ridiculously WTF, but it still makes you snort in laughter due to how laughable it is. The idea of a family’s funeral interrupting their little playtime is so serious and handled with such care – only these two could pull off a skit like that.

7. Troy And Abed Raise A Baby (Season 3, Episode 20)

Hands down one of my favorite moments between these two, and one of my favorite episodes in Community overall. In this episode, Troy and Abed head into the study room, only to find what appears to be a baby abandoned on the table. The two of them instantly decide to adopt it and then proceed to bicker like an old married couple – that is, until the mother of the baby does appear after having bent down to pick up one of the toys.

I mean, it lowkey does kind of make sense that if they were to take care of a baby, these two would do it together. And, who can’t laugh at the ridiculousness of what they are arguing about? Talking about raising the kid alone, the two of them making time for the child – it’s so funny.

6. Troy And Abed Play Good Cop Bad Cop (Season 3, Episode 17)

I don’t know what it is about Troy and Abed in Community, but I could have never seen them doing this until it finally happened. In this Season 3 episode, we see Troy and Abed take on the role of “bad cop, good cop,” with Troy taking over as bad cop and Abed as the good cop, to interrogate Starburns.

The combination of Troy being overtly angry while also saying silly things like “that doesn’t make sense, you don’t order Ketchup, it’s a condiment!” mixed in with Abed’s calm nature, makes me hold my side from laughter every time I rewatch the show. They’re perfect together in this scenario.

5. Troy And Abed’s Christmas Rap (Season 3, Episode 10)

Okay…admittingly I was a Glee fan before Community basically turned the whole genre on its head and made fun of it during this entire episode, making me realize how silly the premise could be. But, one song in this crazy episode that made the cut was Troy and Abed’s unforgettable Christmas rap.

In this Glee parody, Abed is trying to convince Troy to join them in the Christmas pageant, but because Troy is a Jehovah’s Witness, he’s unable to take part. However, Abed suggests that Troy only pretends to like Christmas, so he could destroy it from within. From there, the two launch into this song-filled rap detailing their whole fictional plot, and man, I love it. It’s so campy, silly, and entertaining that it’s become one of my favorite Christmas episodes of the show, hands down. Besides, this is Childish Gambino we’re talking about – of course he’s going to make a sick rap.

4. Troy And Abed Chloroform The Janitor (Season 2, Episode 2)

While Annie is also included in this gag, the main duo make it all the better. During this episode, Troy and Abed are trying to steal an email from the computer of one of Jeff’s former colleagues in an office, but are caught by a janitor. While Troy struggles to give him an answer as to why they are there, Annie sneaks up and chloroforms the janitor, knocking him out.

The three of them panic and decide to lay down on the floor, pretending that they had been chloroformed as well, but when the janitor wakes up and finally realizes the situation, Annie is forced to chloroform him again. The panic in Troy’s eyes mixed with the constant struggle that they were facing to try and get exactly what they needed provided a great comical scene that truly stands out as one of the funniest moments in Community, not just with Abed and Troy.

3. When Troy And Abed Discussed Troy Becoming A Donut (Season 1, Episode 7)

‘Introduction to Statistics’ is a whole bag of laughter from beginning to end, but one of the best moments in this Community episode occurs at the very end as the credits roll, as is a pretty regular tradition with Troy and Abed. In this scene, we see the pair in their Batman and Eddie Murphy Halloween costumes, talking about waking up as food and eating themselves, and how Troy wouldn’t question eating himself if he was a donut.

What makes this kooky scene even more ridiculous is that they do this all in their best impersonations of Christian Bale’s Batman, making this conversation sound a whole lot more serious than it is. It’s the perfect example of what these two talk about – and creates a wonderful gag to laugh about years later.

2. Troy And Abed In The Morning (Various Episodes)

I literally have a mug with this saying on it. In Community, there have been few running gags which have quite stood the test of time more than Troy and Abed in the Morning, the pair's fake morning talk show that they host in the library, bringing in their friends or even random people for interviews, despite no one ever actually seeing the show.

This little skit had many interpretations on the show, such as one of the episodes being taken over by Evil Troy and Abed from the timelines episode, or where there was a late-night spinoff called Troy and Abed in the Morning: Nights. You can’t make this stuff up, guys. And because it was so popular, it really did become one of the best recurring gags on this show, and was sorely missed when Donald Glover left in Season 5.

1. Troy And Abed’s Spanish Rap Extended (Various Episodes)

Here it is, the top moment in Community between Troy and Abed – and it doesn’t even make a lick of damn sense if you translate it into English. Troy and Abed’s Spanish rap is my absolute favorite moment between them. Why? Not only is it hysterical to me, as someone who is Spanish, to see these two completely mix words together that definitely don’t fit as cohesive thoughts which actually has an awesome beat, but they’re also just so into it.

The rap made its first appearance in Season 1 Episode 2, resulting in this freestyle rap which showed off their skills and Spanish words that don’t make sense but somehow rhyme perfectly, making it wonderfully zany and beautiful. It’s the perfect example of their friendship.

Their rap skills even make a reappearance when Betty White guest starred, this time taking away the Spanish part and turning it into a rap about Anthropology – which again, makes no sense, but who can deny their perfect chemistry and wonderful beats?

Which one of these is your favorite moment? It makes me wonder what the Community cast has been up to since the show ended. We still need that “six seasons and a movie” to come true – hopefully we can hear some news on that soon and get our favorite pairing back once more. Until then, all I can do is rewatch – and maybe learn their Spanish rap.

The latest Disney+ original movie Flora & Ulysses adapts a modern classic children’s book about a girl and her squirrel, but it also cleverly has some pop culture pokes and nudges throughout to lean forward for. Fans of Disney XD’s Ducktales reboot may have caught on to a special reunion in Flora & Ulysses, as some cast members got to share the screen for the first time for the new release. I’m talking about Huey, Luey, Dewey and Webby’s voice talents in live-action: Danny Pudi, Ben Schwartz, Bobby Moynihan and Kate Micucci.

In Flora & Ulysses, Ben Schwartz gets to trade his more typical role behind the voice booth to play Flora’s father, who ventures alongside her for a fun adventure with a superpowered squirrel. Along the way, the characters meet three of Schwartz’s DuckTales’ co-stars. When speaking to CinemaBlend, Schwartz told us how it all came together:

It’s fitting since Flora & Ulysses follows the daughter of a comic book writer and avid reader of superheroes and everything else one can find at a comic book store. The Disney+ movie has audiences covered with some Marvel and DC references sprinkled throughout, but the Ducktales element is the perfect homage to Disney’s long-running comic book series featuring Uncle Scrooge, Donald Duck and their nephews Huey, Luey and Dewey, which was adapted in the late ‘80s in Ducktales and recently rebooted for Disney Channel. Schwartz continued:

SNL star Bobby Moynihan is even named “Stanlee” once again to go along with the comic book store tributes! If you missed it, check it out, this is one of the very first scenes in the movie:

It’s an awesome little detail within Flora & Ulysses that Ducktales fans like me geek out on, especially since it furthers the franchise’s hold on the young generation of today. The Ducktales reboot was recently announced to be ending after three seasons on the air. The show is set to conclude next month with a 90-minute finale called “The Last Adventure!” following three brand new episodes leading up to the conclusion on March 15. Flora & Ulysses’ director Lena Khan spoke about how having the Ducktales cast on set helped the film:

It’s a sweet element of Flora & Ulysses, aside from the film being a blast of a family film about a squirrel’s superhero origin story. Also joining Ben Schwartz is Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Alyson Hannigan, who plays Flora’s mother, a romance novelist without inspiration. Check out Flora & Ulysses on Disney+, streaming now.

Apparently not every superhero story available on Disney+ is ripped from the pages of Marvel Comics. However, Squirrel Girl does have a few things in common with the heroic protagonist of the streaming platform’s latest original movie, which Alyson Hannigan stars in. The former How I Met Your Mother actress is not only member of the Flora & Ulysses cast you are bound to recognize.

Based on the Newbery Medal-winning novel by Kate DiCamillo from 2013, this family film from director Lena Khan follows a 10-year-old girl named Flora who is struggling to come to grips with her parents’ divorce. Her much-needed choice of escape is reading comic books about costumed avengers, which soon becomes a part of her reality in the unexpected form of a squirrel whom she names Ulysses. After discovering that her new furry, woodland friend has been gifted with superpowers, they then embark on adventures that, while rarely leaving the backyard, are nothing short of exciting.

Like most other films of that (technically) fall under the superhero genre, Flora & Ulysses, available to stream on Disney+ as of Friday, February 19, boasts a cast of many beloved A-listers and lesser known, promising talents alike. See if you can remember where you may have spotted some of its main performers in our breakdown of their best-known work up to this point, starting with its central (human) heroine.

Matilda Lawler (Flora Buckman) 

One-half of the titular duo in Flora & Ulysses is first leading role for Matilda Lawler. The young actress, who also made her Broadway debut at 10 years old in 2019’s production of The Ferryman, made her screen acting debut that same year on a Halloween episode of Evil - a hit supernatural crime procedural on CBS. She would revisit that genre in the 2020 sci-fi film The Block Island Sound and will again (but with far more grounded themes) when she plays Mackenzie Davis’ younger self in Station Eleven - an upcoming miniseries set in the midst of a worldwide pandemic.

John Kassir (Ulysses)

Providing the chirps and squeaks of Flora’s loyal, super-powered, furry friend Ulysses is John Kassir, whose voice you have surely heard in something, such as Disney’s live action 2016 remake of Pete’s Dragon (in which he played Elliot), animated series like Adventure Time (in which he played multiple roles), and video games such as the Final Fantasy franchise, to name only a handful. You may have also seen his face here and there on crime series like CSI: Miami or in a 2000 made-for-TV Three Stooges biopic in which he played Shemp. However, the actor’s most iconic role is The Crypt Keeper, whom he voiced for seven seasons on Tales from the Crypt and wherever else the character has appeared since.

Alyson Hannigan (Phyllis Buckman)

Long before playing Flora’s mother in Flora & Ulysses, Alyson Hannigan dealt a lot with beings much like the Crypt Keeper on Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Willow Rosenberg. Not long after the hit supernatural series’ end, the American Pie franchise star made comedy a more definable part of her career when she was cast as Lily Aldrin on How I Met Your Mother. Outside of hosting Penn & Teller: Fool Us, Hannigan has since kept her feet in both waters, appearing in the 2018 horror-comedy You Might Be the Killer, playing Kim Possible’s mother in a live action adaptation of the Disney Channel cartoon, and marrying Mira Sorvino in Dodie & Cheryl Get Hitched, which is now in pre-production.

Ben Schwartz (George Buckman)

It was Ben Schwartz who brought Sonic the Hedgehog to life in 2020’s big screen adaptation of the popular video game franchise, but he is experiencing a role reversal by starring opposite a CGI animal as a single father in Flora & Ulysses. The Emmy-winning comedian first gained mainstream appeal as fan-favorite recurring character Jean-Ralphio Saperstein on Parks and Recreation before becoming a series regular on the Don Cheadle-led Showtime dramedy House of Lies and lending his voice to the likes of Bob’s Burgers, Robot Chicken, and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He also found success on Netflix playing Rutabaga Rabitowitz Bojack Horseman, a media relations handler on Space Force, and collaborating with his improvisational comedy partner Thomas Middleditch on a trilogy of live specials.

Danny Pudi (Miller)

Ben Schwartz also plays Dewey on the latest DuckTales reboot, in which Huey is voiced by Danny Pudi - who is channeling the Darkest Timeline’s iteration of Abed Nadir to play the villain of Flora & Ulysses. After Community’s final curtain call in 2015, the Chicago-native would play an insurance agent at a company specializing in superhero-related accidents on Powerless, an unrecognizable alien in Star Trek Beyond, and has many more voice acting credits, including Disney Junior’s Mira, Royal Detective. This latest family film is his second collaboration with director Lena Khan after her 2016 feature-length debut The Tiger Hunter.

Kate Micucci (Rita)

Another DuckTales star appearing in Flora & Ulysses is Kate Micucci - also a prolific voice actress additionally known for playing Sadie in Steven Universe, Clayface in The LEGO Batman Movie, and Velma in several Scooby-Doo iterations for years. She has also cemented herself as one of the most acclaimed comedic voices of her generation as one-half of the folk parody duo Garfunkel and Oates and acclaimed films such as Don’t Think Twice. You might have also seen in her recurring roles on sitcoms such as The Big Bang Theory and Raising Hope and with her Flora & Ulysses co-star Alyson Hannigan on a Season 2 How I Met Your Mother cameo.

Bobby Moynihan (Stanlee)

Believe it or not, there is a fourth DuckTales veteran in the cast of Flora & Ulysses: Bobby Moynihan, who first followed up nine years on Saturday Night Live with the short-lived sitcom Me, Myself, and I in 2017. However, he at least got to be a part of the Star Wars universe with multiple voice roles in multiple related projects, unlike his The Book of Henry director and friend Colin Trevorrow. More recently, the actor plays the titular weed-dealing manatee of the animated series Loafy, plays the communications director for Ted Danson on Mr. Mayor, and will star as Paul Revere in the upcoming musical comedy America: The Motion Picture.

Anna Deavere Smith (Mrs. Meescham)

Actress, writer, and producer Anna Deavere Smith has never voiced a role on DuckTales, but has been in many political dramas, on both the big screen (Dave and The American President) and the small screen (The West Wing and Madam Secretary). The Flora & Ulysses star has also delved into medical TV shows like Nurse Jackie, a few legal dramas (most recently For the People), sitcoms like Black-ish, and even an episode of the Arrowverse hit Legends of Tomorrow in 2016. Her other notable film credits include the Academy Award-winning Tom Hanks drama Philadelphia, director Peter Berg’s 2007 thriller The Kingdom, and, more recently, Can You Ever Forgive Me? opposite Melissa McCarthy.

Nancy Robertson (Tootie Tickham)

Before Flora & Ulysses, the last time Nancy Robertson starred in a Disney-produced adaptation of a beloved children’s novel was in 2010’s Ramona and Beezus, starring Selena Gomez and Joey King as Beverly Clearly’s iconic sibling duo. The Canadian actress is best known as Wanda Dollard on Corner Gas, one of the most popular sitcoms originating from the Great White North (also created by and starring her husband Brent Butt) that has since spawned a movie and animated reboot - both of which she reprised her role for. She also recently lent her voice to The Willoughbys, a hit animated film released exclusively to Netflix in 2020.

Benjamin Evan Ainsworth (William Spiver)

Before Flora & Ulysses, the last time Benjamin Evan Ainsworth teamed up with a character named Flora was in The Haunting of Bly Manor, Mike Flanagan’s Henry James-inspired follow-up to his Haunting of Hill House miniseries on Netflix. The young British actor only has two other credits to his name at the moment, including an episode of the long-running U.K.-based soap opera Emmerdale Farm in 2018 and the Italian-produced short film The Recycling Man, in which he plays a wheelchair bound boy desperate to save a young woman from the titular villain in a dystopian society.

Emma Oliver (Six-Year-Old Flora)

We also meet Matilda Lawler’s character at a younger age, played by Emma Oliver, who started acting at 5-years-old and, two years, is already one of the busiest child stars of her generation. She made her debut on the recent revival of The X-FIles, followed by playing a younger version of Alexandra Breckenridge’s character on Virgin River and landing a part on Supernatural’s final season in 2020. Flora & Ulysses is also Oliver’s second time working with Ben Schwartz after a brief role in Sonic the Hedgehog, but you can also see her on TNT’s series adaptation of Snowpiercer as Winnie.

It is not always that you see a smaller family film based on a children’s novel with jam-packed with prime talent. Yet, Flora & Ulysses revels in its is star-studded cast, as you can see from the list above. If you have already had the pleasure of streaming Flora & Ulysses, who do you believe gave the best performance?

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The West Wing boasted a star-studded cast that has stood the test of time, with series regulars including Martin Sheen, Allison Janney and Robe Lowe. But many of the young actors who guest starred on the political drama, which aired for seven seasons from 1999-2005, went on to have phenomenal careers of their own, such as Elisabeth Moss, who played the youngest of President Jed Bartlet’s three daughters, and Amy Adams, who helped the White House staffers after they were stranded at a farm in Indiana. With more than 150 episodes, The West Wing’s sets were graced by hundreds of actors, so it’s to be expected you might have forgotten that these future stars were among them.

Evan Rachel Wood - Hogan Cregg

Long before True Blood and Westworld, and even before she was a troubled teen in Thirteen, a 14-year-old Evan Rachel Wood played press secretary C.J. Cregg’s niece Hogan Cregg in Season 3’s “The Black Vera Wang.” C.J. (Allison Janney) and Hogan, accompanied by a Secret Service agent (Mark Harmon) went shopping for a dress for Hogan’s junior prom. Evan Rachel Wood oozed star power on screen with acting heavyweights Allison Janney and Mark Harmon. You likely didn’t recognize her back in 2002, but this performance is hard to forget.

John Gallagher Jr. - Tyler

You might know John Gallagher Jr. from the 2020 horror Come Play, or as Liam Dempsey, who had a relationship with Evan Rachel Wood’s Dolores in Westworld’s third season. But back in The West Wing Season 4’s “20 Hours in America: Parts 1 and 2,” a 17-year-old John Gallagher Jr. played Tyler, who tried to help Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford), Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff) and Donna Moss (Janel Moloney) get out of Indiana after they missed the motorcade on a campaign stop. John Gallagher Jr. gave an understatedly comedic performance, as the group was flummoxed by Tyler’s ex-girlfriend, a time zone snafu and a train headed the wrong way down the track. Though John Gallagher Jr. went on to star as Jim Harper on the The Newsroom, another Aaron Sorkin creation, the actor said on “The West Wing Weekly” podcast that Sorkin didn’t remember Gallagher’s decade-old stint on The West Wing until they were filming the last episode of The Newsroom, Season 1.

Amy Adams - Cathy

Amy Adams has been nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Actress for American Hustle, and won two Golden Globes. She’s been in everything from kids movies like The Muppets and Enchanted, to the dark thriller Sharp Objects to the 2020 drama Hillbilly Elegy and even three episodes of The Office. But before all that, Amy Adams was Cathy, a farmer’s daughter in Season 4’s “20 Hours in America: Part 1.” Cathy’s family hosted an event for President Bartlet’s re-election campaign at their farm in Indiana. When Josh, Toby and Donna were left behind, Cathy tried to help them get back to the motorcade, all while engaging the staffers in a political dialogue about the struggle farmers face. Is there anything this woman can’t do?

Elisabeth Moss - Zoey Bartlet

A Hollywood A-lister today, Elisabeth Moss was 17 years old when she began playing President Bartlet’s youngest daughter Zoey (her older sisters were played by Nina Siemaszko and Annabeth Gish, who are no schlubs themselves). Zoey was featured in 25 episodes of The West Wing, as she had an on-again-off-again relationship with Dulé Hill’s Charlie Young, and she even had a major story line, getting kidnapped at the end of Season 4. So while she’s not exactly forgettable in the role, Zoey Bartlet seems a lifetime away from Mad Men’s Peggy Olson, The Handmaid’s Tale’s June Osborne and scores of other acting credits and accolades.

Ashley Benson - Suffragette

In Season 4, Episode 6, “Game On,” 12-year-old Ashley Benson got one of her first acting credits, playing one of three children helping to campaign for a candidate in California’s 47th Congressional District who passed away. Will Bailey (Joshua Malina), who managed the campaign, called the trio “Sally and the Suffragettes,” and they recited the poster they made to encourage voters: “It doesn’t matter who you vote for. Make sure you vote.” Just two years later, Ashley Benson landed a recurring role as Abby Deveraux on Days of Our Lives and is today most best known for playing Hanna Marin on Pretty Little Liars.

Danny Pudi - Santos Aide #2

In his first credited role, Danny Pudi played an aide to presidential candidate Matt Santos, specifically “Santos Aide #2” in the Season 7 episode “Two Weeks Out.” It was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance, but it goes to show that even the smallest roles on The West Wing were filled with now-familiar faces. Danny Pudi is best known for playing Abed Nadir on Community, but he also does a lot of voice work, including the voice of Huey Duck on the DuckTales series that premiered in 2017.

Bellamy Young - MaryLou Meriwether

Many came to know Bellamy Young as Mellie Grant, first lady in the Shonda Rhimes political drama Scandal. But that wasn’t her first time in the White House. Back in 2014 a blonde Bellamy Young played North Carolina lawyer MaryLou Meriwether in The West Wing Season 5 episode, "The Stormy Present,” as she met with Josh Lyman about a copy of the Bill of Rights that was stolen from her state at the end of the Civil War. Bellamy Young went on to have roles in series including CSI: Miami, Dirty Sexy Money, Scrubs, Criminal Minds and Prodigal Son. In addition to Scandal, Shonda Rhimes’ other creations Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice and How To Get Away With Murder featured a bevy of actors who first appeared on The West Wing, including James Pickens Jr., Joshua Malina, Taye Diggs and Michael O’Neill.

Liza Weil - Karen Larsen

Speaking of Shonda Rhimes actors, Liza Weil of Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder fame had a role early in her career as Karen Larsen, a governmental aide who leaked Chief of Staff Leo McGarry’s medical records to expose his history of drug and alcohol abuse in Season 1’s “Take Out the Trash Day.” Karen (a fitting character name, though it didn’t hold any significant meaning back in 2000), is fired and then un-fired by Leo McGarry (John Spencer) after the two have a conversation about how addiction has affected their lives. Just months after this episode aired, the world would meet Liza Weil in perhaps her most recognizable role, Paris Geller on Gilmore Girls.

Jane Lynch - Lucy The Reporter

When you’ve got stars in the press pool, your casting directors are doing something right. Jane Lynch wasn’t a household name back in early aughts when she played reporter Lucy in two of The West Wing’s best episodes, “In the Shadow of Two Gunmen: Part I” and “Two Cathedrals.” Jane Lynch is widely known for her role as Sue Sylvester on Glee, and has most recently been seen as the host of the rebooted game show Weakest Link. With more than 200 acting credits to her name, Jane Lynch has come a long way from The West Wing press room. What’s next?

Nick Offerman - Jerry

Before Nick Offerman became a pop culture sensation as Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation, he got his start with a guest role as Jerry in The West Wing Season 1’s "The Crackpots and These Women.” Jerry was part of a three-person team who met with C.J. Cregg to pitch an 1,800-mile wolves-only road — a cost to taxpayers of only $900 million. The trio played it completely straight as C.J. practically laughed them out of the room. It was a great early look at how talented Nick Offerman is at dry humor.

Omar Benson Miller - Orlando Kettles

Before starring on Ballers with The West Wing regulars Richard Schiff and Dulé Hill, Omar Benson Miller was hilarious as Orlando Kettles in the Season 4 episode “Election Night.” Orlando found himself in legal trouble — and unable to play in his final high school football game — after getting pulled over with an open can of Pabst Blue Ribbon. Omar Benson Miller shined opposite Charlie Young (Hill), as Charlie accompanied Orlando to cast his vote in the presidential election. Since The West Wing, Omar Benson Miller has also appeared on CSI: Miami (with another West Wing alum, Emily Procter) and The Unicorn.

Ty Burrell - Tom Starks

Eight years before we met our favorite real estate agent Phil Dunphy on Modern Family, Ty Burrell guest starred as Tom Starks in the Season 3 episode “The Women of Qumar” to talk about seatbelt laws with Rob Lowe’s Sam Seaborn. In an otherwise-dry scene, Ty Burrell brought the deadpan humor, as he defended the honor of Rotarians like his father and himself to Sam, whose father was an Elk. “You won’t catch a Rotarian not wearing his seat belt,” Tom told Sam. “An Elk, maybe.”

Eric Stonestreet - White House Counsel Staffer

Speaking of Modern Family, before playing the hilarious Cameron/Fizbo the Clown on Modern Family, but after working security at a Garth Brooks concert, Eric Stonestreet played a staffer in the White House counsel’s office on Season 2’s “Bad Moon Rising.” Eric Stonestreet was a competent assistant to White House counsel Oliver Babish (Oliver Platt), and even got to use the series’ secret code about “an old friend from home,” which alerted White House staff of an emergency without panicking those around them.

David Burtka - Bruce The Intern

David Burtka made his TV debut on The West Wing in the Season 3 episode, “The Black Vera Wang,” as Bruce, a White House intern who found himself in trouble after putting some re-gifted moose meat up for auction on eBay. Bruce was confronted by Donna Moss, who had received the meat from Josh Lyman after a trip to Helsinki. Bruce came out on top of that situation, though, as he got to keep his job and the $210 Donna paid to get the moose meat off eBay. David Burtka is known for his work on the stage and screen, a common thread amongst West Wing actors. He was also on seven episodes of How I Met Your Mother with now-husband Neil Patrick Harris,

The West Wing is currently streaming on HBO Max, including A West Wing Special To Benefit When We All Vote, a stage production of the Season 3 episode “Hartsfield’s Landing” performed by the original cast ahead of the 2020 presidential election. Check back regularly to CinemaBlend to stay up to date on all the latest streaming news.

Considering how long medical dramas like ER tend to last, how often cast members rotate, and how frequently it require new actors to play the patient(s) of the week, the cast list is unsurprisingly, but still impressively, large. The aforementioned NBC series lasted 15 seasons (from 1994-2009) and made A-listers out of George Clooney, Don Cheadle, and Julianna Margulies to name just a few, but did you know Chadwick Boseman was a guest star before he became a household name?

The late, Marvel movie alum is far from the only beloved celebrity to make an early appearance on ER. In fact, we found an overwhelming amount of notable names to choose from, but settled on a still sizable 20 to include below, starting with one of the busiest and most respected actresses of her generation.

Jessica Chastain (Dahlia Taslitz)

In her acting debut, two-time Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain played a 19-year-old who appears to have done a faulty job taking care of her brain damaged father on ER’s tenth season. Coincidentally, the It: Chapter Two star will soon appear in The Good Nurse - the true crime story of an MD (Eddie Redmayne) whose “faulty” performance causes hundreds of patient deaths.

Chadwick Boseman (Derek Taylor)

In the final season of ER, a then-31-year-old Chadwick Boseman appeared as a boxer alongside screen legend (and future The Mandalorian star) Carl Weathers as his father. After playing the lead of Black Panther just a decade later, the actor would become a screen legend himself and will be remembered as such long after his untimely death in August 2020, following a private cancer battle, at the age of 43.

J.K. Simmons (Gus Loomer)

Speaking of legendary Marvel movie performances, Palms Springs star J.K. Simmons reprised J. Jonah Jameson for the MCU in Spider-Man: Far From Home in 2019. Back in 2004, on ER, the future Oscar winner played a man more concerned with the state of his Hummer than his own health after suffering a crash that he survived, but two others did not.

Danny Pudi (Mahir Kardatay)

Community’s Abed Nadir actor Danny Pudi had a more low-key Marvel movie appearance as a S.H.I.E.L.D. communications technician in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. His second acting gig was a prominent guest role on Season 12 of ER as a man who gets in a violent brawl with his sister’s boyfriend while she is treated at County General for stab wounds in the neck.

Chris Pine (Levine)

Danny Pudi would later appear in 2016’s Star Trek Beyond opposite Chris Pine, playing Capt. James T. Kirk a third time before starring in two Wonder Woman movies as Steve Trevor. This impressive career all started with an appearance on Season 9 of ER lasting mere seconds as a patient still drunk from a Valentine’s Day party… from five days earlier.

Anton Yelchin (Robbie Edelstein)

Chris Pine’s Star Trek co-star Anton Yelchin also made his debut on ER as a 10-year-old survivor of a car crash that killed his parents. Sadly, the talented actor passed away in 2016, at the age of 27, when his own Jeep rolled backward, struck him, and pinned him against the his home’s security fence.

Dakota Fanning (Delia Chadsey)

Another one of Anton Yelchin’s earlier roles was in the Steven Spielberg-produced sci-fi miniseries Taken opposite an 8-year-old Dakota Fanning. The now 26-year-old Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood actress also made her debut on ER as a 6-year-old recovering leukemia patient whose need for further chemo treatment is discovered after suffering a car accident.

Kathy Griffin (Dolores Minky)

Speaking of Quentin Tarantino movies, he actually directed a Season 1 episode of ER starring Kathy Griffin, who had previously worked with the director on Pulp Fiction. The comedian and former Bravo reality show star plays the troop leader for eight young Ranger Scouts who are all sent to County General with diarrhea.

Shia LaBeouf (Darnel Smith)

After ER, Kathy Griffin would a land a starring role on the sitcom Suddenly Susan, on which a young Shia LaBeouf once guest starred on. The former Disney Channel and Transformers star, who later made a name for himself with bizarre performance art (among other things), also appeared on the medical drama's sixth season as a patient with muscular dystrophy.

Josh Gad (Sgt. Bruce Larabee)

Also famous for his work with Disney, following his Tony-nominated performance in The Book of Mormon, is Josh Gad - the voice of Olaf in the Frozen movies. His first gig as part of the Screen Actors Guild was a 2005 episode ER as a combat medic stationed in Iraq with Michael Gallant (Sharif Atkins).

Katee Sackhoff (Jason’s Girlfriend)

Josh Gad also lent his his voice to the animated Star Wars: Rebels series, which also stars Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan Kryze - whom she recently brought to live action on The Mandalorian. Before Battlestar Galactica sparked her career as sci-fi royalty, she starred on a Halloween episode of ER from 2002 which, coincidentally, is the year she appeared in the infamous Halloween: Resurrection. Bonus fact: this was the first of four episodes starring MCU's future War Machine actor Don Cheadle.

Ewan McGregor (Duncan Stewart)

Speaking of Star Wars actors, playing a young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the prequel trilogy skyrocketed Ewan McGregor to the A-list. The Golden Globe-winning Scotsman actor had already received acclaim for his lead role in Trainspotting a year before playing a desperate man holding Dr. Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies) and others hostage at a convenience store on ER's third season.

Nick Offerman (Rog)

Ewan McGregor won his Golden Globe for FX's Fargo, which, in its previous season, had starred Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation's Ron Swanson and Megan Mullally's husband) in a recurring role. The actor made his TV debut as aspiring rock star whose bass player band mate is rushed into County General on ER's mockumentary style Season 4 premiere that was filmed and broadcasted live.

Adam Scott (David Kerstetter)

Nick Offerman's Parks and Recreation co-star Adam Scott (who has made more dramatic turns recently in Black Mass or the HBO series Big Little Lies) can also boast ER as one of his earliest acting gigs. In the medical drama's first season, the then 22-year-old played a man bleeding out of his chest after being hit by a car.

Lin Shaye (Margaret)

Adam Scott also a few horror movies under his belt, as recently as Krampus or as early as Hellraiser: Bloodline, but Lin Shaye of Insidious and A Nightmare on Elm Street fame, a living legend of the genre. The 77-year-old actress, and sister of New Line Cinema founder Bob Shaye, also had the honor appearing on the final episode of ER.

Octavia Spencer (Maria Jones)

Another star I regard as an underrated Scream Queen (for Drag Me to Hell, the title role of Ma, and the grandmother in Robert Zemeckis' The Witches remake) is Octavia Spencer. Yet, years before she became the Academy Award-winning star of The Help, the actress appeared on Season 5 of ER as a pregnant woman thinking of having her third abortion.

Keegan-Michael Key (Witkowski)

While his best friend and writing parter Jordan Peele has since graduated into scarier and dramatic projects more frequently, Keegan-Michael Key is still trucking with plenty of comedic parts on his resume as of late. However, ironically, the now 49-year-old former MADtv star made his TV debut on ER in the eighth season of the popular and often humorless medical drama

Kal Penn (Narajan)

After hitting it big as one-half of the titular duo from the smash hit stoner comedy Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Kal Penn would soon graduate into more serious projects, such as a position in the Obama Administration and playing a doctor on House from 2007-2012. His first time playing a medical professional, however, was in a brief appearance on ER in a 2001 episode from the series' eighth season.

Jared Padalecki (Paul Harris)

Early 2021 sees Jared Padalecki graduate to a new genre, specifically the western, as the title character of The CW's Walker after chasing ghosts and goblins on Supernatural as Sam Winchester for 15 seasons. Yet, while the 38-year-old Scream King was still a series regular on Gilmore Girls, he played a high school student who gets in a car crash with his father, played by Jim Belushi, after arguing over his future as a hockey player on a Season 7 episode of ER.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Firefighter Larkin)

Starring as Jared Padalecki's father on Supernatural was Jeffrey Dean Morgan, whose best known role in the realm of medical TV dramas is on Grey's Anatomy as Denny Duquette, Izzie Stevens' (Katherine Heigl) patient and love interest. However, it was only a few years earlier when the prolific comic book adaptation actor appeared on the seventh season of ER as a firefighter undergoing a leg amputation.

What do you think? Does seeing these celebrities before their prime make you want to rewatch ER from the beginning to point out even more of the stars your may have missed? Let us know in the comments and be sure to check back for additional information and updates on the long-running medical drama, as well as even more inside looks into famous guest stars that may have slipped your mind, here on CinemaBlend.

By now, most fans know Marvel movies love to throw in unexpected cameos. From Matt Damon in Thor: Ragnarok to the variety of Stan Lee cameos, there’s been so many it’s hard to count at this point. It’s easy to wonder how these funny bits of stunt casting end up happening. Some remain mysterious, but now we’ve learned how one of the funniest special appearances in Captain America: The Winter Soldier came to be.

For their part, directors Joe and Anthony Russo have tried to include at least one former Community member in each of their Marvel movies as a running joke given tying back to their time as executive producers and directors on the beloved sitcom. One of the funniest cameos is Danny Pudi’s appearance in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. And when asked by Collider how that cameo happened, Danny Pudi gave a surprising answer, revealing a version of his scene that's not in the finished film:

That’s amazing, and a little unbelievable, that the way he appeared in Captain America: The Winter Soldier was simply by getting a text and showing up. On top of that, he got to be in a scene with Captain America, and punched by him no less. Unfortunately, none of that made it into the film. Pudi continued, saying,

And what a journey it is. While directing the Captain America and Avengers films, the Russo brothers were able to include a solid number of Community members into the films. Jim Rash has a brief role in Captain America: Civil War and Ken Jeong and Yvette Nicole Brown are both in Avengers: Endgame. There have also been a ton of other Community cameos in other non-Russo directed Marvel movies as well, like Donald Glover's appearance in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

As a big Community fan, I think the Russo brothers should keep this up in their upcoming projects. Perhaps they can put Danny Pudi in Extraction 2? I, for one, would totally watch that. For more movie news, be sure to stay tuned to CinemaBlend.

These days, the entertainment industry seems to be more diverse than ever and, by proxy, working to include better examples of cultural representation in movies, literature, and, especially, television. This also includes those who are on the autistic spectrum, which many TV characters, from today or yesteryear alike, serve as an admirable reflection of.

While there are many widely discussed characters who are merely implied to be on the spectrum – such as both Jim Parsons’ Sheldon Cooper and Mayim Bialik as Amy Farrah-Fowler on The Big Bang Theory – we want to focus specifically on TV characters whose diagnosis is confirmed and also important to their role on the series they originate from. In honor of Autism Awareness Month occurring in April, we put together a list of our favorite characters of the like.

Sam Gardner (Keir Gilchrist) - Atypical

Creator Robia Rashad’s Atypical is considered to be one of the best dramedy TV shows on Netflix for its refreshingly authentic depiction of the life of a teen on the spectrum. It Follows star Keir Gilchrist – who also starred on a dramedy that focused on the topic of Dissociative Identity Disorder called The United States of Tara – gives one of his most acclaimed performances on the four-season series as Sam, whose struggles to better navigate his social life amid his autism has a profound effect on his family. 

J.J. Jones (Ollie Barbieri) - Skins

Another great depiction of how having autism affects the lives of teens is portrayed by Ollie Barbieri, who joined the Skins cast as J.J. Jones in the third season of the acclaimed, British coming-of-age series. Despite his social awkwardness and tendency to suffer from angry outbursts on occasion, J.J. is one of the show's most endearing central characters and becomes one of great aspirational value for youths on the spectrum as his confidence grows and goals for social interaction and romance are achieved over time.  

Billy (Richard Steven Horvitz), Mandy (Grey Griffin), And Grim (Greg Eagles) - The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy

Some fans of this bizarre Cartoon Network original may not have suspected that its three titular characters are ones that even younger people on the spectrum could identify with as it is never explicitly stated in the series. However, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy creator Maxwell Atoms confirmed on his personal Tumblr blog that the cynical Mandy, the care-free Billy, and Grim (being the “moral mediator between the two”) each represent a different facet of his Asperger's, which he was diagnosed with late in life.

Woo Young-woo (Park Eun-bin) - Extraordinary Attorney Woo

This Netflix exclusive South Korean import follows Park Eun-bin as the title character of Extraordinary Attorney Woo, whose autism makes it difficult for her to relate to her peers. However, she also has a 164-point I.Q., an outstanding memory, and unique creative process that earns her the trust and respect of her clients. It is a refreshingly charming and inventive legal drama TV show unlike any other that you may have seen.  

Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) - The Good Doctor

This character is both groundbreaking for representation of people on the spectrum and those in the medical field. British actor Freddie Highmore followed up Bates Motel with his Golden Globe-nominated role as Dr. Shaun Murphy in The Good Doctor – a Fox drama following an autistic savant’s journey to be accepted by his peers after he is hired as a surgeon. The decision initially proves to be controversial to some employees at St. Bonaventure Hospital, who eventually see Murphy for the good that his genius-level intellect is capable of.

Max Braverman (Max Burkholder) - Parenthood

One of the most praised TV characters for their authentic portrayal of Asperger’s is Max Braverman. Played by The Purge star Max Burkholder, the young son of Adam (Peter Krause) and Kristina Braverman (Monica Potter) sees as many highs as he does see lows for his disorder on the popular NBC dramedy Parenthood. Max has been subjected to ignorant ridicule and prone to uncontrollable tantrums, but he would later refer to his disorder as one of his greatest strengths when he made a bid for his school’s student council president, acting as an inspiration for his classmates in the series and students like him in the real world.

Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi) - Community

Prior to the introduction of Max Braverman, another beloved NBC series saw an especially unique representation of the spectrum from one lovable Greendale Community College student. Instead of obsessions based on science or mathematics, Danny Pudi’s portrayal of Abed Nadir on Dan Harmon’s Community is fixated on movies and television, which is, more or less, his primary form of communication. This aspect of the character was the focus of one of the most heartfelt Season 1 episodes, in which Abed is able to finally connect with his stubborn father (Iqbal Theba) through his own autobiographical, experimental student film.

Entrapta (Christine Woods) - She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power

Perhaps one of the most infectious and entertaining characters on TV who is also on the autistic spectrum is Entrapta, voiced by Christine Woods on She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power. On the Netflix update of the similarly titled 1980s animated fantasy series, Entrapta becomes part of the Resistance against her former employers, the Horde. In addition to her bubbly, energetic personality, above average strength, and larger than life purple pigtails, the Etherian is a scientist and mechanical engineer of genius ability, which often comes in handy on adventures with the Princess Alliance, even when they cannot seem to follow her highly sophisticated technical jargon.

Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) - Criminal Minds

There is a character of almost that exact description (minus the engineering and pigtails, of course) on a show that is most definitely not for children, which was recently revived as a Paramount+ exclusive. Matthew Gray Gubler is one of a mere few series regulars who lasted the entire original run of popular crime procedural Criminal Minds, during which he played the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit’s walking encyclopedia/calculator hybrid Spencer Reid, who is actually an especially unique case for representation of mental health on television. While his Asperger’s has proven undeniably effective in solving crimes, Reid also has a history of schizophrenia, which he inherited from his equally brilliant mother, played by Jane Lynch.

Sonya Cross (Diane Kruger) - The Bridge

Like Spencer Reid, Sonya Cross is another character whose Asperger’s syndrome is a powerful tool when investigating heinous crimes, but is also a bit of a barrier in the realm of social interaction. The latter proves to be a comparatively greater hurdle for the El Paso-based detective – played by Inglourious Basterds actress Diane Kruger on FX’s North American-remake of European thriller The Bridge – who is prone to inappropriate comments and failing to show empathy. It is not the most endearing portrayal of the spectrum, but one of raw honesty that makes Det. Cross one of the boldest characters on television in recent memory.

Julia (Stacey Gordon) - Sesame Street

The 4-year-old, red-headed Muppet Julia on Sesame Street – voiced by Stacey Gordon – was introduced to the iconic children’s program in 2017 for an episode that aims to teach young viewers – and even Big Bird, too – about what it means to have autism. The episode immediately takes notice of Julia’s unique talents with her impressively advanced skills in painting and invention of a refreshing and fun way to play tag. Yet, it is also keen to point out her own struggles with being shy around new friends and an unsettled reaction to police sirens, in a well-rounded and endearing effort to make more people aware of the spectrum.

It is inspiring to know that we live in a time when there is a larger effort to make more people aware of the spectrum with greater representation on television. Be sure to tune into the stories of some of these wonderful TV characters this Autism Awareness Month or any other time of the year.

It is currently a great time to be a Community fan. Not only has the show recently arrived on Netflix, allowing even more people to discover its brilliance, but the cast recently reunited with showrunner Dan Harmon for a special table read that will be arriving online later this month. And as if all that weren’t enough, the making of said table read was also followed by the cast staying together for a special episode of the Ken Jeong and Joel McHale-hosted podcast The Darkest Timeline, and in it there are many great never-before-shared stories about the making of the show and the relationships within the group.

We highly recommend checking out the whole episode, as a big part of its greatness is just watching Dan Harmon and the cast banter, but we also wanted to take the time to highlight it by recognizing some of our favorite moments:

Danny Pudi Distinctly Remembers When He Knew Donald Glover Was Eventually Going To Leave The Show

In the years since his time on Community, Donald Glover has become one of the biggest stars in the world, not only earning awards for his FX series Atlanta, but also his music career. His albums have won him great acclaim and five Grammys – and it was actually because of the star’s Childish Gambino persona that Danny Pudi knew that it was only a matter of time before Glover left the show to pursue other endeavors.

The recent table read for the cast unlocked a lot of memories in the mind of the actor who starred as Abed on Community, and including a moment he shared with Donald Glover off-set. The duo was hanging out at the Blue Sky Tank on the Paramount Pictures lot (which is a parking lot when not in use), and Glover gave Pudi the chance to listen to his song “Heartbeat.” His immediate reaction?

Given that “Heartbeat” was released in late 2011, it’s likely that Danny Pudi first heard the song while they were filming Season 3 of Community – and he would prove to be right a few years later, and Donald Glover amicably left the show in the middle of Season 5.

Donald Glover Had An Extremely Weird Character He Played Behind The Scenes

As discussed throughout the reunion, a lot of the magic in Community was found because of the freedom that the cast was given to improvise – and evidently the comedic improvisation and role playing didn’t end when the cameras stopped rolling. As revealed in rather blunt terms during the recording, Donald Glover had a character he slipped into during breaks who was a homeless man obsessed with trying to perform fellatio on Joel McHale.

Rather than be anything physical, the game was that Glover’s character would try and trick McHale into putting his penis into his mouth. The two stars provided some examples for context:

Ken Jeong Got Blackout Drunk And Started Ranting At Donald Glover At A Cast Reunion Dinner

The entire Community reunion podcast special is a testament to how much all of these people legitimately enjoy each other’s company, but that sentiment apparently went a touch overboard last fall when the cast and Dan Harmon got together for a dinner. For an unexplained reason, Ken Jeong had been drinking a few beers throughout the day before the event, and so by the time he finished drinking his way through the evening he was blackout drunk.

As described by Jim Rash, who says he has a lot of video from the night, Ken Jeong wound up spending the night screaming in the faces of Danny Pudi and Donald Glover as though they were a mile apart instead of just a few feet, and his rantings to Glover specifically included lauding him for his work on something called Alien Bralien – a project that doesn’t exist.

Ken Jeong Would Not Stop Improvising His Breakdance Exit In One Episode

Continuing the discussion from earlier, improvisation was definitely a major asset on the set of Community given the impressive talent of the cast, but one thing revealed during the reunion was that it was also occasionally a way that the schedule got strained. A first act scene in the second season episode “Accounting For Lawyers” is a prime example, as Ken Jeong spent take after take expanding on a bit even when he was told to simplify what he was doing.

The end of a scene where Chang talks to the study group about the school’s upcoming Pop 'n' Lock-a-thon, Ken Jeong was told to perform breakdance moves while heading out the door, and they kept being more elaborate take after take. Given that the subject came up when Alison Brie talked about it as a scene that was hard to get through because of breaking, Ken Jeong surely felt egged on by his co-stars, and as a result ignored Dan Harmon’s pleas for something faster. Said the showrunner,

Gillian Jacobs Caught Ken Jeong Mid-Rant On The Set Of Dr. Ken, And Started Cracking Up

Following the discussion of his unstoppable improv, Ken Jeong delivered a blanket apology to everyone, and explained that he has a better perspective on it all now because of his time making Dr. Ken – which he co-created, produced, and starred in following the end of Community. Having been in the position that Dan Harmon was in, he now has a better understanding of the stress involved in making a network series… and that revelation led Gillian Jacobs to share a funny anecdote.

Weird as it sounds, Ken Jeong added to Gillian Jacobs story by saying that he was ultimately grateful for her presence:

Community’s Budget Was So Small That The Art Department Decorated The Wrap Party

Community was never a big ratings hit, and thus never a big money-earner for the studio, and a natural extension of that was the series having a thin budget to work with year after year. This wasn’t just in the later seasons either, as the reunion podcast episode reveals serious penny pinching was happening from the beginning. For example, the art department wasn’t able to fully enjoy the Season 1 wrap party because the event was held on set, and they were given the task of both decorating it, and deconstructing it.

Said Dan Harmon,

Rough.

Community’s Line Producer Straight-Up Lied To Dan Harmon About The Show’s Budget

The budget of Community was a popular topic of conversation during the reunion, and through the back and forth a kind of paradox was discovered. While the cast and crew was repeatedly told how little money the show had, there were also some major expenditures – with two examples being Professor Hickey’s desk machine and Shirley Island in the Season 5 episode “Geothermal Escapism.” So how did that happen? The answer was provided by Ken Jeong later in the episode, with the actor/filmmaker revealing a secret that producer Patrick Kienlen shared when the two worked together on Dr. Ken:

Some say that limitations breed creativity, so I guess we should thank him?

There Was A Possum Living In Community’s Prop Room

One of the weird details featured in “Documentary Filmmaking: Redux” is a bit that finds Dean Pelton in possession of a strange new pet: a possum that lives in his office. It’s strange and funny, perfectly matching the tone of Community – but what makes it even better is the fact that it seems like it was inspired by a funny behind-the-scenes incident. Specifically, at one point during the show’s production there was a possum that took up residence in the prop room.

It was a memory that Gillian Jacobs brought into the conversation about Community’s limited budget, and Donald Glover added that it provided him a funny revelation:

During A Scene In “Introduction To Statistics” Gillian Jacobs And Yvette Nicole Brown Were Basically Blind

It would be a struggle to find any actor that really loves to do night shoots, as there’s simply not a lot that’s enjoy able about being up at 3am waiting around while you get to perform the same scene over and over again from multiple angles. In the context of Community, making the Season 1 Halloween episode “Introduction To Statistics” was rough because it required the stars to be on call for some late nights – but it was a particularly difficult experience for Gillian Jacobs and Yvette Nicole-Brown, because there was one scene where they were both basically blind.

Jacobs described the night, saying,

It was only then that Yvette Nicole-Brown revealed to Gillian Jacobs for the first time that she too was dealing with the same contact lenses issue that night, creating a literal circumstance of the blind leading the blind.

These are just some of the highlights from the Darkest Timeline episode, so if you like what you’ve read here, go and give it a listen yourself.

I am sure that you probably recognize Milo Ventimiglia from his Emmy-nominated work on This Is Us, or you know Melissa McCarthy from her Oscar-nominated work on Bridesmaids. Yet, unless you still stream repeats of the series on a loop, you may have forgotten what show was responsible for essentially kickstarting their careers: Gilmore Girls.

The one-hour dramedy about single mother Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham), her teenage daughter, Rory (Alexis Bledel), and the eccentric townsfolk they endure on a daily basis in Stars Hollow, Connecticut, ran for seven seasons on The WB (later The CW). For having a simple premise and an almost entirely dialogue-driven structure, its clever narratives and wonderful cast ensured it would be popular enough to garner a four-part sequel on Netflix almost a decade after it ended in 2007.

By then, much of the cast, from one-episode wonders to regulars from the beginning and behind-the scenes personalities had already gone onto bigger things. For some, much bigger. The following are just 10 stars whose resumes prove that Gilmore Girls was a fruitful breeding ground for celebrities in the making.

Alexis Bledel (Rory Gilmore)

From playing a young, but spunky, prostitute in Sin City, joining a sisterhood based on a pair of very durable jeans, and a college professor turned resistance agent on Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale (for which she won a Primetime Emmy) Alexis Bledel is one of the most versatile and charming actresses of her generation. Of course, the former teen model’s most recognizable character remains her first ever credited role in Gilmore Girls, on which she made the social, romantic, and career-based aspirations of Rory Gilmore just as important to us as our own daily struggles.

Sean Gunn (Kirk Gleason)

Earlier, when I spoke of “eccentric individuals,” I was mostly referring to Kirk Gleason: a socially inept mama’s boy who held many jobs in Stars Hollow, and was played by Sean Gunn. Kirk is widely considered the actor’s best known character, which could be because his A-lister co-stars in the Marvel Cinematic Universe often get the bigger pieces of the spotlight despite his dual roles in the MCU (Kraglin and Rocket Raccoon’s body double). He is also frequently cast by his brother, a little filmmaker you might have heard of named James Gunn.

Jared Padalecki (Dean Forester)

I must say, I find it hilariously ironic how Jared Padalecki initially rose to heartthrob prominence on Gilmore Girls as Rory’s first love, Dean Forester, and would later be cast in his defining role on Supernatural as Sam Winchester, who snuffs out paranormal activity with his brother, Dean. Now, with the fantastic fellow CW series nearing its end after 15 seasons, the 37-year-old “scream king” will star in the title role of Walker which is - you guessed it - a reboot of the Walker, Texas Ranger crime series originally headlined by Chuck Norris.

Melissa McCarthy (Sookie St. James)

Despite being a series regular for the entire run of Gilmore Girls as Independence Inn chef (and later co-owner of the Dragonfly Inn) Sookie St. James, Melissa McCarthy did not become much of a TV star until her Emmy-winning turn on CBS sitcom Mike & Molly. It was the following year, after earning her first Academy Award nomination for her supporting role in 2011’s Bridesmaids, when she became a movie star and one of the most sought after comedic actresses in Hollywood, leading to her casting as Ursula in Disney’s upcoming live action remake of The Little Mermaid.

Milo Ventimiglia (Jess Mariano)

After several years of one small movie appearance or ill-fated TV role after another, Milo Ventimiglia’s career finally got a taste of stability after he joined the cast of Gilmore Girls in Season 2 as the troubled Jess Mariano, who was the nephew to Luke (Scott Patterson) and rival to Rory’s jealous boyfriend, Dean. After leaving the show in 2006, Ventimiglia was cast as a flying paramedic on NBC’s sci-fi cult favorite Heroes and, currently stars on one of the network’s biggest modern hits, This Is Us, in the three-time Emmy-nominated role of devoted late father Jack Pearson.

Adam Brody (Dave Rygalski)

After playing Lane Kim’s (Keiko Agena) love interest Dave Rygalski, a well-natured nerd, on Gilmore Girls for nine episodes, Adam Brody left the series to play Seth Cohen, a well-natured nerd, on the Fox teen drama The O.C. Fortunately, the 40-year-old actor has since avoided being typecast too often, taking roles such as a hard-partying fantasy football participant in The League, a grief-stricken, alcoholic descendant of a murderous family in Ready or Not, and The Flash in George Miller’s ill-fated Justice League project.

Krysten Ritter (Lucy)

Despite her short stint on Gilmore Girls, Krysten Ritter played a crucial part in one of the juiciest story arcs of Rory’s college years as Lucy, a fellow Yalie and friend who unwittingly dated a past unrequited admirer of Rory's named Marty (Wayne Wilcox). The actress would go on to have another short-lived yet memorable role as a tragic lover of Jesse Pinkman on Breaking Bad before landing the lead on the ABC sitcom Don’t Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, followed by nabbing the title role on the gritty Netflix crime drama based on Marvel hero Jessica Jones.

Danny Pudi (Raj)

In yet another instance of short stints on Gilmore Girls, Danny Pudi starred as Raj, a fellow staffworker at the Yale Daily News, who worked alongside Rory for a total of four episodes. The actor’s more memorable college-set role would come in the form of Abed Nadir, the self-aware walking encyclopedia of sci-fi knowledge, on Dan Harmon’s much-worshipped NBC comedy Community.

Rami Malek (Andy)

One of the most acclaimed actors in the world right now is Rami Malek. The Egyptian-American is the Emmy-winning star of Mr. Robot, Oscar-winning star of Bohemian Rhapsody, and scar-faced antagonist of the latest James Bond film No Time to Die. However, this remarkable actor debuted with a brief, single episode appearance in the fourth season of Gilmore Girls as Andy, a member of Lane’s bible study group, with three lines.

Amy Sherman-Palladino (Creator)

After getting her start as part of the writing staff of various comedies and dramas, none more successful than Roseanne, Amy Sherman-Palladino made a name for herself by creating her own show that incorporated both humor and true-life drama, which turned out to be Gilmore Girls. She would later find the biggest success of her career yet in creating The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, an Amazon Prime original series that follows a Jewish woman who pursues a career in comedy in the 1960s. The series is currently in its third season has earned Sherman-Palladino five Emmys thus far.

What do you think? Are these the greatest careers to come out of Gilmore Girls or, for my next article, do you think I should lead where you follow instead? Let us know in the comments and be sure to check back for more information on this beloved series or updates on other television favorites here on CinemaBlend.

One of the biggest crimes in TV history is that Troy and Abed in the Morning never became an actual morning talk show (though it inspired a great coffee mug). Thankfully, the next best thing is possible, in that each of Community's six seasons are currently available to binge on Netflix. The pop culture-driven ensemble comedy was far more of a critical darling than a ratings monster when it aired on NBC (and then Yahoo Screen), but the tides of popularity are now turning quite quickly for Community.

Similar to how modern classic TV series like Friends, The Office, and Breaking Bad reached previously untapped swarms of binge-happy viewers, Community is once again being quoted by both viewers who have been down with Jeff Winger's law advice for years, and those who are only now becoming familiar with how Britta fares in each of the multiple timelines. Twitter has seen a constant stream of Community-centered love since the show popped up in Netflix's library on April 1, such as the following shower of appreciation.

And Jesus wept! There are definitely episodes from the Dan Harmon-less fourth season that I could go most of my life without seeing again, but the majority of Community's episodes belong in the upper echelon of scripted comedy. As much credit goes to the writing and BTS crew as it does to cast members such as Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Allison Brie, Chevy Chase, Donald Glover, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Jim Rash and Ken Jeong. (Not to mention the efforts made by short-term stars such as Paget Brewster and Keith David.)

Even though Community's cast became untethered after its first three seasons, everyone who stuck around managed to keep things interesting through all the paintball fights and pillow forts. (Not to mention all the unexpected cameos, such as those from Breaking Bad's Vince Gillian and Lisa Loeb.) That said, even Dan Harmon admitted that the show faced its biggest blow whenever Donald Glover exited. It's unclear how this fan feels about it, but the love for Greendale is more than evident.

New viewers have been pretty celebratory about finally hunkering down and watching Community, too, for one reason or another. Such as finally grasping the meaning behind one of the show's most iconic and bizarre moments...

For many comedy fans whose Netflix appreciation has waxed and waned depending on what licensed shows were available, Community's arrival on the service has been Dean-omite. It's a show that rewards rewatches, thanks to the abundance of movie/TV references, callback jokes and Jim Rash's Dean, obviously. The tweet below definitely wasn't the only one that shared the central claim.

As of this writing, Community is #7 in TV for Netflix's daily Top 10, behind some of the company's more insanely popular original programming such as the WTF docu-series Tiger King and the Jason Bateman-led crime drama Ozark. Pretty great news for a show that is more niche comedically than The Office or something like the current #3 offering, The Big Show Show, fronted by WWE superstar The Big Show. In any case, its Top 10 presence has been visibly available to everyone accessing Netflix's interface, so fans know what that means.

It means the return of the in-universe tag "#SixSeasonsAndAMovie" to call for the long-awaited movie. Netflix already got targeted with that campaign in previous years, given its big budgets, its willingness to resurrect dead shows, and the company's working relationship with various cast members. With his streaming talk show not quite working out, Joel McHale (Santa Clarita Diet) very recently returned to the service for Tiger King's follow-up reunion installment, and Netflix also has solid relationships with Gillian Jacobs (Love, Ibiza), Allison Brie (GLOW, Horse Girl), Danny Pudi (Harvey Girls Forever), and Jim Rash (Beyond Stranger Things, Girlboss). Plus, both Yvette Nicole Brown and Ken Jeong appeared in BoJack Horseman, among other projects.

While most of the Community enthusiasm has been one-sided in favor of Greendale's glory, there are more than a few who are reacting to the uptick in chatter by pointing out that all the new fans have had ample chances in the past to get behind the show. Not just during the struggle-filled original run on NBC and the single season with Yahoo, but also Community's streaming past on Hulu and Amazon. Here's a more insightful and less biting take on that viewpoint.

At the end of the day, we should all be able to agree that the more places there are to currently stream Community, the better.

Personally, I go for Netflix for Community binges and Hulu for episodes to fall asleep to. But while we're agreeing about how great Community is, can we also agree that the following should automatically be included as an alarm in all mobile devices, and also ovens timers and doorbells.

In case it wasn't already beyond obvious, all six seasons of Community are available to stream on Netflix and Hulu.

Six seasons and a movie. It was a mantra adopted by Community fans, and it came from one of their own: Danny Pudi, who played the pop culture-obsessed Abed Nadir on the situation comedy. They used it as a punchline. They used it as a hash tag on Twitter. And now, it might actually come true, as Pudi recently elaborated:

Against most odds, Community did reach six seasons, though they needed Yahoo to step in and give them a Web series to make it happen. NBC routinely underserved the oddball comedy about a group of outcasts at a community college, even though the fanbase for the Dan Harmon-created comedy was passionate (but smaller than, say, your average Big Bang Theory following).

While a Community movie absolutely could work -- much stranger shows have been spun off into feature-length films, from CHIPS and 21 Jump Street to the little-seen Absolutely Fabulous -- there would be obstacles to putting it together. Some of the cast have blown up. Donald Glover has numerous successful endeavors on his radar, from playing Lando Calrissian in the STILL untitled Han Solo movie to starring in the award-winning Atlanta. Glover left Community once (missing the sixth season). Would he even return for a movie?

Danny Pudi's comments to EW are encouraging for Community fans who have to be amazed at the ensemble's ability to maintain interest in the show -- which followed a loose structure and was episodic, but still connected dots on a storyline that easily could be picked up. There were benchmark ideas that surfaced each season (an escalating Nerf war being one of them), but a movie could really break ground in ways this already groundbreaking sitcom hadn't tried. Because Community frequently had fun with circumventing the confines of a 30-minute comedy, we're tickled just thinking of the ways Dan Harmon and his crew could reinvent a TV-to-Movies adaptation. You could tell me that the Community movie would be a period romance in line with a Jane Austen novel, and I'd say, "Sure, I can see that."

Will this movie ever happen? My money would be on "no," but then again, I would have bet the same money on Community not lasting past the underwhelming fourth season, where Dan Harmon was replaced as showrunner and the show lost its way. Stay tuned for more developments on the next possible chapter of Community stories... possibly in movies form.

TV nowadays is filled with reboots and revivals, and some sound much less promising than others. There's one reboot, however, that is shaping up to be quack-tastically awesome. The upcoming DuckTales reboot on Disney XD is bringing together an talented cast of famous folks to provide voices to the fowl family, and they found a way to get us even more excited about the new set of episodes. David Tenant, Danny Pudi and more teamed up to sing the classic theme song that has been stuck in heads since way back in the 80s, and it's pretty epic. Check it out!

I didn't think that there could possibly be a video of the DuckTales theme more mindblowing than the version featuring actual ducks, but I think Disney XD pulled it off. The clip could have just been this incredible group of actors hanging out in a room and singing all together. Instead, it gave them all moments in the spotlight and showed off their enthusiasm for the project, which included busting out dance moves whenever they felt so inclined. Frankly, the actors have never been more relatable. How many of us can honestly say that we never sang along to the DuckTales theme?

The video was also the way that Disney XD revealed the cast who would be voicing the classic DuckTales characters for the reboot. It's an unconventional cast, but DuckTales was never an especially conventional show. Check them all out.

I'm not sure what's my favorite part of the video. I enjoyed how Bobby Moynihan seemed to warm up the longer than he sang, and Ben Schwartz surprised me by actually singing really well, but I think I have to go with David Tennant's reaction to the high note in the theme song. Although Tennant has some experience singing on screen thanks to his role in the BBC series Blackpool, he evidently wasn't ready to belt the high-pitched parts of the DuckTales theme. And just think about it: the former Time Lord who played the terrifying villain Kilgrave in Jessica Jones is now voicing Scrooge McDuck for DuckTales. What's not fabulous about that?

Unfortunately, we still have a while to wait before DuckTales hits the small screen. The reboot won't debut on Disney XD until summer 2017. Check out our midseason premiere schedule to see what you can catch on TV in the meantime. There may not be many anthropomorphic ducks voiced by A-list actors in the near future, but there's still plenty worth watching.

By now you have probably heard the old adage "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV." It's become a fairly well known pop culture catchphrase over the years, and most of the time it pretty accurately describes typical TV doctors -- they tend to not actually know anything about real medicine. However, what you might not know is that comedian Ken Jeong is a licensed physician in real life, and he once had to use his medical expertise on his Community co-star, Danny Pudi. Jeong recently explained:

During a recent Reddit AMA session, Ken Jeong was asked to open up regarding any funny, or generally weird stories that occurred on set during his tenure on Community. He responded with the above recollection of a time in which actor Danny Pudi (who portrayed the socially stunted Abed) was dared to eat a ton of junk food on set and became overcome with heartburn. Obviously, being the consummate medical professional that he is, Dr. Ken Jeong leapt into action and treated his co-star. Pudi should've known that Tabasco, mustard, and candy don't mix very well, though.

There aren't a lot of details to jazz up this story, but we have a feeling that most doctors don't relish talking about life or death scenarios. Regardless of that fact, it's a good thing Ken Jeong was there to help Danny Pudi, with his heart burn assist the cast and crew in their mission to produce six seasons and a movie. Sadly, we have a feeling that we will be waiting for that movie for a very long time.

Of course, as some of you probably already know, Ken Jeong's career as a medical professional has actually come into play several times over the course of his career as an actor. One of his first major silver screen roles came in the 2007 comedy, Knocked Up, in the form of Dr. Kuni -- an ornery OB-GYN with a bad attitude. Following that, Jeong also has also started to headline his own sitcom (aptly titled Dr. Ken) in which tells a comical, semi-biographical account of his career as a medical professional. The guy has a knack for drawing from his own experiences.

I suppose there's really only one thing left to take away from this story: if you ever find yourself having a medical emergency (or at least some heartburn) on a film set, then you better hope Dr. Ken Jeong is a member of the cast. Make sure to catch the season premiere of Dr. Ken on Friday, September 23 at 8:30 p.m. EST on ABC. For more information concerning all of the most high anticipated fall television debuts, make sure to check out CinemaBlend's comprehensive fall premiere schedule and fill our your television viewing calendars accordingly!

When NBC first announced that its next attempt at tackling the DC Comics universe would come in the form of the half-hour comedy Powerless, it sounded like a great way to tackle the superhero genre from a different angle. And now that the pilot is building its cast, the project has become a must-watch, assuming the network allows it to move forward. The latest additions are headed up by the always excellent Firefly alum Alan Tudyk, and he’ll be joined by Community’s Danny Pudi and A-to-Z’s Christina Kirk.

Developed by A to Z creator Ben Queen, Powerless takes place at one of the worst insurance companies in a country much like our own America, only this version is one where DC heroes have a presence. High School Musical’s Vanessa Hudgens was cast as the series lead Emily, a claims adjuster who still manages to love her job despite not liking the disastrous efforts of the super-citizens all around her city. 

Alan Tudyk signed on to play a pompous douche named Del, who just got promoted in the claims department, which makes him Emily’s new boss. He’s not a good worker though, and is merely the boss’ son, but he still quickly lets the newfound power get to his ego-filled head. I always like rooting for Tudyk’s characters rather than against them, but I can’t imagine he won’t be fantastic as a sniveling shitbag. The actor could most recently be seen in the acclaimed feature Trumbo, as well as Con Man, a web series of his own creation that features several Firefly co-stars during its initial season. And as far as his DC ties go, he’s voiced both Green Arrow and The Flash in Young Justice and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, respectively.

Danny Pudi will play Emily’s best friend and co-worker Teddy. To be expected, Teddy isn’t exactly the most professional person, and he spends a lot of his shift time creating pranks to liven up the office. While it doesn’t look like Pudi will be reprising his Community role of Abed any time soon, considering Yahoo lost a ton of dough giving it an extra season, he can still be seen on other shows such as Angie Tribeca and Dr. Ken, as well as heard in the upcoming sequel Smurfs: The Lost Village.

According to TVLine, Christina Kirk will play Jackie, who is certain to get on Emily’s nerves. Not only is Jackie totally into all of the superheroes out there, but she also happens to be Del’s assistant. Kirk’s biggest TV role to date was in the short-lived comedy A to Z, though she also had a notable part in the drama Manhattan. She will next be seen on the big screen for the horror anthology XX, which features solely female directors.

Since I don’t have any kind of psychic powers, it’s not clear exactly what the timetable will be for Powerless’ pilot, but we definitely hope it’s as super as some of the other DC series on the air right now. 

It’s taken a while, but most TV realists find it’s no longer impossible to accept that Community isn’t coming back. And while that’s a sad thing, at least we won’t go the rest of our lives without seeing some of the show’s leading actors doing other projects together. Ken Jeong’s ABC sitcom Dr. Ken will soon feature a mini-Community reunion – a Communion? – with Joel McHale and Danny Pudi dropping in for an episode. It’s no Troy and Abed in the Morning, but it works for us.

McHale will be playing a character not too far off from Community’s Jeff Winger. As Ross Kirkland, McHale will be a bullish medical malpractice attorney that’s served as Ken’s nemesis for a long time, and the two men will be forced to come together when their children get into an intense young romance. That should make for absolutely zero drama, right?

Meanwhile, Pudi will play a far less esoteric character than his Abed, although his name is Topher Mitchum, so that’s something. Topher is Dr. Julie’s manipulative on-and-off boyfriend, and he has a way of wooing her all the time with his seemingly naïve ways. I really like the idea of Danny Pudi as a romantic blowhard.’

Take a look at the tweet below from TV Insider, where you can see the former castmates sitting on a couch together, rather than around a table at Greendale.

Now if only every TV show could get Jim Rash on, preferably in the same Dean persona, because that shit just didn’t get old.

While it’s impossible to call a show “dead” these days, give how often things get revived, it’s safe to say that Dr. Ken is much more alive than Community is right now. After being canceled by NBC, the quirk-laden comedy was picked up by Yahoo, and the lone season that streamed there was a giant financial bungle for the company. The cast’s contracts ran out, as well, so unless someone with a bunch of money and a great sense of humor steps up, we’ll likely be getting most of our Community reunions on Dr. Ken.

Currently in its winter hiatus, Dr. Ken will return for the rest of Season 1 at some point in early 2016.

Danny Pudi is not usually one to say no to a guest starring role. On Thursday, it was announced that the Community star will use his hiatus from the NBC comedy wisely, appearing in an episode of TV Land’s Hot in Cleveland. He won’t appear in just any episode, however. Pudi is set to join the TV series’ upcoming live episode.

The live episode will hit TV Land’s schedule on June 19. According to TV Line, Pudi is set to play an affable character who also has a much, much darker side. Pudi’s character will come into the plot as a volunteer at a senior center. The Community actor is not the only famous face signed on for the live episode of the series. Recently, both Star Trek’s William Shatner and The Office’s Brian Baumgartner (who played Kevin on NBC’s series) have also joined the live show.

Pudi is mostly known for his role on Community, but the actor has popped up on plenty of random TV programs in the past, including Cougar Town and Chuck. Pudi is also set to join Season 5 of USA’s Royal Pains in a guest starring role this summer.

Normally, I’m not a huge fan of Hot in Cleveland, but anytime a comedy is willing to do a live episode it's a brave and bold choice, and one that may be worth tuning in for. Hot in Cleveland’s live episode will premiere on TV Land on June 19 at 10 p.m. ET.

Among the series slated to return at USA this summer is Royal Pains, which debuts its fifth season in June. It appears the drama, which centers on a doctor who treats wealthy clientele out in the Hamptons during the summer, has tapped into NBC's pool of talented actors for its guest stars, as Community's Danny Pudi and Grimm's Claire Coffee are both set to appear in the series in Season 5.

TVLine says Pudi will guest star as a radio personality whose career is on the rise. He visits HankMed when he begins to lose his voice, which - inconveniently - just so happens to be right before an event that could make or break his career. Pudi's likely best known these days for playing the ever observant Abed in Community. Prior credits include recurring roles on Greek and Gilmore Girls. I'm so used to seeing him as Abed now that it should be fun to see him playing a different kind of role than the quirky BFF to Troy in the NBC comedy series.

As for Claire Coffee, whom Grimm fans will know as the occasionally trouble-making Adalind Schade in the supernatural drama, she's set to appear in Royal Pains, playing the owner of a doggie hotel in the Hamptons. Prior to Grimm, Coffee appeared in Franklin & Bash and The League.

Also set to appear in Royal Pains this season is Tony Award winner Stephen Spinella, who will play Paige's difficult new boss. In addition to winning Tonys for his performances in Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and Angels in America: Perestroika, Spinella's credits include appearances in Desperate Housewives, Lincoln and Grey's Anatomy.

Royal Pains Season 5 premieres June 12 on USA.

ABC's Cougar Town returned for its abbreviated 15-episode third season on Valentine's Day, a move that also saw the sitcom shift from its original Wednesday night slot to Tuesdays after Tim Allen's Last Man Standing. And as we near the one hour season finale on May 29, there is still no word of a fourth season renewal from the network, despite whispers that TBS would pick it up if Cougar Town was cancelled. Even though it feels as though the show that is better than its terrible title is in a state of limbo, that doesn't mean creators Bill Lawrence and Kevin Biegel can't still have a laugh at their own expense thanks to a familiar face providing the pull-quote for this week's title card.

"Down South" opened with a the announcement of a 'hurricane party' before cutting away to the opening titles which featured the (textual) return of Community's Abed Nadir to Cougar Town. The two programs share an odd history that began with the NBC character played by Danny Pudi often ranting about how good the ABC comedy really is, and how it's a shame to see it so often dismissed because of its name. It's such a bad name. Then came his hilarious cameo on Cougar Town and his character once again monologuing about the show during Community's My Dinner With Andre spoof called "Critical Film Studies." The two are just inseparable.

The inclusion of the quote might not be just an innocent gag, though funny it also highlights the very little promotion that ABC does for the fledgling series. I mean, if a huge fan like Abed isn't even aware that the show was back on, how can you expect viewership to maintain let alone increase. Could Lawrence and Biegel be not so subtly suggesting that the network hasn't done the show any favors when it comes to attaining the kind of ratings needed to obtain a fourth season? And in a nice coincidence, Community received its renewal only a day before this aired so maybe there is still hope for Cougar Town to stay located on ABC. Here's Kelly's plea for you to 'Do It For Abed and Give Cougar Town a Chance', which also contains a video of all the Community-Cougar Town crossovers. Minus this one.

Cougar Town airs Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC. It stars Courteney Cox, Busy Phillips and Dan Byrd. It was created by Bill Lawrence and Kevin Biegel.

This is a tough one. And not only because I have to try and follow Eric who did us all a solid by covering "Documentary Filmmaking Redux," one of the best episodes of Community to date. But that episode's brilliance was rendered bittersweet thanks to NBC's announcement a few days prior that the show would be going on hiatus in the spring. Then two cold and bleak weeks went by, everyone stuck in the darkest timeline and wearing their felt goatees until finally, tonight, Community returned with more evidence as to why NBC would be crazy to cancel the show - otherwise called "Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism."

"I can't exactly buy him a cat monocle, can I? It's pretentious."

The episode opens in the cafeteria and, although it takes time to set up both of the two main threads--Jeff and Shirley's bonding (?) over foosball as well as Annie, Troy and Abed's superheroic spin on a classic sitcom situation--it is also wise enough to give Britta and Pierce as much time and lines as possible since they are all but absent from the rest of the episode. This is hinted at when everyone is asked their plans for the weekend, implying right away that this is an off-campus, extra-curricular affair. So, what are everyone's plans for the weekend? Pierce rephrases it to 'who' is he doing this weekend (which, if you don't speak sexist, means nobody) and Britta is volunteering at an animal hospital to pay off some kitty laser eye surgery. I would have gone with the monocle. After dispensing with the two extraneous group members of the week (sorry Pierce and Britta) it only leaves the main storylines remaining.

First, TroBed--and by roommate extension Annie--just received their long awaited copy of the Limited Edition $299.00 The Dark Knight DVD (signed by Christian Bale - "Abed is Batman now") meaning their Saturday night is set. And of course, with Bale officially handing the cowl over to Abed, I'm sure they won't get into any kind of reflexive, pop-cultural influenced shenanigans As for Jeff and Shirley, well, before they can get to their surely separate plans, Jeff just can't take the loud foosball playing fools any longer. Nick Kroll guest stars as one of the three German foosballers --even though it only takes two to play--and delivers a pretty funny, hammed up performance (with just the right amount of over accenting). Jeff is obviously too cool for both them and the game but when challenged, well, it's Jeff. Too bad he fails to score the much needed goal and leaves the German Kroll searching for a word to express his shameful joy. It's on. And do I sense some more daddy issues? Perhaps.

What a strong and funny cold open. Perfectly structured to introduce our dual narratives without sparing a laugh and giving screen time to beloved characters who won't factor into the rest of the episode. Let's start with the less emotional, more zany AnnTroBed narrative and how...

"You moving in here was supposed to tone us down!"

Having been passive aggressively warned about what to clean and not to clean, Annie tiptoes around her new place on some unsure feet and soon enough, steps on the precious special edition DVD. Sorry, limited edition. The scene is perfectly bookended by Troy's humming, first happily as he emerges from his blanket-fort before ending the scene with a sad, cry humming exit. Both hilarious. Troy also knows that since this scenario is a sitcom staple there will be no fooling Abed. The best thing to do is to come clean and, in a great choice, Annie Aderall instead begins to dig a deeper and deeper hole of lies. She starts by staging a fake break-in (which The Simpsons did one Christmas episode) forgetting that, after the police prove to be ineffectual, Abed as the recently anointed new Batman must take things into his own hands. And thus, the return of Abed in his full Batman costume complete with the voice and amazing one-liners. "The night beckons. It's black fingers curl and uncurl, going like, hey come here." The re-emergence of Abed as Batman not only scared Annie into a confession but also pretty much solidified that this week's episode was going to be, if nothing else, hilarious. We also got to hear Annie's best Christian Bale Batman earlier and she's not too bad either (let's face it, the whole cast is amazing).

It's odd, but when Troy yelled "who are you" at Annie during her downward spiral of deceptions it for some reason reminded me of the end of Unbreakable, like Annie and Abed were going to be nemeses. I hope so. In fact, as much as I loved the TroBed bromance, I might love this new threesome even more. Annie adds an interesting dynamic to the good-hearted yet childish duo with her anal retentiveness, innocence and most importantly, ability to fly off the handle and become a total loonball --yes, I have used both loonball and zany in one recap. Every week Donald Glover kills and is easily the show's most likable character--probably because he and Abed are the show's moral compass mixed with an ability to get caught up in the moment (like yelling "get him" at Abed as Batman when he's in the landlord's place). Yes, Annie might have confessed but Abed was too far gone and now sure that the landlord was behind the robbery. We get some great physical comedy from Danny Pudi--so you can add slapstick to his amazing resume--breaking into the apartment and finding the closet full of women's shoes even though the landlord has no wife or women's feet. All's well that ends well as Batman got his man (sort of) and Abed got his apology from Annie. Wait, Batman got an apology from Annie. Abed returns shortly after, prompting Troy to ask "where have you been?"

"I'm gonna put you back on the express train to tinkle town!"

While Jeff, Shirley and the foos storyline had its laughs, it was also a really emotional and well told narrative with a terrific reveal. And for a show that as inventive and referential as it is, I'm surprised we've never seen flashbacks used to this extent before. However, before we get ahead of ourselves by going too far back, let's begin with Jeff stuck in the unfamiliar and uncomfortable place of feeling inadequate. This is not usual for our smugly defensive leading man (although it has reared its ugly head before in a pottery class - I miss Dr. Rich) so he takes to the tables after hours in order to bone up and be prepared for the next encounter with ze Germans. Enter Shirley, and despite Jeff's assurances that "it's a guy thing, not a fresh baked pie thing," she can play some serious foos and the two get down to business and bonding. Like most fun things, Shirley sees foosball as an evil game that can only bring out the bad in people and in this case, well, she's pretty much right but when Jeff opens up about his past, and a humiliation that forced him out of the table sport forever, well, she has to agree to help. She's a good Christian you know, "kill or be killed, you turkey!" Oh, not only is the training intensity escalating, they are soon presenting the Germans with a standard sitcom 'never play at this table again' bet. The German's reply is one of the funniest physical gags I've seen on the show, it literally made me spit take (no joke)--yes, the human foos. Despite what Jeff says, that was hilarious and definitely worth the $25 prop ball.

However, in the midst of Shirley and Jeff's training and bonding, war stories are swapped and it turns out that Shirley's childhood mean streak aka 'Big Cheddar' cross paths with a young and rat-tailed Jeff aka 'Tinkle-Town.' The flashback is great. It's wonderfully filmed in black and white, and is oddly both fresh and captures a certain cliched flashback aesthetic. On top of the rare visual flair from the sitcom, it also packs an emotional punch. Community has been building up Jeff's father issues for sometime and when Big Cheddar Shirley drops the "I know your daddy ain't around or you wouldn't act like a bitch" it's quite a rare emotional punch. The emotional and character stakes have definitely never been higher (thanks Leonard) and I was totally engaged by it all. Especially when the next supposedly apologetic meet-up turned into another level of feud that could only be resolved by resorting to Anime (uh, brilliant!). And even better is when the Anime turns its signature high-energy battling on its head, ending in a very calm conversational "you're a perfectly fine person." They show the Germans that they don't need foosball anymore, now that they have each other and in one of the sweetest endings I can recall, they walk off hand in hand as kids. Call me a sucker, but it worked for me.

"Some crusts are worth eating."

The tag was short and sweet. Most of my enjoyment came not from Leonard himself but from reading the titles of the other videos on the YouTube channel aptly titled LeonardLikesPizza. And if you needed to know, Eugenio's Four Cheese Pizza has good cheese, good sauce, it's a buy! Also, there are some helpful videos on when it's okay to fold your pizza or the consistency of sauces. But enough about Leonard. Community didn’t just return to the airwaves but it also signaled a complete return to form and formula - snappy one liners, self-referential asides, endless pop cultural references and a nice touch of sentiment to wrap it all up nicely. As I said in the opening paragraph, last week was certainly one of the best episodes of a somewhat inconsistent (if mostly good) third season and yet, the last three or four, including tonight's, have me even more worried that we won't reach #sixseasonsandamovie. Oh, and did anyone else notice the weird dub when Jeff said "Luftballons?" Huh.

Community airs on NBC, Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT. It stars Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Alison Brie, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole-Brown, Donald Glover, Jim Rash, Ken Jeong and Chevy Chase. It was created by Dan Harmon.

Community opened the third season with two pretty strong episodes. They did a great job wrapping up loose-ends, setting this year's tone and even creating (or hinting at) a few new roles and relationships for some of our characters. Oh, plus we've already had some great guest work from Michael K. Williams, John Goodman and especially Martin Starr in last week's episode. This weeks episode, "Competitive Geology," is heavy on the Chang, but Michael K Williams is back as Professor Kane, so there's always that...

"You woke with a guard this morning but tonight, you're going to bed with a detective." or "Who are these people?

This week's opening act sets up our two narratives and, shockingly - at least to me - one of them does not involve the group. At all. It's just Chang. Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself (but really? just Chang). He wakes in his squatter's paradise at the college, living with a lovely lady mannequin leg named Veronica and dreaming big dreams about becoming a full on detective. Meanwhile, the group just seem to be getting along so well. Awe. Like, really well. Awe. NO! Too well. And enter Professor Kane's new assignment, a terrarium, which is kind of like a ecological diorama. Ugh. It's clear Professor Kane has a hard time understanding life on the outside sometimes, like his students sometimes or even the recent developments in Lego. Regardless, terrariums a due the next day and everyone's lab partner is seated across from them. Uh yeah, who are these people?

"You've only been here a month. You haven't done much of anything and there's no such thing as security guard detective."

Let's open with the Chang storyline since you can tell that's the one I'm most excited about. As I stated above, Ken Jeong's Chang can be hilarious - when used wisely and sparingly, as he was during his 'Senior Chang' days in the first season. However, the more we get, the less I enjoy and I was really looking forward to the first full on film noir spoof and Harmon gave it to him. Objectively? It wasn't too bad but it definitely doesn't rank up there with a solid half of any of the better episodes.

It opens with Chang and his superior not seeing eye to eye, mostly because his superior isn't a crazy person and the fact that "they don't investigate crimes because they can barely prevent them." Of course, this does little to stop his insane mind from inviting us in for a full on film noir voice-over and the beginning of Chang's first case. Sure, it has some good lines ("he kind of arms that have elbows" or "I needed answers like a fish needs a bicycle"), I laughed at the jump cut to the stapler and I even liked the fact that he lit the fire to start his own case BUT was it consistently funny or smart enough for this show? I did also like that he and the Dean had a 'crazy off' that results in no consequences for anyone but the man of reason. Say hello to Head Security Guard Chang.

"We really prefer to partner up amongst ourselves."

After the opening few minutes left the oh, so happy group a little shocked with their lab partner assignment, they decided to take a trip to see Professor Kane and see about remedying this 'new people' situation. Even though Kane finds the whole thing bizarre he grants them their wish and off they go and split... shocker Pierce is odd man out and still left with Todd. Poor, poor Todd. He's given so much offense and yet so little is taken. All's not well in paradise though when the group soon realizes that they don't pair up so well. Annie doesn't want to do the work and watch Jeff complain about his twitter casualties or send texts to no one. Reminiscing over Kickpuncher Abed and Troy realize they already spend too much time together. And, well, why would anyone ever assume that Britta and Shirley would make a good team. That was doomed before the moment Shirley started talking [read: blathering on and on] about her kids or Britta mentioned sugar conspiracies.

Enter the new scapegoat, Todd. To solve the 'Todd Problem' it's back the the study room to get better partners... I mean find out who gets stuck with Todd. Troy's plan is a complicated way of saying he wants Britta. Abed want's to pair the old and the young, which Shirley is more okay with since Jeff is in the old group (he's not okay). Britta wants the high-IQ's with the lows for obvious reasons. They eventually they settle on a ranking system (popularity contest) with Abed, the computer, calculating the results. Everyone is happy. The end. "Are you questioning my algorithm?" "No." "Is you're algorithm above questioning?" No." Of course, this only leads to more squabbling and Britta torching the rankings and throwing them in the garbage... with the turtle. Oh yeah, Todd found a turtle! He's a pretty nice and patient guy, I'm sorry for not mentioning him but I don't think he'd take offense. However, one can only be pushed so far, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?" A lot is wrong with these people but what they do learn is that, they are better together. As a whole. And mostly being unkind to others, like Todd.

"Maybe I need to take one... A test, not a penis."

This week's tag was once again very abrupt and not just a Troy/Glover and Abed/Pudi segment (which always makes me sad) but it's okay because it involved the entire group. Troy dropped another classic line, "they're boobs... and I don't know" but we learned that Britta is perhaps a little phallically obsessed. She's Rorschach-ing and Freudian Slipping penises all over the place while trying to do research for her Psych Class. Penis, penis, penis, penis. penis. Overall I thought it was a pretty lackluster episode but, like usual, still found places to cram in some laughs, The actors are too good to not get you going a few times, including Ken Jeong even if a little Chang goes a long way (or, uh, a big Chang goes a short way). It's nice that Pierce's continued his recent trend being the senile, out of touch racist we like (he was funny, again!) instead of the mean one we don't. And it was nice to see his take his position as perennial seventh-wheel in stride. Well, funny and not mean-spirited stride.

I don't think I'd fail this one but I'd meet after class and tell them that they can do better. Unless, of course, you love Chang and lots of him, meaning this probably an awesome episode. Hurray!

Bonus Questions:

The Dean-Low.

"I'm married to the job. And to a mannequin leg I Found in the boardroom." ..."Homewrecker!"

Legos were simple...

Paintball. Paintball 2.

"What is happening at this school? I have so many conversations I don't understand."

"Maybe I was crazy. Or maybe, just maybe, I was a Detective."

Clue-y.

"I had to think fast."

"It has feelings."

"You're just a good grade in a tight sweater."

"Well, you're just a bad grade in a tight sweater."

Do worms have tiny little faces?

"Offense taken. Offense taken..."

Another ego-shattering blow delivered by Professor Kane this week, "Pop Pop."

The 'mean clique' in prison.

Iris-in on Todd's single tear.

Community airs on NBC, Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT. It stars Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Alison Brie, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole-Brown, Donald Glover, Jim Rash, Ken Jeong and Chevy Chase. It was created by Dan Harmon.

One of the benefits of attending Comic-Con is getting to see some cool footage that the shows or networks drummed up for the special occasion. While I was slaving away in ballroom 20 all day on Saturday (yes, all day), I was treated to many a sneak previews or special screenings, some of which, like Fringe, created videos specifically for the convention... that is, until the footage is released online a week or so later.

If you can sense a bit of bitterness well, your senses are in tune. I mean, don't get me wrong, I had a fantastic/exhausting time covering the convention but it stings just a little to see these Comic-Con specials lose their luster by becoming just another internet clip. However, this video that the Fringe panel put together is an exception in that is absolutely deserves... nay needs, to live on the interwebs. It has a natural virality to it and I'm a little surprised I haven't come across it making the social media sharing rounds.

The clip in question (although there will be two, yay), I discussed during my live-blog of the Fringe panel as one of the more interesting and entertaining features for the ballroom 20 audience. (Spoilers ahead!) With Peter Bishop gone at the end of Season 3, the people at Fox began casting alternative actors to step into the Peter Bishop role in Joshua Jackson's absence (who at this time has still yet to take the stage). The actors auditioning include Zachary Quinto, Damon Lindelof, Greg Grunberg, Michael Emerson, Danny Pudi, Jorge Garcia, Paul Scheer and Jeff Probst (among others). Many have connections to the Abrams/Orci/Kurtzman crew which is why they probably climbed on board for this little bit of fun.

Lastly, there's also a new promo for the upcoming season of Fringe, titled "Where is Peter Bishop?" and it adds to the ten second teaser released just before the Con.

Fringe Season 4 returns to Fox on Friday, September 23rd at 10 p.m. ET.

“This seems like a really dark chapter in our group story.”

This week’s episode of Community wasn’t based off of some high-concept parody. It didn’t have much wackiness or many sight gags. It didn’t hurl a bunch of pop culture references at its viewers (well, not too many). And for the most part, it wasn’t all that… funny.

Now, that doesn’t mean there weren’t many moments in the show – there were. Hell, I had laugh-tears streaming down my face in under 30 seconds (a new best). And I definitely don’t mean the show wasn’t good. It was. Episodes like these are a perfect counterbalance to the show’s more popular episodes like “Modern Warfare” or “Contemporary American Poultry”. This episode was dreary, but also quite thoughtful and heartfelt. And it conveyed a message that may not be appreciated but will definitely resonate with the show’s (assumed) young demographic. And that message was:

“Alcohol makes people sad… it’s like the Lifetime Movies of beverages.”

Funny. And quite often true.

The episode begins with the study group celebrating Troy’s 20th Uterus Expulsion Day… or so he thinks. Thanks to a reference to the Chinese Zodiac Calendar, Troy realizes that he and Annie were not born on the same year… and he also realizes that not everyone is age 10 for two years (because fifth grade is tough, damn it!). While Troy is initially stunned to hear of his mother’s deception about his age, he quickly rebounds when Jeff reminds him this means he is of legal drinking age. Huzzah!

Jeff and Britta initially squabble about which bar to take Troy to – Jeff’s favorite preppy watering hole, or Britta’s “underground” hipster hangout – but they eventually land on a bar with a gross-but-ironically-fancy-sounding name: The Ballroom. However, this plan is not without its problems: Annie is underage, Shirley is apprehensive about going, and Pierce is having trouble navigating his wheelchair. But all is well when Annie gets an ID (from another brunette named Caroline Decker, from Corpus Christi), Shirley sucks it up for the team, and Pierce… well, Pierce gets caught outside the bar for the duration of the night. Poor Pierce.

Once inside, Troy begins planning what to order as his first “legal” drink once the clock hits 12. He settles on a beer, though this is quickly vetoed by Jeff and Britta. Troy’s next choice is the favorite drink of his uncle, a Seven and Seven, but this is also shot down. Dejected, Troy listens to Jeff and Britta bicker more about their respective bar and drink of preference, and he wistfully waits the time when he will be able to get the context of their arguments.

Meanwhile, Caroline Decker is sitting at the bar, chatting up the bartender. Oh, you don’t know Caroline? She’s just an ex-con, drifting from town to town (or following Phish), living in the moment. Not at all like her “friend” Annie, who’s a total square and plans everything in advance.

(As you can see, Annie, in all of her hilarious neuroses, is so paranoid of being caught drinking underage that she concocts a back-story for the alter-ego on her ID. She then proceeds to act like “Caroline” the entire night. However, she soon begins to like the idea of herself as a free-spirit, and starts questioning the merits of her own life choices).

While Caroline is spittin’ in the wind at the bar, Abed is talking to a pleasant man named Robert about Farscape at a nearby table. Over time, it becomes clear that Robert is less interested in science fiction, and more interested in Abed. Finally fed up with Abed’s obliviousness toward his advances, Robert straight-up asks Abed if he was in the mood for some gay sex. Abed declines. As it turns out, Abed has been aware for quite some time about Robert’s intentions… but come on. The opportunity to talk about Farscape doesn’t come along every day.

Shirley, all the while, has been buzzing around the bar, nabbing pictures of herself off the walls. Shirley used to be a regular at the Ballroom (insert crude joke here) during a time of her life she’s not proud of. Unfortunately for her, Britta finds one of her drunken pictures in the restroom, and she, Jeff and Troy have some fun at her expense. Shirley isn’t laughing, and she leaves the bar in a huff… but not before helping Pierce out of the bar’s foyer.

When midnight finally arrives, and it’s time for Troy’s drink, he ignores the advice of his inebriated friends and buys a Seven and Seven. But while he’s being served, he looks around at his friends in the bar, and sees how miserable and lonely each of them are. Troy collects his study buddies and leaves his drink, untouched, on the bar.

As he’s chauffeuring everyone home, Troy really hits his stride. He tells off Britta and Jeff for their bickering (after they realize that they actually frequent the same bar). He realizes that his supposedly wiser friends aren’t any wiser at all. He tells off Abed for being a tattletale. He helps Annie feel comfortable with being herself. He even gets to drive Jeff’s car. He has reached manhood.

Extra Credit:

- My Quote of the Week is actually a Cake Frosting of the Week, as that was the moment that made me laugh the hardest. When the study group buys Troy his birthday cake, they top it with frosting that attempts to be respectful of his Jehovah’s Witness upbringing (in which birthdays are not celebrated). It reads: “Hello during a random dessert, the month and day of which coincide numerically from your expulsion from a uterus.”

- Other favorites from this week:

* “Well, you were doing it in front of me; I’m not a coat rack.” –Abed, giving an excuse for why he tattled on Jeff and Britta making out

* “It’s not hipster! Hipsters haven’t discovered it yet – it’s underground.” –Britta, defending her definitively not hipster bar in the most hipster way possible

- I realize this episode may not have been for everyone; when something goes against expectations, people can react adversely. But I’m sure next week’s Rankin/Bass-inspired animated Christmas special will be right up your alley. In fact, I’m pretty sure that if you don’t watch it, and convince all of your Nielsen-affiliated friends to do the same, the Communists win.

Yesterday, actor Danny Pudi, who plays Abed on Community, spoke with the press about tonight’s episode as well as next week’s special stop-motion Christmas episode.

I never got into Farscape, however as a self-proclaimed geek who would actually prefer to spend some evenings picking over the details of a cancelled TV series rather than flirting, I felt for Abed tonight when he sat at the bar, feeling alone and disappointed. Hopefully things will work out better for him during next week’s Christmas episode, titled “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas.” Here’s what Danny Pudi had to say about his own Christmas traditions, working on Community, and what’s to come next week when the characters find themselves sucked into a stop-motion world.

I was wondering about both Abed and about you. Did Abed grow up with Christmas or did he grow up with multiple religions? And also, the same thing with you. Did you grow up with Christmas or did you grow up with different religions or what? But first of all, Abed.

Great. In both cases - well, in Abed's case, specifically as addressed in this episode, religiously, he is Muslim, but he was always a big fan of Christmas and his mother is Polish, so I think there was aspects of Catholicism and the Christian traditions from the Polish perspective as well as being Muslim and that kind of thing.

I think Abed also just overall being a fan of pop culture and stuff, he's very aware of Christmas and what it represents around the seasons and in terms of movies and all that. He's probably a big fan of Chevy Chase's National Lampoons Christmas Vacation.

And as far as me, Danny, I also grew up Polish and Catholic and so we definitely celebrated the Polish traditional Catholic and Christmas traditions, which is Wigilia, which is celebrated on Christmas Eve, which includes a lot of different fish dishes and oplatek, which is a very interesting tradition where you go around breaking a host that's been blessed by a priest and you give people wishes for the next year.

It can be uncomfortable when you bring new people into the fold. And it's also - it can be uncomfortable for people who don't like to communicate much, but it's always interesting.

And just one thing about Christmas traditions. Did you as a kid really were you - really did you see Chevy in the Christmas Vacation in a movie theater? And well, first of all, tell me that, did you see it in the movie theater or did you just see it later on tape, or...?

I saw it later on VHS, the only way to see Chevy Chase. No.

So what's it like when - here's a guy whose made a big impression on you previously and you're suddenly walk in a room and you're working with him?

You know, it's very bizarre, I mean, the whole experience is bizarre where you're doing all this kind of stuff. One day, you're working with Chevy Chase and the next day you're going to visit a claymation studio where they have a doll of you. None of this really makes sense in this world, but that's the really fun and beautiful thing about this job that I love is that every day is so different and unique and once they presented this script to us about this episode and said that we were going to be in stop motion, we were all so excited. But for me, literally, there are so many dreams coming true that sometimes it's really hard to put into perspective until summertime when we're on hiatus and then after a month of being away from people, I'm like, "Holy crap, I just spent a year working with Chevy Chase." So to me, it's just very fun, interesting, always, always interesting and I love that.

Okay, just one other thing about the doll now. You probably grew up watching animated Grinch and animated Charlie Brown. What's it like the first time you see animated you? I mean, what's that like?

It's very bizarre because you're looking at a version of yourself and in my case, it's definitely an enhanced and better looking version, I'm very excited. The eyebrows are fuller, the forehead is smaller, what else? I'm just - I think I'm more handsome; I got a nicer jaw line. I probably have the same, actually, the same size legs, which, I don't know if that's a good thing, as my doll is in real life. That's true to life.

But it's very weird, it's very bizarre and - but it's, I mean, it's just really fun, you know? I thought, the first time I met one of the animators and there was, I think, eight different animators working on ten different stages there and I met one of the ladies who was making the doll.

And she saw me and she was like, "Hey, I recognize..." Actually, I saw her away from set - I saw her, actually, at a random bar I believe or some place in Los Angeles, she's like, "I recognize you because I've been working on your doll."

And she came up to me and I was like, "That's definitely another first." There's a lot of firsts I've been experiencing and that's the first time someone's recognized me from a doll they've made of me. So I'm very thankful and very excited about all this.

Speaking of having a doll, one of the Star Trek actors once told me that the great thing about having a little doll likeness of himself is that he can play with himself in public and no one says, "Boo."

Fact, true.

For what that's worth. Has NBC started selling little likenesses of you and the rest of the gang on its Website yet and if not, is there any doubt that they will do so ultimately?

If there's a way to make money, I am sure they're looking into it. I do know one of the things that they've started to do is sell the Troy and Abed In The Morning mugs - coffee mugs. And I've gotten a number of people who have sent me pictures and - on Facebook and Twitter of them drinking coffee in the Troy and Abed In The Morning mug. And I always think that's really humorous just knowing that in some office right now, a CPA is looking over somebody's taxes while drinking some Folgers out of my mug. So I think that's just really interesting.

As far as the dolls, I don't think we have any dolls out yet, but I do know that you can get Ken Jeong's Hangover doll at Urban Outfitters - his bobble head. So I don't know. I think that right now, it's definitely something that they're probably going - if there's a way to make money, I think they'll find a way to sell it and I'm hoping it ends up in people's living rooms, but I'm still kind of freaked out about all this. I'm just happy to have a mug.

Is there a lot of Abed in you and a lot of you in Abed, or when you go to work is it like you're putting on a costume?

There's definitely a little bit of putting on a costume, except in my case, it's putting - getting into skinny jeans. And definitely after Thanksgiving break, when I came back this week, it was a little harder to get into them. But I think there is also there is sort of a convergence of both Abed and Danny as over the course of time working with the writers, there are aspects of me that they've worked into the script.

I don't think Abed was half Polish until I got the role and so there are things like that, and I think Abed definitely has a larger encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture. I think he's probably more observant and aware of what's going on constantly, he's sort of a detective.

You know, there's definitely aspects of Abed that I wish I had. I wish sometimes I was as sharp and I could notice as much as he does. I think in my life I'm probably a little bit more aloof, but like I said, there's sort of me is coming into the character, but at the end of the day, I think Abed is definitely his own unique person.

Okay, and the TV references that are often spilling out of the character's mouth, do you find yourself getting most of them or do you have to research a lot of them and find out what you're talking about?

Definitely a lot of research. I think that's Abed's unique talent, he is an encyclopedia and every script I get, I'm constantly looking and talking to people, being like, "Don't know this one, don't know this one." Googling - my Netflix queue is always full of Community research - movies like Meatballs and whatever it may be, a Farscape for this week's episode.

Abed definitely has the encyclopedia knowledge, although I am a big fan of '80s movies and stuff, so there is certainly a good crossover, like Indiana Jones is my favorite movie of all time, so when it came to talking about that and wearing Indie's whip in an episode, that was very natural for me.

You guys look like you're sweating blood to kind of carve out a niche on Thursdays, then CBS moves Big Bang up against you, Fox is about to move Idol up against you. Is there like a...

Wait a minute. What? Did you just say Idol's going against us?

Yes.

Big Bang is against us, too?

Yes. Is it...

Do we even have a chance?!

Is there a sense of like, what's next, like, "What else could they possibly do to us?"

There is and it's almost comedic in terms of like - it's become sort of comedic for us because we're just like, "Oh, what the heck what is next?" You know? Pretty soon, it's going to be that we're going to be running just in local outlets it's not going to be national anymore. Or it's going to be only airing on Hulu or, who knows? And for us, we're just really thankful and I think that they found such a - I think with Dan and the writers, they're just so ambitious and full of like, really, "Let's like really cherish this opportunity to do something really interesting." And it's kind of fun, too, for us because there isn't as much pressure, I feel like, for us, in terms of like Big Bang and Idol are very numbers oriented and driven shows.

They both do great. I don't think we have a chance of ever beating them. And so for us, I think many of the writers and stuff are really just focusing on making a really fun, smart, interesting show and just seeing what we can do next, exploring where we can go further.

So I think there's - that's kind of the fun of it and who knows? All that other stuff we can't really control and I don't know about any of that kind of stuff because I - this is all, like I said, this is pretty new to me in terms of like ratings and that kind of stuff. I never even thought that I would be actually worrying about that, the fact that I'm on a show itself is kind of a wonderful thing. So yes, who knows what's next? So that's why I think we're just happy we're getting the stop motion episode done.

But it seems like the underdog role kind of suits you guys.

Yes, I think so, too. And that's - I think that in a lot of creative things, a lot of great, creative things come out of times where there's a little bit of a struggle, you know? And I think for us being sort of that underdog is, I really don't mind it and I think some of the people here, I think if you asked them, they probably would actually say that we kind of enjoy it. Because like I said, there is a little bit of room for like, "Hey, we can try stuff here." We have a little bit of room for experimentation, which I always think is a fun thing, especially with comedy and especially with our show, which can go in a lot of different places.

It all starts very grounded and very real, but the fact that we've already gone to outer space this year, we had a zombie episode, we had a bottle episode where - and then - and now we're actually going into stop motion and we're only halfway through Season 2 really excite me and terrifies me at the same time that I don't know what's next, but I think that's kind of the fun thing about this show.

Is this claymation thing just another example of sort of the non-traditional sitcom-y type things you're getting to do, like with that episode where Abed was in the background the whole time, delivering the baby and everything.

Danny Pudi: Yes.

There's another example. Are you constantly surprised or what's been your reaction to these things and are you happy that you get to do all this weird, bizzarro stuff?

I love it. For me, it's my - and my mentality and how I work I love kind of the spontaneity of not really knowing what's going to happen next. I guess that quality - the same quality that didn't make me the best office employee probably suits me for this job. I like not knowing what's going to happen next, and I think all of us here are so excited to see what's in the next script.

I mean, when we get to a table read we're all like flipping through eagerly and it's the quietest you'll ever see our cast at one table because everyone is reading the script so just getting into it. I think that's a testament to the writers because they're really always surprising us, but always trying to find new things for the characters and growing.

And also I just love the fact that our show, as bizarre and as absurd as it can go really there's a lot of good lessons being learned constantly, characters are growing and learning from mistakes and we get to do a lot of different things, which is for regular comedy that's only 22 minutes I always think about that. To be able to go to the places we've gone in a 22 minute comedy with an ensemble that includes Chevy Chase, Joel McHale, Donald Glover, Ken Jeong, Alison Brie, I mean everybody, it's like with all those people and giving us a little piece of that pie it's really exciting.

So to me I love it, and like I said, this year has been really interesting, too, like the whole episode where we end up - I was in the background delivering the baby and now we're doing this. The attention to detail with this show is also awesome. Like just Ludwig who's doing the composition and the scoring for our show. He's doing stuff with a full orchestra just for this Christmas episode.

The music is incredible, you know? And there's that and then there's the props and the sets, I think if you look around everyone like really cares, and I think that probably goes back to a little bit of like, the other question about us, worried about having competition like Big Bang and Idol against us.

I think there is a little bit of that we never know when this is going to end, and I think because of that it's sort of like, "Let's work really hard and see what we can create."

So you mentioned Farscape, what's the deal with tomorrow's episode?

Oh, there's a little bit of Farscape stuff going on in there. There - I do have conversations with someone regarding Farscape and the differences between Season 1 and Season 3. And I think Abed is just very excited to be able to discuss Farscape with someone because there's not many people in Abed's life that can actually speak about it.

And so again, it's Abed's yearning to communicate with someone. And I think tomorrow night's episode is very - it's a really sweet episode. It's actually Troy's 21st birthday party. So the gang goes to celebrate his 21st birthday party. Which I always think is interesting because I don't think we've done that very often where you see our group interacting with people outside of Greendale. While we're still together, and that's always kind of interesting to see like, "Oh, okay, how would Abed and Troy interact with a regular customer at a bar?" Or, "How would a regular customer at a bar perceive this group of knuckleheads." So you get to see a little bit of that tomorrow night, which I think is fun.

Did you end up liking Farscape?

I did. I actually watched a few episodes. It freaks me out a little bit right away with some of the aliens and how - I mean, they're not slightly alien, they're very alien looking with very human qualities. But there is sort of a fantasy element that I really like because as a kid I always was like, "Okay, if it were possible for me to make out with or," I was a teenage boy, "to get with an alien woman, that would be an exciting thing." And so watching Farscape definitely rekindled some of those memories. Yes. I am human though, I just want everybody to be clear of that and married, so don't tell my wife.

When you first got the script what were your thoughts, like, knowing that it was mainly about you?

I guess I was a little nervous because I just kind of wanted to know what's this about and how to take it. And this was sort of an interesting and a different approach to a script because, we're not really acting as a group in this one. We were going into a recording studio with the Director and the writers and doing all this stuff in a voice-over booth, you know?

So it's a little different because, I'm not a voice-over actor. I've never really done any voice-over work. So trying to convey some of that some of the feelings and stuff, it was definitely a little bit more challenging for me. I was definitely nervous about that and seeing - just making sure that would happen. Because then what they did was take our voice-over looping and then they animate the characters based on that. So that was a whole new experience and really fun for me, too though, because again, it was a new thing for us to do.

But then regarding the script itself, I just think it's perfect. There's so much beautiful stuff in there and I think it makes complete sense that this is sort of coming out of Abed's point-of-view because the claymation characters, I think the great thing about the writers and what they've been able to do is make it all come from a real honest place. And I think coming from Abed it sort of makes it natural, like, "Of course, he watches Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer every year, this makes sense that why not - why can't his perspective be in this episode all stop motion?" That's his Christmas. So I just thought that was really smart of them, but yes, I was also terrified because I was like, "Oh, boy." I mean, there's a lot of work that I've never done before.

So when you're reading it did you picture it the way that it turned out? Like, does it look the way that you thought it would look?

You know, it's funny, we haven't seen the full episode yet. So I've seen bits of it, like a little - couple of short clips of it and we've seen our dolls. We got to go to the studio and check those out, and it's way more incredible than I thought it would ever be. Like I said, there was, I think eight different animators working right now. They've been working on it for over six weeks, and while we were there we actually got to see one of the animators, (Sarah), working the tag which is also going to be in claymation and she spent three days working on a 30 second tag. In my head I was just like, "Wow." Okay, again, some of the people in there was quiet, they were behind a dark curtain, they were working alone, their hands were still, all the qualities that I don't have. I was admiring them for being patient and stuff.

But the work that goes into it is really tremendous and it paid off. When we were watching it we were looking at the colors. It's really beautiful looking and it really captures the spirit of Christmas and some of those things you see when you're a kid like, Nightmare Before Christmas, and Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer, there is that.

I think they did a great job, just an amazing job and like I said before, with the music, too, adding that layer on top of this it just feels like a really fun special episode and I'm really proud to be involved in it. But I'm also excited because I haven't seen the full thing yet. So it's going to be a surprise for all of us.

I saw some photos of it. Now, is your character supposed to be a Wise Man or a wizard or something?

My character in this is not, but John Oliver's character will be a wizard in it. First of all he's one of the funniest people I'd ever met, but with him and a wizard in the Christmas episode I think is worth hopefully everyone watching because it's great. Ken Jeong also plays a really fun character, which I don't want to give away, in the Christmas episode which to me makes complete sense. So I think people will enjoy that.

What it is with Community and holidays that kind of are going to go hand-in-hand now that you mention, of course, you've done a Halloween episodes and now it's Christmas. I mean, is there going to be like a Purim episode coming up or, you know?

Give us enough time, give us enough seasons I'm sure we'll hit them all. I think there's a couple things that go hand-in-hand. I think with our group, the ensemble itself, and everyone having their own unique take on Christmas. Like Annie being Jewish, Yvette being Christian and very much Christmas was about the birth of Jesus Christ, and Troy being Jehovah's Witness, with all these people having their own take that also means everybody kind of grew up with different traditions. I think you really get to see that when there's a holiday. You know? And then so when there's a special holiday or a season or some kind of thing like that, even a birthday, you really get to see kind of how each person, where they came from, each character.

I think some of the fun in our group is really just seeing where each person kind of came from and what they're used to and then just trying to learn from the other - from the rest of the group, you know? We're all sort of kids in a sandbox in preschool except that we're all adults at Greendale. But we're essentially doing the same thing, we're all learning from each other and being like, "Well, this is how I've done it. How do you guys do it?" And I think that's largely the reason why we like to celebrate holidays, plus they're just fun and there's a dance.

I want to know, too, if you maybe took like a picture of your claymation self and put it on your Christmas card this year, too?

It's going to be very hard for me not to raid that studio and steal one of my dolls. But I've heard that the dolls can go upward of $10,000, the ones with the ball and socket, the silicone dolls that they use, and so - and then they actually gave me one to hold. And like I said before, I'm not the best at keeping things steady and I got really nervous.

So I put it down right away, but I mean, they're really expensive and they're really true to life, like I said. So I did get a picture of one of them with me, and I'm very happy about that. I think my mom and some other people are kind of weirded out that I have a doll. I think it'd be really weirded out if people came over and I had like game night with my friends and they came over and just saw my doll in the corner. I'd be too scared and it, I think, would probably give me flashbacks to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom with the voodoo doll. So I'm going to keep it away from my house probably.

Earlier this year the episode on religion was really deep and profound. I was wondering, you have been talking about the themes of the Christmas episode, how does it compare to that one?

I think that one was a little bit more about - definitely a little bit more about the life of Jesus and that I guess the Bible. It was a little bit more Christianity based, and I think there was a little bit more about. [In] the last Christmas episode we talked about different religions and stuff, and this episode we definitely talk about them a little bit, but I think in this episode it's not as much about religious differences as it is a little bit more about our characters and kind of exploring the meaning of Christmas for all of us.

We definitely touch upon the religions and how we're different, you know? We talk about even just Seasons Greetings versus Merry Christmas, saying it, you know? But I think what's fun about this episode it is sort of - there is a little bit more of Abed's journey into figuring out what is the meaning of Christmas and the study group kind of coming together at the end.

So I would say definitely less religious, but still very full of meaning in terms of like not only Christmas but other holidays as well.

Well, it wasn't just the religion in that episode, it was the whole meta of things affecting the film and back and forth. Does the stop motion allow any opportunities like that to be reflective?

I think a little bit. That one was definitely more meta. Film was in the film, about the film, about the film. And a little bit more about that concept. I think in this episode there is a little bit of that about what we, you know, Christmas is sort of what we make of it. There is a little bit of that, but I think it's much more practical I think in this episode. It's much more like, "Let's just figure out what is going on, Abed needs to figure out what is the meaning of Christmas for him."

The study group kind of comes together on a mini-mission, I would say all within probably one day, maybe even one hour. You know? And I think it's definitely a little bit more - I would say focused. Especially also because a lot of it is coming from Abed's point-of-view, one character's point-of-view, and I think that, yes, so it's a little bit less about the meta and more about just, "Oh, crap, let's figure out why we're stop motion."

And tomorrow night's episode is it just Farscape you talk about or there's some other good references, too? I'm trying to think. There might be another reference, but I think Farscape is kind of the big arc; it's the one that's looming over our heads. But, yes, tomorrow night's episode, that's another episode where I think Abed learns a lesson as well. I think a lot of people learn a lesson from tomorrow night's episode, it's very interesting. I think Farscape is just sort of the means to the end.

What are you looking forward to after the Christmas episode for the next half of the season?

A lot of things. I mean, we're doing - we just did an episode where we get to put on a drug play. So I'm exited about that. Anti-drug play, sorry. Let's be clear about that. Like I said before, every script I get, I'm just really, really excited to see what's next and where we're going. I really am in many ways I feel like I'm turning back into a 5 to 10-year old and reliving all my fun childhood things and the fact that I get to do that as an adult with a bank account makes me really excited and my mom can't be mad at me because this is my job. When you get to play in a blanket fort and then do an anti-drug play at a school and then you get to be a stop motion character and play with a doll.

Again, these are things that, as an adult male who's married, probably wouldn't be able to get away with or at least you'd be monitoring - you'd be monitoring his behavior. Some kind of law force would be. But I get to do all that and I don't know, I'm pretty excited, so we'll see. Tomorrow we have a table read for the next episode and I don't - I have no idea what it's about, but I'm really excited.

Community airs on Thursday nights at 8:00 p.m. on NBC.