In any case-of-the-week procedural, you get a slew of guest stars popping in and out. However, in The Good Wife, the army of talent Robert and Michelle King’s show assembled to support the cast of regulars is next level. From actors we already knew and loved when the show was airing on CBS in the 2010s to performers who have since become A-list names, this list is really a who’s-who of Hollywood’s finest talents.

Pedro Pascal - Nathan Landry - 6 Episodes

These days, we know Pedro Pascal as Mr. Fantastic in the Fantastic Four or Joel in The Last of Us. However, before all that – and even before he died on Game of Thrones – he played the prosecutor Nathan Landry in six episodes of The Good Wife across Seasons 1 (Episodes 8, 13, 14 and 15) and 2 (Episodes 1 and 12).

Cristin Milioti - Onya Eggertson - 1 Episode

A handful of years before she was revealed as the mother of the How I Met Your Mother cast and over a decade before she stunned us all with her portrayal of Sofia Falcone in The Penguin, Cristin Milioti played the paranoid Onya Eggertson in Season 2, Episode 1 of The Good Wife.

Brian Tyree Henry - Randall Simmons - 1 Episode

In Season 2, Episode 2, Brian Tyree Henry plays Randall Simmons, a man Will and Alicia defend in military court. Of course, after this brief role, the actor went on to have an illustrious career as he starred in the hit show Atlanta and films like Causeway (for which he earned a 2023 Oscar nomination).

Rachel Brosnahan - Caitlin Fenton - 1 Episode

Rachel Brosnahan is Lois Lane in James Gunn’s Superman, and before that, she was The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Before those career-defining fast-talking roles, she played Caitlin Fenton, a client Alicia worked with during Season 2, Episode 6.

Michael J. Fox - Louis Canning - 26 Episodes

I think there’s an argument to be made that The Good Wife should be considered one of Michael J. Fox’s best projects. Yes, there’s Family Ties, Back to the Future and Spin City. However, his cunning and sly lawyer Louis Canning is an incredible character who he plays to perfection in 26 episodes across Seasons 2 through 7.

Ana Gasteyer - Judge Patrice Lessner - 5 Episodes

Making sure the lawyers say “in my opinion” in their various statements is Judge Patrice Lessner’s signature move, and it’s hilarious. That funny element of this character is perfect, too, considering she’s played in Seasons 1, 2, 4 and 6 by Saturday Night Live alum and comedy genius Ana Gasteyer.

Mike Colter - Lemond Bishop - 21 Episodes

Mike Colter has become a Michelle and Robert King repertory player thanks to his leading role in the show Evil, and you likely also recognize him for playing the titular Luke Cage in the Marvel series. However, before that, he played the drug lord Lemond Bishop in 21 episodes of The Good Wife between Seasons 1 and 6.

Melissa Benoist - Molly - 1 Episode

I was introduced to Melissa Benoist when she appeared on Glee. Then, The CW’s Supergirl made her a household name. However, long before all that, she had a small guest starring role on The Good Wife as Molly, Cary Agos’ first cousin, in Season 2, Episode 9.

David Oyelowo - Judge Edward Weldon - 1 Episode

From Selma to Lawmen: Bass Reeves, David Oyelowo has become well known for playing very powerful people. That was true back in 2010, too, when he played Judge Edward Weldon in Season 2, Episode 11 of The Good Wife.

Jeremy Strong - Matt Becker - 5 Episodes

Long before playing the “eldest boy” in the cast of Succession and winning an Emmy for his portrayal of Kendall Roy in the HBO hit, Jeremy Strong played pollster Matt Becker in five episodes of The Good Wife. While we’ve come to know this actor for his big roles in film and television, his early career features this fun, smaller and memorable character who appeared in Seasons 2 (Episodes 13, 15, 16 and 17) and 4 (Episode 21) of the CBS hit.

Rita Wilson - Viola Walsh - 6 Episodes

There’s a rotating cast of entertaining lawyers who pop in from time to time to be a thorn in the side of Lockhart/Gardner. This includes Michael J. Fox and Martha Plimpton’s iconic defense attorneys. It also includes Rita Wilson’s lawyer, Viola Walsh, who was featured in six episodes of the show between Seasons 2 and 6.

America Ferrera - Natalie Flores - 4 Episodes

The year after Ugly Betty ended, America Ferrera joined the cast of The Good Wife for three episodes in Season 2 (Episodes 15, 18 and 20), then popped up again during Season 5, Episode 8. She played student Natalie Flores in the show. After that, she went on to lead the comedy Superstore and played a major role in the cast of 2023’s Barbie.

Taye Diggs - Dean Levine-Wilkins - 3 Episodes

I was introduced to Taye Diggs thanks to his role as the Bandleader in one of the best musicals, Chicago. He’s also very well known for films like House on Haunted Hill, Rent, and Set It Up. So, it was fun to come see him play on The Good Wife when he appeared in Season 6, Episodes 2, 3 and 5 as the lawyer Dean Levine-Wilkins.

Sarah Silverman - Stephanie Engler - 1 Episode

Sarah Silverman had been in the comedy game for a long time before playing Stephanie Engler in Season 2, Episode 22 of The Good Wife. And she brought that sense of humor to the show while also showing off her more dramatic side while playing this client of Lockhart/Gardner.

Michael Kelly - Mickey Gunn - 2 Episodes

Michael Kelly is one of those actors who seemingly has shown up in everything. He’s a well-known character actor who has been in projects like Jack Ryan, Lioness, The Penguin, House of Cards and so much more. And in Season 3, Episodes 2 and 8 of The Good Wife he played Mickey Gunn, a political strategist who spent a lot of time verbally sparring with Alan Cumming’s Eli Gold.

Sterling K. Brown - Andrew Boylan - 1 Episode

Sterling K. Brown is a staple on television, thanks to his starring roles in This Is Us and Hulu’s Paradise. However, as he was coming up as an actor, he guest-starred on a whole bunch of network procedurals, including The Good Wife, where he played complicated eyewitness Andrew Boylan in Season 3, Episode 4.

Meghann Fahy - Shelby Hale - 1 Episode

Meghann Fahy’s leading role in Freeform’s The Bold Type introduced me to her, then she broke big because she was part of The White Lotus’ Season 2 cast. In the lead-up to all that, she guest-starred in Season 3, Episode 6 of The Good Wife as Shelby Hale.

Matthew Perry - Mike Kresteva - 3 Episodes

Matthew Perry’s Mike Kresteva proved to be a snarky adversary of Alicia in his introductory episode (Season 3, Episode 19). And seeing him come back in Season 4, Episodes 1 and 18, was always fun! Overall, while the actor brought the sarcastic sense of humor we know and love him for thanks to Friends, this show also let him show off a more dramatic side.

Kristin Chenoweth - Peggy Byrne - 2 Episodes

The Good Wife loves its Broadway guest stars, and one of their biggest gets on this front was Kristin Chenoweth. The Tony winner and Wicked alum played Peggy Byrn in Season 4, Episodes 1 and 6 and it was always fun to see her interact with Alan Cumming’s Eli Gold.

Nathan Lane - Clarke Hayden - 15 Episodes

In the beginning (Season 4), Clarke Hayden is a trustee assigned to Lockheart/ Gardner, and he worked on their horrendous financial situation. Later, he worked with the firm as a lawyer. This character who appears in 15 episodes across Seasons 4 and 5 is played by the remarkable Nathan Lane, who you most definitely know from his legendary work in films like The Birdcage, The Producers and The Lion King.

Carrie Preston - Elsbeth Tascioni - 14 Episodes

Carrie Preston’s Elsbeth Tascioni was so iconic on The Good Wife and The Good Fight that she got her own show. After starring in 14 episodes of the flagship show across every season (except Season 2) and five episodes of the spinoff and winning an Emmy for her work, the Kings created Elsbeth, a hit CBS show based around Preston’s lawyer-turned-crime-solver.

Stockard Channing - Veronica Loy - 11 Episodes

Who do you hire to play Julianna Margulies’ on-screen mother? Stockard Channing, of course. In 11 episodes across Seasons 4, 5, 6, and 7, the Grease actress appeared as Veronica Loy, the mom of our leading lady, Alicia Florrick.

Will Patton - Mike Tascioni - 4 Episodes

Elsbeth talks a lot about her ex-husband and her son. While we didn’t meet her kid, Teddy, until Elsbeth, we did meet her former spouse, Mike Tascioni, in four episodes of The Good Wife during Season 7, Episodes 15, 16, 17 and 19. He was played by Will Patton, who you likely recognize from one of the best sports movies, Remember the Titans, and shows like Yellowstone.

Parker Posey - Vanessa Gold - 3 Episodes

Who can go toe-to-toe with Alan Cumming and play his ex? Parker Posey, of course. The indie film darling played Eli Gold’s ex-wife in Season 3, Episodes 6, 15 and 20, and she was the perfect person to play this vital character in the political consultant’s story.

Da’Vine Joy Randolph - Margie - 1 Episode

Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph appeared in one episode of The Good Wife, Season 4, Episode 21, to be exact. She played Margie on the show. These days, she’s best known for her turns in The Holdover, Dolemite is My Name and Only Murders in the Building, so it’s cool to think that this CBS procedural was one of her first-ever on-screen gigs.

Gillian Jacobs - Sonia - 1 Episode

In an almost blink and you’ll miss it role, Gillian Jacobs (of Community fame) appeared in the pilot of The Good Wife as Alicia and Cary’s assistant.

Christina Ricci - Therese Dodd - 1 Episode

Before The Good Wife, we knew Christina Ricci from The Addams Family and Casper. In more recent years, she and the Yellowjackets cast are all the rage. However, for one episode in 2012, Season 4, Episode 7, to be exact, she played comedienne Therese Dodd in the hit CBS drama.

Wallace Shawn - Charles Lester - 3 Episodes

We know and love Wallace Shawn for saying “inconceivable” in The Princess Bride, and we also adore him for his roles in The Incredibles, Toy Story and more. We also know and love him for playing the Lemond Bishop’s lawyer, Charles Lester, in both The Good Wife and The Good Fight. And for the sake of this story, he was specifically in three episodes of the flagship series, appearing in Season 4, Episode 16, Season 5, Episode 13 and Season 6, Episode 22.

Kyle MacLachlan - Josh Perotti - 4 Episodes

Kyle MacLachlan is a TV legend. Obviously, Twin Peaks is what he’s best known for, and more recently, he and the cast of Fallout have made quite the splash on streaming. Between all that, he appeared in four episodes of The Good Wife (Season 4, Episodes 14 and 15 and Season 6, Episodes 5 and 6). He played Josh Perotti on the show, a federal prosecutor.

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor - Linda Underwood - 1 Episode

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is best known for her work in movies like Origin, King Richard and Nickel Boys, and she’s reached great acclaim for them. In the earlier days of her career, though, she was featured in Season 1, Episode 5 of The Good Wife, where she played Linda Underwood.

Matthew Lillard - Rowby Canton - 2 Episodes

It’s honestly a joy to see Matthew Lillard in anything. Of course, we know him best as one of the original Ghostfaces in Scream and Shaggy from Scooby-Doo, and he’s made waves in recent years for Five Nights at Freddys. However, he can do more than genre work, as proven by his two episodes of The Good Wife (Season 5, Episode 11 and Season 7, Episode 12) where he played musician Rowby Canton.

Vanessa Williams - Courtney Paige - 4 Episodes

Vanessa Williams is well known and loved for her roles on long-lasting shows like Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives. However, she’s also a King repertory player. She appeared in four episodes of The Good Wife, Season 7, Episodes 7 through 10, as CEO Courtney Paige, and then she showed up as a totally different character years later in the spinoff series, Elsbeth.

This list is honestly barely scratching the surface of the iconic actors who have been recruited to guest star on The Good Wife. The list is honestly elite, and it’s always fun to go back and see so many performers during so many different stages of their careers.

Spoilers for the opening Invincible Season 3 episodes are below! If you’re not caught up with the series, you can check out the first three episodes with an Amazon subscription.

Invincible Season 3 has finally premiered as part of the 2025 TV schedule, and its first three episodes packed a punch – literally. One of the biggest moments was watching Mark and Eve finally become a couple after two seasons of waiting. But while romance is sweet, both the voice actors behind the characters, Steven Yeun and Gillian Jacobs, have their thoughts on the superhero couple.

As someone who loves a good romance, I knew I needed to ask the actors prior to the premiere of Invincible Season 3 if they thought this anticipated couple would last. Steven Yeun (Mark) was open that he hasn’t read the “end of the comics” just yet, so he’s just as in the dark as we are — aside from liking their “chemistry”:

As for Jacobs, the former Community cast member commented that they really are complimentary to each other, as they both understand what is at stake with the world, but that life gets in the way and that the future is always ‘unknown’ with their dangerous jobs:

Jacobs continued, saying that another aspect is that they’re “really young,” and that while this relationship is fun, there’s still a lot to learn:

I mean, Invincible really is the perfect superhero show because it doesn’t necessarily follow everything the Robert Kirkman-created comics do. There are surprises, twists and things that we never quite know are going to happen. Mark and Eve’s relationship could end up playing out exactly how it does in the comics – or it could go in an opposite direction.

But for now, I’m with both of them – I love the relationship so far (from the episodes I have seen), and I really hope it keeps expanding and growing as someone who loves a good superhero romance.

Invincible Season 3 is already shaking up to be a fun one, with Omni-Man’s shift in direction, the tease of old enemies and much more We’re all just here for the ride for this fantastic Amazon Prime show. Let the superhero couples reign, please don’t let anything bad happen to them!

The Bear cast is made up of colorful and unique characters, from the loud-mouthed Richie and the more cool-headed Sydney, to the eager-to-learn Marcus and the veteran chef Tina. At the center of this kitchen-based craziness is Jeremy Allen White’s Carmy Berzatto, the award-winning chef who returned to Chicago to take over his brother’s restaurant, and as of the Season 2 finale is now running a new dining establishment.

As Hulu subscribers know all too well, Carmy keeps a wide circle of people in his life, between the members of his family, which are comprised of both blood relatives and longtime friends, as well as the staff he works with on a daily basis and various other individuals with whom he has special ties. We’re here to talk about these most prominent of The Bear characters while we wait for news on The Bear Season 3 and continue relishing how the show netted six wins at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Spoilers from the first two seasons of The Bear are included in this article...

The Berzatto Siblings

Every primary character in The Bear is tied to the Berzatto siblings in one form or another, and in the main cast, Carmy is joined by his sister, Abby Elliot’s Natalie “Sugar” Berzatto. Then there’s their brother, Jon Bernthal’s Michael “Mikey” Berzatto, who died by suicide four months before the events of the series premiere episode. We’ve gotten to spend some time with Mikey thanks to some flashbacks in Season 1 and the tense “Fishes” episode from Season 2, and in the present day, Carmy and Sugar are co-owners of The Bear restaurant, which finally opened in the same-named Season 2 finale.

“Cousin” Richie And His Ex-Wife Tiffany

Although not tied to the Berzattos by blood, Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Richard “Richie” Jerimovich has been tight with this family for many years thanks to having been Mikey’s best friend. He even admits in “Forks” that Donna Berzatto was more like a mother to him than his own mother, so he’s more than earned the right to be called “Cousin” throughout the show. Then there’s Tiffany, Richie’s wife played by Gillian Jacobs. The two were still married in “Fishes” and had their daughter Eva shortly thereafter, but they’re divorced in the present days, and in “Forks,” Tiffany told Richie that she was engaged to a man named Frank.

Sydney, Marcus and Tina - The Bear’s Core Kitchen Staff

They’re not members of the Berzatto family, but these characters certainly aren’t important to The Bear’s narrative. Chief among this particular trio is Ayo Edebiri’s Sydney Adabu, who joined The Beef as a sous-chef at the start of the show after her catering business failed. After The Beef fell under, she stuck around to help develop The Bear restaurant, becoming its chef de cuisine. Lionel Bryce’s Marcus and Liza Colón-Zayas’s Tina Marrero worked at The Beef back when Mikey was still alive, meaning they go way back with Carmy too. At The Beef, Marcus is in charge of deserts and Tina works as the sous-chef.

Ebraheim And Sweeps - Other Important Kitchen Staff Members

Although Edwin Lee Gibson and Corey Hendrix’s characters aren’t series regulars like the other kitchen staff, they’re nonetheless important members of The Bear, with both Ebraheim and Gary “Sweeps” Woods also having been around at The Beef when Mikey was running it. Granted, Ebraheim did disappear when he and Tina were tasked to go to culinary school in Season 2, but he eventually resurfaced and has resumed his duties. Hopefully these two will have more prominent roles in Season 3.

“Uncle” Jimmy And His Wife Carol

Jimmy “Cicero” Kalinowski was the best friend of Carmy, Sugar and Mikey’s dad when he was still alive, hence why he’s referred to them, as well as Richie, as “Uncle.” He loaned Mikey $300,000 for The Beef, and even after that unspent money was finally found, he lent an additional $500,000 to Carmy, Sugar and Sydney for The Bear, though the restaurant has to pay off the $800,000 debt within 18 months time. Jimmy is married to Maura Kidwell’s Carol, who can briefly be seen in a few episodes.

Pete - Sugar’s Husband

If The Bear has a consistent punching bag, it’s Pete, Sugar’s husband who’s played by Chris Witaske. He means well and is consistently trying to impress, but he’s nonetheless the target of many jabs, insults and teases from his wife’s family members and friends. Pete did get a chance to shine in the Season 2 finale when he noticed Donna (who we’ll talk about next) outside the restaurant and tried to get her to come in. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out, and to make matters worse, Pete accidentally revealed to his mother-in-law that he and Sugar were having a baby, something he assumed Donna already knew about, but wasn’t the case.

Donna - Carmy, Sugar And Mikey’s Mother

In “Fishes,” we met Jamie Lee Curtis’ Donna, Carmy, Sugar and Mikey’s mother who was preparing the Christmas dinner that year for her extended family (there’s a wild story behind the actress getting the role). It soon became clear that Donna was in trouble between her erratic mood shifts and alcoholism, and by the end of the episode, she crashed her car into the house. In the Season 2 finale, Donna showed up at the opening of The Bear restaurant, but only interacted with Pete, as she decided at the last minute that she didn’t deserve to witness her children’s success, plus was taken aback by the news about the baby.

Brothers Neil And Theodore Fak

Like Richie, Neil Fak, played by Matty Matheson (a real-life chef), is a childhood friend of Mikey Berzatto, but he and Richie were constantly at odds with one another, and that hasn’t changed in adulthood. As a mechanic, Neil was often around The Beef to fix things up, and he played an integral role in the construction of The Bear. We spent some time with Neil’s brother Theodore, played by Ricky Staffieri, in the episodes “Fishes,” “Omelette” and “The Bear.”

Michelle - The Berzatto Siblings’ Cousin

Sarah Paulson guest-starred in “Fishes” as Michelle Berzatto, cousin to the Berzatto siblings. In addition to being one of the many witnesses to that night’s craziness, she approached Carmy about staying with her in New York in order to get some distance from his nuclear family. While we know Carmy did move to The Big Apple and became a sous chef at a three-star Michelin restaurant, it’s unclear if he took Michelle up on her offer.

Stevie - Michelle’s Boyfriend

Michelle brought her boyfriend Stevie along for the family dinner in “Fishes,” and you could tell John Mulaney’s character was easily entertained by everyone around him up until the actual meal started. This included Neil and Theodore hitting him up for money with their investment in baseball cards. It’s unclear if Stevie and Michelle are still together during the show’s present day events.

“Uncle” Lee

Although Bob Odenkirk’s “Uncle” Lee Lane is Jimmy’s business partner and Donna’s on-and-off again boyfriend, he’s a far cry from being the most beloved member of the family. He and Mikey got into an ugly spat in “Fishes,” which was prompted by Lee giving him grief about sharing the same story over and over again. This escalated later when Mikey started throwing forks at Lee during the meal, prompting Odenkirk’s character to start insulting Mikey’s life choices, addiction problem and more. In the present day, Carmy doesn’t think highly enough of Lee to consider him an “uncle.”

Claire, A.K.A. Claire-Bear

Molly Gordon’s Claire, a.k.a. Claire-Bear, was pretty close with the Berzattos, Faks and Richie when she was growing up, enough to the point that she referred to Richie as “cousin” during Season 2. However, she started to drift apart from them as they all got older, and she eventually became a resident in emergency medicine. She and Carmy were particularly close in their youth, and while Mikey and Richie tried to set them back up together in “Fishes,” they didn’t reconnect until Season 2. Unfortunately, the two appear to now be broken up due to what happened in the Season 2 finale, though that’s not to say we’ll never see Claire again.

As The Bear continues, we’ll surely meet more members of this family, and maybe there will be opportunities from for guest stars to return too. Keep visiting CinemaBlend for news about The Bear Season 3 and the other best Hulu TV shows.

Six seasons and a movie: it was the slogan originally exclaimed by Community character Abed Nadir in reference to how long he hoped NBC’s The Cape would last, and it was later adopted by the show’s fanbase. Community managed to accomplish the six seasons part thanks to a shift to the now-defunct Yahoo Screen for its final season, and in September 2022, it was announced that a Community movie is finally moving forward. Among the actors returning for this exclusive flick for Peacock subscribers are Gillian Jacobs and Donald Glover, and with the latter having left Community early into Season 5, the former opened up to CinemaBlend about finally getting to reteam with him.

Although Glover’s name wasn’t included in the cast lineup from the original Community movie announcement, series creator Dan Harmon, who’s co-writing the film’s script with Andrew Guest, said last October that he expected Glover to be back based on “word of mouth.” Then in June, Joel McHale, who plays Jeff Winger, confirmed Glover would indeed be back for this next Community chapter, so when I had the opportunity to chat with Jacobs prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike, I asked her if she was looking forward to re-exploring the dynamic between Britta Perry and Troy Barnes. She shared her thoughts thusly:

After being a series regular for Community’s first four seasons, Donald Glover only stuck around for the first five episodes of Season 5, with “Geothermal Escapism” seeing Troy embarking to sail around the world with LeVar Burton for a year so that he could receive the Hawthorne Wipes shares, which were valued at around $14.3 million, Chevy Chase’s Pierce Hawthrone left him after he died. That was the last time viewers saw Troy, although a news report in "Analysis of Cork-Based Networking" shared that pirates had abducted Burton and a “non-celebrity” in the Gulf of Mexico. Fortunately, we now know that Troy’s ok, although how he’ll reunite with his Greendale friends remains to be seen.

There was also a period during Community when Britta and Troy were dating, and while things didn’t work out for them on the romantic front, they still cared for each other deeply by the time Troy left. Following his departure from Community, Glover’s profile rose significantly thanks to starring in movies like Spider-Man: Homecoming, Solo: A Star Wars Story and The Lion King, and launching TV shows like Atlanta, Swarm and the upcoming Mr and Mrs. Smith, not to mention continuing his musical career as rapper Childish Gambino. As Jacobs shared with CinemaBlend, she learned a lot about comedy from working with Glover on Community, so just with everyone else confirmed for the movie, she’s looking forward to spending more time with him whenever this project does begin rolling cameras.

During my conversation with Gillian Jacobs, which included discussing her guest appearance in The Bear Season 2’s intense sixth episode, I also asked her what what she was looking forward to most about revisiting this major chapter of her career, especially with not having played Britta now for nearly a decade. She responded:

Gillian Jacobs, Donald Glover and Joel McHale will be joined in the Community movie by Danny Audi, Alison Brie, Jim Rash and Ken Jeong, and it’s possible other familiar faces will return too. According to McHale, the plan is for filming to begin in mid-2024, meaning it will be a long time until we learn what it is that brings these characters back together at Greendale Community College. Fans will simply have to suffice for now with being able to stream Community with either a Netflix subscription or Hulu subscription.

As soon as more concrete details about the Community movie trickle in, CinemaBlend will pass them along. Until then, use our 2023 TV schedule to keep track of what shows are currently airing or will arrive in the coming months.

Although The Bear viewers heard Richie Jerimovich’s ex-wife Tiffany once during Season 1, it wasn’t until Season 2’s sixth episode that Community alum Gillian Jacobs made her onscreen debut as the character. “Fishes” took place five years before the opening of the title restaurant, a time when Tiffany and Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Richie were still together and the former was pregnant with their daughter, Eva. But with the different relationship Tiffany and Riche have in the present day, and following Moss-Bachrach earning an Emmy nomination for his work on The Bear, Jacobs talked with CinemaBlend about what she’d like to see happen with these two in a potential Season 3.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Gillian Jacobs ahead of the SAG-AFTRA strike and shortly after it was announced that Ebon Moss-Bachrach had been nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the 75th Primetime Emmys. As such, I asked the actress what it was working with him in “Fishes,” bringing up the intimacy their characters shared in their scenes together since this was when they were still married. She responded:

Tiffany and Richie’s scenes were arguably the most positive aspect of “Fishes,” as along with expressing their love for each other and their excitement for Eva’s impending arrival, Tiffany was also incredibly thankful to Oliver Platt’s Jimmy "Cicero" Kalinowski for giving him a job, even though Cicero hadn’t actually made a decision on that, but decided to cut Richie a break after Tiffany brought it up. Shortly thereafter, the stressful dinner table scene unfolded, which had Jacobs experiencing paradoxical feelings in the middle of the shoot. So getting those other scenes with Moss-Bachrach, someone she’s known for so long, made for a nice counterbalance.

Gillian Jacobs returned as Tiffany in The Bear Season 2’s seventh episode, “Forks,” where she called Richie to let him know that she was getting married again. While Richie was understandably a little surprised by the news, he and Tiffany still seemed to be on amicable terms with each other, at least when it came to co-parenting. As of this writing, The Bear hasn’t been renewed for Season 3, but if Hulu subscribers do end up getting another batch of episodes, I wanted Jacobs’ take on what Tiffany and Richie’s dynamic would be like now that she’s about to begin a new marriage, and the actress said this:

Ebon Moss-Bachrach is competing at the next Emmys ceremony against Ted Lasso’s Brett Goldstein and Phil Dunster, Barry’s Anthony Carrigan and Henry Winkler, Jury Duty’s James Marsden and Abbott Elementary’s Tyler James Williams. His is one of 13 nominations the Hulu show received, including Outstanding Comedy Series, Jeremy Allen White for Outstanding Lead Actor and Ayo Edebiri for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Given the critical acclaim both seasons of The Bear received, its chances of scoring another renewal are stronger than not. If/when Season 3 is announced, let’s hope that Gillian Jacobs is brought back and she and Moss-Bachrach are able to more deeply explore how things are between Tiffany and Richie as ex-spouses.

We’ll find out if Moss-Bachrach takes home the gold when the 75th Primetime Emmys air Monday, September 18 on Fox. For those who’ve finished The Bear Season 2, take a look at the other best Hulu TV shows available to watch, or get a lay of the small screen land as a whole for the near future with our 2023 TV schedule.

The Bear was welcomed with critical acclaim when its first season premiered to Hulu subscribers last year, as most recently evidenced by its 13 Emmy nominations. Well, Season 2 has certainly kept that positive streak going, with the latest batch of episodes all dropping on June 22.  Along with The Bear Season 2 leaving behind plenty of questions on fans’ minds, among the more popular topics of conversation in recent weeks has been Episode 6, titled “Fishes,” which culminates in an intense scene involving actors like Jamie Lee Curtis, Jon Bernthal and Bob Odenkirk. Gillian Jacobs, one of the other guest stars, recalled to CinemaBlend the two things that were running through her head while filming that episode.

After making a vocal cameo in The Bear Season 1 as Tiffany, the ex-wife of Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Richie, Jacobs made her on-camera debut as the character in “Fishes,” which took place five years before the show’s present-day events, when she and Richie were still together and she was pregnant with their daughter, Eva. The couple was among the bystanders forced to witness the chaos that unfolded at the Berzatto household, and during my conversation with Jacobs, which took place prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike, I asked her what it was like for her watching these actors perform what is one of the most stressful TV scenes I’ve ever seen. She answered:

We could spend hours talking about the chaos that unfolded in “Fishes,” but regarding what happened at the dinner table towards the end, thing soon got out of hand when Jon Bernthal’s Mikey Berzatto, who was high on drugs, got into a fight with Bob Odenkirk’s Uncle Lee, with the former frequently threatening to throw a fork at the latter, and eventually making good on that. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Jamie Lee Curtis’ Donna Berzatto, who’d been showing signs of emotional instability during the night, got upset shortly after arriving at the table, and when her daughter, Abby Elliot’s Natalie, a.k.a. “sugar,” asked her if she was ok, she had an outburst, stormed out of the room and crashed her car into the house mere minutes later. So for Gillian Jacobs, she was simultaneously feeling just as uncomfortable as Tiffany was as this drama unfolded, but at the same time she was feeling overwhelmed, in a good way, about getting to share a scene with all these other big-name actors.

Regarding the shooting of the car crash, after Jacobs explained how this was accomplished practically a sound stage, I mused that even though she knew a car would literally be crashing through a wall, it was unavoidable there would still be some legitimate surprise while acting during that scene. The Community alum confirmed as much, but then brought up a different moment that exemplified this, saying:

Despite being witnesses to what will go down in history as one of the most uncomfortable Christmas dinners, Tiffany and Richie were able to make it through the event on good terms with one another, one brief disagreement aside. However, as The Bear viewers know, sometime in the five years afterwards, they separate, and in the following episode, “Forks,” Tiffany informs Richie that she’s getting married again. While “Fishes” is the only time we see Uncle Lee this season, and Mikey died prior to The Bear Season 1, Donna did resurface in the Season 2 finale on the night the title restaurant opened, but she stopped short of going inside, with Chris Witaske’s Pete, Natalie’s husband, being the only one who knew she’d stopped by.

There still hasn’t been any word on if The Bear will return for Season 3, but should that renewal be announced, we’ll pass the news along. Until then, take a look through our 2023 TV schedule to see what other current programming is available, and for the Gillian Jacobs fans out there, feel free to break out your Netflix subscription to watch one of her other big projects of 2023, the historical miniseries Transatlantic.

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.  

Don’t feel bad if you primarily know Gillian Jacobs from her work as an actress. Whether it’s the confrontational Britta Perry from Community, one half of the Netflix series Love or her role on the hit show Girls, Jacobs has been crafting memorable characters on screen for years. Gradually, though, Jacobs has been moving behind the camera for directorial efforts, mostly in the documentary series and film realm, which is where you can find her for the outstanding and inspirational Disney+ documentary More Than Robots. 

The film recently premiered at the South By Southwest film festival in Austin – a program characterized by its combination of film and technology (thereby making it the perfect spot for More Than Robots) – and it was during that pitstop that producer Jason Sterman walked us through his and Jacobs’ journey from Marvel to Lucasfilm and eventually to the close-knit community of competitors in the 2020 First Robotics Competition. Here’s the way that Sterman explained it to CinemaBlend during an exclusive conversation:

This led both Gillian Jacobs and Jason Sterman to Lucasfilm. Jacobs has had a long history and strong interest with STEM, which represents science, technology, engineering and mathematics. She hosted the podcast If/Then which was dedicated to conversations with experts in the STEM field. She’d even hosted a luncheon for STEM at the Obama White House. As she sought her next project following the unscripted series Marvel 616, she wanted to explore stories in the STEM world and discovered that Lucasfilm was going to be a brand-name sponsor for the 2020 First Robotics Competition. The fates aligned, and Jacobs was off and running.

Jason Sterman told us:

The concept of supporting programs like STEM and competitions such as the one captured in More Than Robots is having an effect on audience members, as well as on the people who worked closely on bringing the documentary together. According to Sterman:

More Than Robots, directed by Gillian Jacobs, reminds me of the spectacular documentary Spellbound, in that it focuses on a handful of young students, as well as their teams and families, to explain what drives these sharp minds as they head into a global robotics competition. It’s heartwarming and inspiring, and continues to prove that Jacobs is a filmmaking talent on the rise. In my opinion, More Than Robots is one of the best Disney+ movies available on the streaming service at the moment, so make sure your Disney+ subscription is up to date and watch it with your family tonight. Also, keep track of all of the upcoming Disney movies coming to theaters and streaming from now until the end of the year.

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One of the most taxing things about being a fan of horror movies is having to wait for the next installment of your new favorite franchise, but, that is not the case with the Fear Street movies on Netflix. Inspired by the young adult book series by Goosebumps author R.L. Stine, a three parts of this chilling trilogy (one taking place in the mid-1990s, the second during the dawn of the slasher era, and the finale in the time of witch trials) are being made available to stream within one week of each other. The Fear Street cast (some of which appear in each installment) also boasts an impressive variety of up-and-coming young stars and familiar faces, such as this actress who might be on her way to joining the Scream Queens Hall of Fame.

Kiana Madeira (Deena Johnson/Sarah Fier) - 1994, 1978, 1666

Deena, the central heroine of Fear Street Part One: 1994 and an important character of the subsequent films too, is one of the first leading roles for Kiana Madeira, but not her first introduction to horror after starring in the Facebook watch original Sacred Lies and Disney Channel’s My Babysitter’s a Vampire series (if you want to count that as horror). She is also no stranger to literary adaptations after guest starring on The Flash (one of The CW’s most popular DC TV shows) in 2018 and becoming a series regular on Netflix’s Trinkets (based on the book by Kristen Smith) the following year. Another book-to-screen project is in Madeira’s future, having joined the cast of the After movies series for its next installments, After We Fell and After Ever Happy.

Olivia Scott Welch (Samantha Fraser/Hannah Miller) - 1994, 1978, 1666

Also a young veteran of YA book adaptations and the horror genre is Olivia Scott Welch, who killed both of those birds with one stone before playing Sam in the Fear Street movies in 2021 as the main character of the Amazon Prime original series Panic, based on creator Lauren Oliver’s novel. Earlier, she, technically, joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a guest appearance on Hayley Atwell’s short-lived Agent Carter series after earning a recurring role on Modern Family Season 7 as Manny Delgado’s “fetching” study partner. Welch became a member of the Netflix family in 2019 when she starred on a few episodes of the platform’s true crime miniseries Unbelievable opposite former Last Man Standing cast member Kaitlyn Dever and made her feature film debut in the indie college comedy Shithouse in 2020.

Benjamin Flores Jr. (Josh Johnson/Henry) - 1994, 1978, 1666

Playing the young expert of all things fearful in the Fear Street movies, Josh, is Benjamin Flores Jr, who rose to fame at age 7 as rapper Lil’ P-Nut - earning him his acting debut in 2011’s Happy Feet Two as a rapping penguin. His first taste of “horror” came on the sitcom The Haunted Hathaways on Nickelodeon (which would later cast him on another show called Game Shakers and as the voice of Gerald in 2017’s Hey Arnold: The Jungle Movie) before appearing in more movies like Ride Along in 2014, Transformers: The Last Knight in 2017, and 2019’s Rim of the World - Flores’ first Netflix original about youths taking on evil. He also lent his voice Netflix’s Spirit Riding Free: Riding Academy, its animated Jurassic World spin-off series, and appeared on Showtime’s Your Honor miniseries in 2020.

Fred Hechinger (Simon Kalivoda/Isaac) - 1994, 1978 1666

Simon, the comic relief of Fear Street Part One: 1994, is played by Fred Hechinger, who has also had a relationship with Netflix since starring in the 2018 LGBTQ+ rom-com Alex Strangelove the same year he made his debut in Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade and starred opposite Natalie Portman in Vox Lux. Other Netflix exclusives on his resume include News of the World (temporarily on the platform internationally during COVID) with Tom Hanks and The Woman in the Window with Amy Adams and his HBO Max originals include Steven Soderbergh’s Let Them All Talk and the upcoming limited dramedy series The White Lotus. He is also associated with Amazon Prime (after appearing on an episode of The Underground Railroad) and Hulu (after being cast on the upcoming miniseries Pam & Tommy, starring Sebastian Stan as Tommy Lee and Lily James as Pamela Anderson).

Julia Rehwald (Kate Schmidt/Lizzie) - 1994, 1978, 1666

One of the closest friends of Deena and Simon is Kate Schmidt, played by Julia Rehwald, who (like most of the Fear Street cast) is also slated to appearing in Fear Street Part Two: 1978 and will have a large role in Fear Street Part Three: 1666… but more on those later. The trilogy of Netflix horror movies actually marks the feature-length film debut for the 20-year-old actress, who was only previously known for starring in short films - namely the 2017 teen romance Where’s Darren and culinary comedy Mukbang Masarap in 2019.

Ashley Zukerman (Sheriff Nick Goode/Solomon Goode) - 1994, 1978, 1666

As the obligatory local cop who seems to know more about Shadyside’s secrets than he lets on, we have Ashley Zukerman, who broke out in Australia (where he was raised) on the crime drama Rush before his American debut on the World War II-set miniseries The Pacific on HBO in 2010. After the original Australian version of The Slap in 2011, he appeared on Fox’s short-lived sci-fi show Terra Nova, was cast in another WWII era drama (WGN’s Manhattan), and landed guest spots on hits like Fear the Walking Dead on AMC and Showtime’s Masters of Sex. The star of the upcoming The Lost Symbol series (in which he will play Da Vinci Code hero Robert Langdon) is also known for the 2018 horror gem The Wind, the Hulu original miniseries A Teacher, and his recurring role on HBO’s Succession as Shiv Roy’s ex-boyfriend Nate Sofrelli.

Matthew Zuk (Mayor Will Goode/Elijah Goode) - 1994, 1978, 1666

Playing Sheriff Goode’s brother and the Mayor of Shadyside is Matthew Zuk, who has been a face without a name for much of his preceding career in unnamed and uncredited roles like “Pep Rally Cheer Leader” in We Are Marshall or “Street Pedestrian #2” in Avengers: Infinity War, to name a few. Ironically, his biggest role to date outside of the Fear Street movies requires him to not show his face at all: Matt Bomer’s body double as Negative Man in the Doom Patrol cast. Zuk also got to work with Tom Hanks in the Apple TV+ war drama Greyhound in 2020.

Maya Hawke (Heather Watkins) - 1994

Giving off “Drew Barrymore in Scream” vibes in Fear Street Part One: 1994 is Maya Hawke, who has more than being Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman's daughter as her claim to fame. After making her debut as Jo March in PBS’ miniseries adaptation of Little Women, the 23-year-old actress and model pretty much earned her Scream Queen status when she broke out on the Stranger Things cast as Robin Buckley (whom she is set to reprise when Season 4 of the hit Netflix series premieres) in the same year she joined Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood cast as Manson Family member “Flowerchild.” Next, Hawke will team up with the Riverdale cast’s Camila Mendes for Netflix’s Strangers (described as teen comedy rewrite of an Alfred Hitchcock classic) and voice author Helen Gurley Brown for the upcoming podcast The Playboy Interview.

Sadie Sink (Ziggy Berman/Constance) - 1978, 1666

Maya Hawke’s co-star from the Stranger Things cast, Sadie Sink, has also firmly earned her Scream Queen status at only 19 years old after following up her role as Max Mayfield on the Netflix hit with the platform’s thriller Eli in 2019. The Texas-born actress made her acting debut on a Season 1 episodes of the FX period drama The Americans before earning a guest spot on the hit CBS procedural Blue Bloods in 2014 and would later work with Brie Larson in the drama The Glass Castle in 2017. The hero of Fear Street Part Two: 1978 will next appear in the post-9/11 drama Dear Zoe and director Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale opposite the No Sudden Move cast’s Brendan Fraser.

Gillian Jacobs (C. Berman) - 1978, 1666

It is clear from the Fear Street Part One: 1994 ending that Gillian Jacobs’ character of C. Berman is going to be a major part of the subsequent Fear Street movies. While she is known best for comedies - especially for playing Britta Perry in the Community cast - the 39-year-old actress is no stranger to the horror genre, having starred in Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly’s 2009 cautionary tale The Box and Come Play in 2020. After lending her voice to Invincible cast as “Atom Eve” on Amazon Prime’s animated superhero TV show, Jacobs will try her hand at action movies in Violence of Action opposite Chris Pine and will star in an upcoming biographical miniseries about the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team.

Emily Rudd (Cindy Berman/Abigail) - 1978, 1966

As Ziggy Berman’s sister, Cindy, in Fear Street Part Two: 1978, we have Emily Rudd, who is not related to Paul Rudd in case you were wondering. Appearances in music videos dominated the young actress’ early career before appearing on Amazon Prime’s Philip K. Dick-inspired anthology series Electric Dreams, the platform’s royal family drama The Romanoffs, and The CW’s reboot of the hit primetime soap opera Dynasty in 2020. The Fear Street movies are the first of Rudd’s feature-length credits, but she currently has a sci-fi romance called Moonshot, also starring Cole Sprouse, in the works.

So far, this new trilogy of Fear Street movies has turned out to be some of the best horror movies I have personally seen in 2021. As you can see, the cast is a big reason why.

When a certain show about a community college ended up airing long ago back in 2009, no one expected it to become as big of a hit as it did, and creating the stars that came along with it. Now, more than a decade later, Community has developed a cult following, to the point where there have been plenty of rewatches, and even a cast reunion recently. Pretty sure all of us are still waiting for that “six seasons and a movie” plot point to finally come true.

However, it’s been nearly six years since the end of Community, and one can only wonder what the Community cast has been up to since then. From Alison Brie to Donald Glover, they have truly been all over the map in terms of work, and we’re here to catch you up to date on where they have been since the famed show about six adults in a community college came to a close.

Joel McHale (Jeff Winger)

As the main star of the show, I’m pretty sure that at some point, we all wanted to punch Jeff Winger in the face – but usually, he would save himself not that long after and make me like this once-lawyer even more. Joel McHale did a fantastic job of bringing that character to life – and making my emotions change about him about as much as he changed partners.

Joel McHale himself has been pretty busy since the end of Community. In regards to films, he’s kept it pretty low-profile but has had several guest and recurring appearances on TV shows like the Netflix hit Santa Clarita Diet, Mr. Iglesias, the superhero show Stargirl, and X-Files. McHale has also had a couple of voice roles in animated shows, such as Regular Show and BoJack Horseman. In terms of upcoming projects, a new film titled Queenpins is due to release soon, so keep an eye out for everyone’s favorite ex-lawyer in theaters soon.

Gillian Jacobs (Britta Perry)

Be honest – you also got annoyed by Britta just as much as Jeff at some point, but at least she had a good heart for most of Community. Gillian Jacobs portrayed the famous activist for the entire run of the series and has been working hard since its end. Like many of her costars, she’s had several recurring and guest roles on big TV shows, such as the HBO comedy Girls and the Netflix show Love. On the big screen, she’s had plenty of roles in comedies to show off her joke skills, like Hot Tub Time Machine 2, Ibiza, Life of the Party, and the 2020 Disney+ release Magic Camp.

For upcoming movies, Gillian Jacobs does have a couple of new films coming out, the comedy Mark, Mary & Some Other People, and the action film Violence of Action, but there are no set release dates yet. However, it’s sure to be interesting to see her in a film that different from her normal comedic roots. She's also expected to be seen in The Fear Street movies coming to Netflix.

Danny Pudi (Abed Nahir)

Arguably, I’d say that Abed Nahir was one of the most remembered characters from Community just for the randomness that he would spew from his mouth and the absolute craziness that would occur whenever he decided to stir up trouble. Danny Pudi did an excellent job of portraying Abed and has kept himself busy since the end of the show. Though he's appeared in major films like Star Trek Beyond, mainly, he’s stepped into the world of voice work, so you might recognize his voice from several other animated shows. His most prominent piece of voice work has been portraying Huey in the Hulu reboot of DuckTales. In terms of live-action acting work, Danny Pudi has been seen on several other shows in guest appearances like Dr. Ken but has mainly stuck to a lot of voice work.

Danny Pudi has a couple of movies coming out this year – the Disney+ release Flora & Ulysses and a black comedy film Corner Office, with the former having released back in February. It’s fun to see that he’s stepped a little bit more back into the live-action world, but hopefully, we can see even more of Danny Pudi’s hysterical jokes and scenes – whether that be in person or animated.

Yvette Nicole Brown (Shirley Bennett)

I swear to God, I have seen Yvette Nicole Brown everywhere. Shirley Bennett was one of my favorite characters out of everyone in the group in Community – just for how religious and yet absolutely ridiculous, she was. It was like a complete 180 constantly for her character and that’s what made her so fun. Yvette Nicole Brown shined in this role and has had plenty of work since the end of this show.

Prior to her role on Community – and I’ll just put this in here because I loved her in this – Yvette Nicole Brown played Helen from the iconic Nickelodeon show, Drake & Josh (one of my all-time favorites), but since the end of Community, she’s been busy on television and film alike. In terms of movies, she’s had several roles and cameos in big-time hits such as Avengers: Endgame, and the Disney+ release Lady and the Tramp.

On television, Yvette Nicole Brown has had so many guest and recurring appearances that if I wrote them all down here, you’d be reading this article for days. Just trust me on this one – you’ve seen her most likely on many comedy shows. Brown is also a prominent guest on talk shows, such as The View, The Talk, and The Real. Another big side-hustle that she does is that she loves The Walking Dead, and has appeared on the post-talk show, Talking Dead, several times because of it. Stars have to have their obsessions with TV just like us, right?

With future projects, Yvette Nicole Brown does have an upcoming movie coming out in 2021 titled Broken Diamonds, a drama that made its debut at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. She's also set to appear in the Disney+ series Big Shot, so keep an eye out for this iconic actress to return back to our screens in the future.

Alison Brie (Annie Edison)

Alison Brie is amazing in every single way in my opinion because she is a true master of genres. Her role on Community as Annie Edison showed that she had some serious comedy chops and could make me laugh until my stomach hurt, but she’s had plenty of work in other shows and movies as well. For example, Alison Brie had a recurring role in the AMC drama Mad Men, and then a main role on the Netflix hit, GLOW, as well as a part in the animated series, BoJack Horseman ­­– three very different genres, and she was amazing in each part.

She’s also had plenty of work in movies since the end of Community as well, such as the biopic- comedy film The Disaster Artist, the Academy-Award nominated The Post, and most recently, Promising Young Woman, one of the standout hits of 2020 and has recently been nominated for the Best Picture award at the 2021 Academy Awards.

A future project Alison Brie has coming up is a new TV series that is in pre-production, called Roar, but not much info has been released yet. Even so, it’ll be exciting to see the return of her to TV soon since GLOW was recently canceled. I think we all need a little bit more Alison Brie in our lives to make us laugh again.

Donald Glover (Troy Barnes)

Let’s just get this down in writing right here – in my opinion, Donald Glover is right for leaving the show and Troy back in Season 4 of Community, because he has done some amazing things since the end of it – even if his character was iconic. Let’s start out with film and television. Donald Glover has made appearances and had roles in many blockbuster films, like Spider-Man: Homecoming, and even portraying a young version of Lando Calrissian in Star Wars in Solo: A Star Wars Story. On television, he’s created a hit FX series titled Atlanta, a comedy-drama that won Donald Glover a Primetime Emmy.

But that’s just film and TV. Donald Glover is also known as his music counterpart, Childish Gambino, for which he has released several albums since the end of Community. He's won several Grammy awards, including Song and Record of the Year for "This is America." So this man really is a jack of all trades.

In terms of what he has coming up, Donald Glover is extremely busy. He is currently working on a reboot of the classic Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie film, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, where he will be playing Mr. Smith. He is also writing and moving into Seasons 3 and 4 of Atlanta after a long wait, so fans of the show, be on the lookout for him to return to our TV screens once more.

Ken Jeong (Ben Chang)

Is this man the face of many memes everywhere? Yes, for sure. But Ben Chang, while problematic, was a funny as heck character and Ken Jeong is the reason behind it. Since the ending of Community, Ken Jeong actually had his own series for a while, titled Dr. Ken, for which many of his Community co-stars guest-starred on it. He’s also made appearances in many films, like his role in the rom-com Crazy Rich Asians, and the Disney+ movie, Lady and the Tramp, as well as the 2021 release, Tom and Jerry.

But where you’ve most likely seen him the most since then is his competition shows. Ken Jeong is currently a panelist on both The Masked Singer and The Masked Dancer, where people have to guess what celebrity is hidden behind costumes. He does have a new movie coming out soon, El Tonto, another comedy film, but there’s no set release date up yet. I’m still just as excited though.

Chevy Chase (Pierce Hawthorne)

Pierce Hawthorne was most certainly not the most accepting character but he sure was funny, and Chevy Chase delivered those lines and iconic scenes amazingly. Since Community ended, Chevy Chase has kept it relatively low key in terms of acting. He’s more known for many of his comedic roles back in the '90s and '80s, but he has been in a couple of movies like Hot Tub Time Machine 2, The Last Laugh, and The Incredible Mr. Dundee. And he reprised his role as Clark Griswold for the 2015 comedy Vacation.

As for what's ahead, Chevy Chase does have a voice role in a new movie coming out soon, called Panda vs. Aliens. I think I can make a pretty educated guess what that is going to be about, so I can only imagine what a comedic legend like Chevy Chase is going to bring to the table.

Jim Rash (Craig Pelton)

The dean of Greendale was one of my favorite parts of Community, because he was so random and out there, and I adored that. Jim Rash, the man behind the memorable Dean Craig Pelton, has had plenty of work since the show's end. He has popped up in many films, such as Captain America: Civil War, Thoroughbreds, and a film out right now tightly Long Weekend, a romantic science fiction comedy-drama – jeez, talk about a lot of genres. And that's just acting. As a writer, Jim Rash won an academy award for co-writing the screenplay for the 2011 movie The Descendants.

He’s also developed a pretty prominent voice acting career as well. Jim Rash has a role on DuckTales on Hulu as Gyro Gearloose, and a recurring role on the cartoon Harley Quinn, and the Star Wars animated series as Flix on Star Wars Resistance. Jim Rash has a new show coming up in the future titled My Dad the Bounty Hunter that is in pre-production, so I’m looking forward to watching my favorite dean back on TV again – and to be honest, don’t we all want someone to love us the same way the dean loved Jeff?

Now that is one talented cast. Which of their future projects are you looking forward to the most? Hopefully, some of them will be in some new 2021 releases.

Gillian Jacobs' latest film is a straight-up, edge-of-your-seat horror flick called Come Play. In the new release, the actress plays the mother to an autistic child, who is being taunted by a terrifying creature and subject of an e-storybook on his tablet, Larry. Fans of Community will not be surprised to see the actress can branch out thanks to her time on the comedy series.

When recently speaking to Gillian Jacobs and John Gallagher Jr for Come Play, I asked the actress how her time on Community may have empowered her to dive into all sorts of roles she has since found herself in. Here’s what she told CinemaBlend:

That’s right, Gillian Jacobs has totally filmed a paintball-western trilogy thanks to the Community’s fan favorite episodes “Modern Warfare” in Season 1, and Season 2’s “A Fistful of Paintballs” and “For a Few Paintballs More,” She’s ready to keep it rolling with a full-on paintball movie, and just about anything it seems, after her time as Britta Perry. Hopefully, we’ll see the paintball saga continue with the movie that’s been teased for some time.

Community saw a resurgence when the series dropped on Netflix in April and became everyone’s obsession. Like many, I took the opportunity to revisit the series for the first time since it aired. In retrospect, it’s quite jaw-dropping to see how much the show, which was created by Rick & Morty’s Dan Harmon, played around and commented on genre. The cast does everything from star in their own video game to play in their own Muppets episode to explore time paradoxes. There's a lot to take in!

No wonder each member of the cast can take on everything, from Allison Brie’s female wrestling drama GLOW to Donald Glover’s surrealist socially-relevant comedy Atlanta. The cast reunited virtually in May to share stories with fans about their time on the epic TV show. Gillian Jacobs stars as the heart of Come Play in a lot of ways, as a struggling mother who discovers the existence of an unseen monster with her son.

Come Play is currently playing in select theaters. Check out CinemaBlend’s review of Jacob Chase’s debut horror film and check out what other horror movies are coming out through 2021 with our handy list.

For the longest time, wrestling fans were treated like low-class, dim-witted fools who were believed to be the only ones not in on the act and didn't know that wrestling was "fake." Over the years, mainstream culture's acceptance and understanding of wrestling has only grown, which you could argue was partly due to a growing number of actors, musicians, and comedians who have let the world know that they love professional wrestling. I mean, when people find out that Timothée Chalamet, the dreamiest of today's leading men, grew up a diehard WWE fan or that Modern Family star Sofia Vergara attends independent wrestling shows, it's only a matter of time before they begin to accept the fact that professional wrestling is one of the most fulfilling forms of entertainment around.

There are countless celebrities who have voiced their love of the art of professional wrestling over the years and have even stepped into the ring on multiple occasions and found themselves standing face to face with some of the biggest and baddest names in the squared circle. Let's take a look at just 12 of those big-name Hollywood actors, music producers, and professional athletes who can't hide their love of wrestling.

Timothée Chalamet

Who knew that Timothée Chalamet, the star of modern classics like Call Me By Your Name, Lady Bird, and the Little Women was such a diehard wrestling fan? The Dune actor recently admitted to CinemaBlend that he was starstruck when he met one of his castmates from the upcoming Denis Villeneuve science-fiction epic, but it wasn't Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, or even Javier Bardem. No, it was none other than Dave Bautista, who Chalamet grew up loving for his work in WWE as Batista:

See, even the dreamiest of actors can have a love and appreciation of something that is often seen as basic as wrestling. Does this mean that Timothée Chalamet will follow in the footsteps of other celebrity wrestling fans and enter the ring at some point? Speaking of which…

Stephen Amell

While it's doubtful we'll ever see Timothée Chalamet step into the squared circle, one longtime celebrity wrestling fan has taken part in not one, but three different matches. That celebrity? None other than Arrow lead Stephen Amell. 

In May 2015, the TV action star was sitting front row at a WWE event when he was confronted by former WWE superstar Cody Rhodes (wrestling under the Stardust gimmick at the time), which ultimately led to two squaring off in opposite sides in a tag-team match at that year's SummerSlam event. Two years later, however, Amell and Rhodes found themselves on the same team in a 5-on-4 tag-team match at in the Ring of Honor promotion, and then the Arrow star saw himself step back into the ring in 2018 in a losing effort against Christopher Daniels at Cody Rhodes' All In event.

Macaulay Culkin

Macaulay Culkin has been a diehard wrestling fan for about as long as he has been one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood. From his appearance in his ringside seat at WrestleMania 7 in 1991 all the way to being caught pointing at the WrestleMania sign at the 2019 Showcase of the Immortals at MetLife Stadium, the Home Alone star has been committed to his love of professional wrestling. Leading up to WrestleMania 34, Culkin attended the 2018 Axxess event when he not only interviewed multiple wrestlers and managers from WWE, he also conducted a thumb wrestling competition with many of the company's stars. And it's not just WWE that Culkin loves as he participated in a "Home Alone" match at the Los Angeles-based Bar Wrestling back in 2017.

Lebron James

Remember when Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh made that ridiculous introduction with the Miami Heat in 2010? You know the one where the three basketball stars rise up from beneath a stage while Pharoahe Monch's "Simon Says" plays in the background? Here's a refresher in case you don't recall. After watching that it's hard to miss James' love of professional wrestling throughout the event, the very event that helped cement his legacy as one of the biggest heels in the NBA. But this isn't the first or last example of Lebron James' history with professional wrestling. There's the legendary clip of James as a rookie sitting ringside at Monday Night Raw taking pictures on his flip phone. And there are even pictures of the four-time NBA MVP wearing an Ultimate Warrior shirt celebrating his 2016 Finals victory in Cleveland.

Joe Manganiello And Sofia Vergara

When former True Blood star and Deathstroke in the upcoming Zack Snyder's Justice League Joe Manganiello stepped into a WWE ring for a promotional segment on a 2014 episode of Monday Night Raw, you might think that this was part of a contract he had with a studio, but Sabotage actor wanted to be there and is actually a big wrestling fan, as he told Bleacher Report:

Joe Manganiello is such a big wrestling fan, he even got his wife, Modern Family's Sofia Vergara in on the fun when the two attended a Pro Wrestling Guerrilla show back in 2015, where the Colombian-American actress snapped this picture for her Instagram:

Now we just need to get this power couple into wrestling full-time and see where things go.

Adam Sandler

Watch enough Adam Sandler movies and it's easy to tell that the actor/writer/producer has long loved professional wrestling. From the Revolting Blob in Billy Madison to Captain Insano in The Waterboy to all of the WWE superstars in his 2005 remake of The Longest Yard, Sandler has made a habit of including elements of the sport in his productions. And Sandler's love of wrestling goes back to his childhood, as he explained when asked if he thought it was real on a 2018 episode of the Dan Patrick Show:

Adam Sandler has even attended several WWE events over the years, including WrestleMania 21 back in 2005 when he and longtime friend and acting buddy Rob Scheider were seen enjoying the action.

David Arquette

David Arquette will forever be tied to the death of World Championship Wrestling because of his short-lived World Heavyweight Title reign in the final year of the promotion's existence, but in recent years the Scream actor and wrestling fan has gone on somewhat of a goodwill tour to prove that he had no intentions of making a mockery of professional wrestling. This journey is covered in the documentary You Cannot Kill David Arquette, which he recently discussed with CinemaBlend's Jeff McComb.

During the interview, the Ready To Rumble actor explained that despite the matches be choreographed and scripted, a lot of what happens in the ring, especially the pain is very, very real. Just take a look at David Arquette's 2019 match against Nick Gage at GCW LA to see how real it can get.

Melissa Joan Hart

Melissa Joan Hart became a star thanks to her hit '90s shows like Clarissa Explains it All and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, but she is probably best known to the wrestling fans thanks to her Twitter beef with former Universal Champion Kevin Owens that resulted in the wrestler (and multiple others) blocking the wrestling fan on the social media platform. 

Several months after appearing backstage at SummerSlam in 2015, Hart tweeted that Owens was a lazy wrestler with the hashtag "#MelissaExplainsRaw." Following a brief back-and-forth interaction, Owens blocked the TV star and the whole situation ended up playing out on Monday Night Raw, leaving fans wondering if this was part of the show or real life.

Gillian Jacobs

Since the NBC comedy Community came to an end in 2015, one of the show's stars, Alison Brie, has gone on to star in one of the most beloved wrestling shows around right now with GLOW, but she's not the only with a taste for professional wrestling. Brie's co-star Gillian Jacobs also knows her way around the wrestling world after attending multiple Pro Wrestling Guerrilla shows in the Los Angeles area several years back. In a 2015 interview on the Sam Roberts Show, Jacobs had this to say about those crazy nights in Reseda, California:

El Generico and Kevin Steen, who bounce between best friends and sworn enemies, have since gone on to become known as Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens respectively in WWE after putting in years of amazing five-star matches at the American Legion Hall that PWG called home for so long.

Jon Stewart

And last but not least is the former host of The Daily Show Jon Stewart who played a pivotal role in the Winner Takes All match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and the United States Championship between Seth Rollins and John Cena at SummerSlam 2015. Leading up to the match, Stewart, who was attending as a fan, the host, and as the comedic foil for Rollins' heel persona, made it seem like he would do everything in his ability to help Cena prevail and leave as a double-champion. Things didn't go according to plan, however, and Stewart turned on Cena and hit him with a steel chair, allowing Rollins to get the victory.

Those are just a few of the celebrities who happen to be wrestling fans, and believe me there are a ton more out there. Did you favorite make the list or do you think someone should be added? Make sure to sound off in the comments below.

We can all use a friend, especially in times when things look pretty bleak and scary. But what if the reason things are in feeling so grim is because of that very thing that wants to be our buddy? Come Play is the latest horror film to explore that sort of scenario, as it mixes monsters and technology to some rather scary results. But don’t take our word for it, as you can grab your first glance at the movie yourself below:

As you saw above, Come Play tells the story of young Oliver (Azhy Robertson,) a boy with non-verbal autism who feels lonely in the world. Eager for a friend, his wishes are soon answered when a mysterious presence starts to talk to him through electronics. However, it isn’t long before Oliver and his parents (Gillian Jacobs & John Gallagher, Jr.) start to realize that this “friend,” named Larry, is something much more sinister than they’d ever imagined.

Larry, if that is in fact this creature’s real name, looks pretty spooky in this first look at Come Play. While we naturally don’t get to linger on what he/it looks like for too long, there’s just enough of a look to teas the audience into wondering what Larry will look like on the big screen. And make no mistake, the powers that be are looking to get this tale of technology gone bad onto the big screen, with the perfect release date in mind.

In a year that’s seen the much anticipated sequel Halloween Kills pushed back a year, those who are looking to get spooky in theaters this Halloween are probably excited to see a movie like Come Play dropping as a seasonal treat. Originally planned to debut this past July, this particular film had its own run in with scheduling delays; but looks to be ready to give the people what they want sure enough.

What’s also interesting about Come Play is the fact that it’s another horror film born from an impressive short film. Much like how director David F. Sandberg’s horror hit Lights Out stemmed from a mini-movie of the same name, writer/director Jacob Chase actually developed the idea for the film from a short he’d released in 2017. Aptly titled Larry, it looks like the scene we see of John Gallagher Jr’s character working as a parking lot attendant is what kicked all of this off, and you can see the results of that specific run-in here:

There may be clues in Larry that signal just how Come Play will tell its story. From the looks of both the short, and the trailer, it looks like this would-be horror hit just might have long, scary legs on it. We’ll get to see what happens for ourselves when the movie starts looking for new friends to play with, in theaters, on October 30th.

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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.

When the South By Southwest film festival was forced to shut down, uncertainty gripped virtually every filmmaker who was set to premiere their films in Austin, Texas. Even bigger-budget films from major studios (like The Lovebirds, starring Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae) didn’t know their distribution chances, as movie theaters slowly closed in the weeks following the SXSW change. Over time, a glimmer of hope surfaced when Amazon Prime announced plans to stream SXSW films to help them reach a broader audience.

But at least one filmmaker who we were able to speak with explained why that streaming deal wasn’t as positive as audiences might have realized.

Kris Rey was bringing her comedy, I Used to Go Here, to SXSW before the shit hit the fan. Her movie stars Community’s Gillian Jacobs as a first-time author who retreats to her college town when poor sales cancel her book tour. She recently joined our ReelBlend podcast to open up about the making of the film, and when we asked if she’d show the movie via the newly-announced Amazon streaming offer, Rey told us:

When asked to clarify, Kris Rey went into more detail, elaborating:

It’s a very valid concern. Movies like I Used to Go Here fight hard enough for theatrical space alongside the glut of blockbusters that crowd multiplexes when they are open. On the surface, opening a movie to a service like Amazon Prime seems to be a win in the short term. But Kris Rey is right to be concerned that such a window could damage her movie’s chances at success later on, when she’d be trying to reach audiences in a theater.

To hear our full interview with Kris Rey, listen to this week’s ReelBlend episode.

Kris Rey tells us that she hopes to have an announcement on the distribution plans for her comedy, I Used to Go Here, soon. We’ll report them as soon as we have them, as the movie – which stars Gillian Jacobs, Jemaine Clement, Kate Micucci and Jorma Taccone – is really funny, and is worth your time.

Demetri Martin is a jack of all trades. The writer-actor-standup comic is trying his hand at directing with the new comedy-drama Dean, where he plays a cartoon artist who is struggling with his grief -- in a quirky fashion -- after the death of his mother. One way that he might overcome his grief is by meeting his true love, who is personified by Gillian Jacobs in Dean. We have an exclusive clip of the chemistry between Jacobs and Martin, which you can watch below:

"What part of Brooklyn are you from?" Man, I love that line. Demetri Martin is a triple threat in Dean, serving as the movie's writer, director and lead actor. But he also surrounded himself with a powerhouse cast that should have all of us sitting up and taking notice. Dean (Martin) isn't going through the stages of grief on his own. Martin casts Kevin Kline to play his father, a man dealing with the loss of his partner and finding ways to move on. In this regard, we get an additional cute meet, as Kline befriends Mary Steenburgen, herself playing a real-estate broker helping Kline sell the family home. It's time to move on, as difficult as that may be.

Not that Dean is a downer. As indicated by the clip above, Demetri Martin is looking to bring humor and pathos to the turning-a-corner human drama, and he's looking for relatable laughs in a difficult situation. He found the right people for that type of ensemble, as Kline, Jacobs and Steenburgen all have excelled at portraying relatable yet funny characters in numerous projects over the years. If you dial into that type of self-reflection, Dean looks to be your type of movie.

The full trailer for Dean suggests one other unexpected yet welcome creative decision: Demetri Martin's character is an artist, meaning he occasionally includes illustrations that communicate his internal issues. The drawings belong to Martin, likely will be used as a punchline throughout the film, and look like this:

Dean first played for audiences at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it took home the prize for Best Narrative Feature in 2016. The reviews were overwhelmingly positive. Dean also opened in limited release on June 2, but will expand to more theaters in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more details. And for a complete rundown of all the movies coming to theaters in the next few weeks, head over here.

Often times it feels like classic horror franchises are in a perpetual state of being rebooted and expanding with sequels, often at the same time. Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre have all been given such treatment. Halloween is another that continues to be reinvented, and the director of the next chapter in the saga of Michael Myers, Halloween Returns, has one actress at the top of his wishlist: Community star Gillian Jacobs.

Talking to Halloween Daily News, director Marcus Dunstan, who helmed The Collector and its sequel, The Collection, revealed that Jacobs is his first choice to star in Halloween Returns. Expounding on his reasons, he said:

While it sounds like maybe some discussions have been had about Jacobs potentially starring in Halloween Returns, it doesn’t appear that there is a deal in place just yet, so make sure to take this with a grain of salt.

Though she’s been working consistently for a number of years, her role as hapless social crusader Britta Perry on the embattled sitcom Community really raised Gillian Jacobs’ profile. While most of her roles have been comedic in nature, she’s done drama, as Dunstan notes, as well as couple horror-leaning joints, like The Box and Bad Milo.

If you were wondering how Halloween Returns fits into the franchise, it is reportedly a direct descendent of John Carpenter’s 1981 Halloween 2, and as it is connected to the original franchise, it has no ties to Rob Zombie’s Halloween films. It also plans to ignore later sequels in the original timeline. So it’s kind of a sequel, kind of a reboot, kind of a recallibration.

In this newly forged timeline, Deputy Gary Hunt, played by Hunter von Leer in Halloween 2, is now the sheriff of Haddonfield, Illinois, and still as obsessed with Michael Myers as ever. He has an 18-year-old daughter, and, along with the 18-year-old child of one of the killer’s victims, the two kids sneak in to watch Myers’ execution. Things, of course, don’t go well, and he escapes to once again stalk the streets of the small Midwestern town.

Given this description, it remains to be seen how Jacobs might fit into this role. She’s not old by any stretch of the imagination, but she’s not 18. Then again, the original film was set in 1981, a year before Jacobs was born, so perhaps the age of the characters could, or has been, adjusted in the script. We’ll have to wait and see how this all plays out when watch Halloween Returns for ourselves.

While most networks are just now giving new projects pilot commitments, Netflix is not nearly as restricted as the networks and just signed on for two seasons of a brand new project this morning. On Tuesday, Netflix signed on with Judd Apatow and Legendary Pictures for Love, a brand new romantic comedy that will offer an “honest take” on 21st century relationships.

The half-hour comedy series will follow a modern-day man and woman as they maneuver through intimacy and commitments both wanted to avoid. Community’s Gillian Jacobs has signed on to play lead Mickey and Inglourious Basterd’s Paul Rust has signed on to play Gus in the romantic comedy. The project is being created and written by Apatow, Rust and Lesley Arfin, who has also worked on Awkward and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Brent Forrester will also executive produce. It’s a team that’s full of connections, as Jacobs has worked with Apatow on Girls and Rust worked on Super Fun Night with Forrester.

Netflix uses words like “unflinching” to describe Love in the press release, but honestly, all they had to say was Apatow to help us understand that Love won’t exactly be the usual rom com. It’ll probably look at romance in ways that are sticky and complicated but still manage to be amusing. Apatow is mostly known for film work, including Knocked Up and This is 40, but he famously created Freaks and Geeks back in the day, and currently produces HBO’s Girls. His tone in recent years has been consistently forward-thinking, and I expect Love will follow suit.

Unfortunately, it will be a while before we find out. Love has nabbed the same sort of two-season deal that David Fincher’s House of Cards acquired when it was first picked up by the network. Fans will get 10 episodes of the first season, followed by a 12-episode second season of Love. However, because Netflix has invested so much in the new comedy, the streaming service is also giving Love plenty of time to come together. Subscribers won’t get the first set of episodes until 2016 and they won’t get the second set of episodes until 2017.

Netflix has frequently pumped money into the right sorts of projects. Its first big scripted program, Lilyhammer may not have found a huge audience, but since then Netflix has produced House of Cards, Orange Is The New Black and a new season of Arrested Development, all of which have done well for the streaming service. (Let’s just choose to leave Hemlock Grove out of this conversation.) Hopefully, Love will be the show that amps up Netflix’s original comedy offerings considerably.

I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about Love in the coming year or so, so stay tuned.

NBC's loss is HBO's gain. Gillian Jacobs, who starred in the unfortunately-cancelled NBC comedy Community is set to play a role in HBO's comedy Girls for its fourth season, which is expected to air on the premium cable channel early next year.

Girls star and creator Lena Dunham confirmed the great news on Twitter today:

As disappointing as it is that Community was not renewed for Season 6, it's really hard not to be excited over the future endeavors of its cast as they move on to other projects. For Jacobs, that apparently includes a recurring gig on Girls. TVLine elaborates on the news with a few more details, including that Gillian Jacobs will recur in Season 4 of Girls, playing a character named Mimi-Rose Howard. Her first appearance will be in Episode 5, which as it happens, is titled "Mimi-Rose." So who is Mimi-Rose? Is it wrong that I'm kind of hoping she'll be some kind of antagonist? Maybe a rival to Marnie? We can only guess how this Mimi-Rose (and her hyphenated name) will fit into the series, but it sounds like she'll be around for at least a few episodes, which is a big plus, as Jacobs is talented and funny.

Spoilers ahead if you're not caught up through Season 3!

We don't know much about the direction of Season 4, beyond that Hannah may be pursuing a creative writing workshop in Iowa. The third season ended with Hannah getting accepted into the program and it was implied that she was going to do it, which would mean a temporary move across the country. After Season 3 wrapped up, a report that the actual University of Iowa rejected the show's request to film on their campus suggests that the series will have Hannah attending the program. So some of Season 4 may be taking place away from New York. Weird things tend to happen when Hannah leaves the city, so we'll have to wait and see where that arc goes.

As for Jacobs' run on the show, it's a great bit of casting news and one more clue to work with as we look forward to early 2015 when Girls returns for Season 4. In addition to Community, Jacobs' credits include Choke, Walk of Shame and the upcoming Hot Tub Time Machine sequel.

With the impending arrival of the fifth season of Community, the cast members and NBC have pulled out many of the Internet stops to ensure fans return to Greendale with aplomb. And that also includes Dean Pelton himself, Jim Rash, who — alongside Britta (Gillian Jacobs) — has taken the Saturday Night Live route of promotion while seemingly standing around the halls of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Considering how excited we all are about the episode dubbed “Repilot,” I think it’s safe to say the Darkest Timeline is finally behind us, you guys.

Taking to Vine via Twitter, the actor and writer poked fun at himself, the series, and NBC alongside costar Jacobs, who does the majority of the comedic heavy lifting in the clips. Starting out with introductions, Jacobs then declares “we’re co-hosting an hour of Community tonight on NBC.” The back-and-forth quips continue, with Rash complimenting Jacob’s work before she quizzically asks, “Who are you?” Dean Pelton responds with a tempered, “Ah, in my face.”

The second video is the real kicker, though: revealing that it was perhaps Rash’s fault that NBC misidentified the series’ hometown — Greendale — in a recent website snafu that dubbed them inhabitants of Greenville, as evidenced by his speedy departure at the end of the clip.

“Go Greenville,” he proclaims before a shocked Jacobs asserts, “Greendale!” causing Rash to run what we can only assume is the general direction of NBC’s digital team to right the wrong. Leading us to believe that maybe — just maybe — the “mistake” was actually just a bit of digital marketing disguised as NBC’s disinterest and lack of support for the series, something that has often been poked fun at by the show itself (alongside everything else the series mocks on the regular). Especially when you consider the fact that the “dale” in Greendale is clearly visible in the picture:

Whatever the reason behind it, one thing remains certain: Community is back and we’ve never been more ready for it to reclaim its former glory. Don’t do this to us ever again, NBC.

Community returns — at long last! And now with more Dan Harmon, huzzah! — to NBC Thursday, January 2nd at 8PM with two back-to-back episodes.

We hear all the time that stress kills. While as you can see in the trailer for the outrageous horror-comedy Bad Milo, it’s not always the stress sufferer who gets killed. Sometimes it’s the person who caused the stress, killed by a razor fanged demon.

In Bad Milo, Party Down’s Ken Marino stars as Duncan, a guy who just can’t catch a break. His boss (Patrick Warburton) is manipulative, cruel and crooked. His nagging mother (Mary Kay Place), burnout dad (Stephen Root), and pregnant wife (Gillian Jacobs) make demands on him left and right. And the pressure is building to be a real pain in the ass. Like literally, all this stress has created a demon in his gut that emerges from Duncan’s ass to wreak vengeance on those who cross him.

Of course, if you had a monster crawling out of you and killing those who annoy you, you’d do your damnedest to make sense of the strange scenario. So, Duncan seeks help from his hypnotherapist (Peter Stormare, because of course), who urges him to befriend the pint-sized monster to better manage it. Duncan names him Milo, and so begins a bizarre buddy adventure of man and colon demon.

It’s a wild premise and a promising comedy cast. But what sets this horror-comedy apart from the likes of Haunted House, Scary Movie 5, and the forthcoming Hellbaby in our estimation is its ties to the producing Duplass Bros and Magnet Releasing. Having produced a string of celebrated indie features including their breakthrough dramedy The Puffy Chair and the time travel centered rom-com Safety Not Guaranteed, Mark and Jay Duplass’s names alone suggests this will be a smarter—and thereby more engaging—take on terror and comedy. And that’s bolstered by Magnet signing on to distribute. Having brought us such enthralling genre features as The House of the Devil, Trollhunter, I Saw the Devil, and V/H/S/2, Magnet’s logo should raise hopes and expectations for Bad Milo. Now here’s hoping it lives up to them!

The horror-comedy penned by video editor turned director Jacob Vaughan and up and coming scribe Benjamin Hayes made its world premiere at SXSW earlier this year. You can see what Vaughan and his leading lady Jacobs have to say in the film’s panel presentation below. In the clip, Vaughan speaks to his inspirations and why he chose puppetry over CGI for his creature feature. For him, having a physical Milo there on set was crucial to create the connection he felt his actors would need to make the demon character, plus it allowed his cast of compelling comedians to explore more freely on set and in character. He also talks about how he knows the Duplass Bros, and how they came to be involved with his Bad Milo.

Magnet releasing will make Bad Milo available on iTunes and On Demand starting August 29th. A theatrical release will follow on October 4th. In the meantime, check out the film’s latest poster release, which shows Duncan cuddling with Milo. It’s almost cute, but mostly creepy.

It seems like just an hour or so ago, I was pointing out the number of NBC Thursday-night comedy stars set to play roles in the Hot Tub Time Machine sequel, what with Chevy Chase on board to return and Adam Scott joining the cast. And then comes another exciting piece of casting for the follow-up. Chevy Chase will be joining his (former) Community co-star Gillian Jacobs, who has been cast as the female lead in the movie.

Deadline reported the news this evening, stating that Jacobs has signed on for the female lead in the Steve Pink-directed Hot Tub Time Machine sequel. She joins Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Chevy Chase and Adam Scott. John Cusack will not be back for the sequel.

Beyond noting that she's the female lead, there's no mention of how Jacobs' character will fit into the story. But - as we mentioned earlier - Rob Corddry revealed in an interview that the sequel would have the group traveling ten years into the future, where they encounter Adam Scott's character, who is Adam's (John Cusack's character) son. Perhaps Jacobs will be Scott's love interest, or the offspring of another character (Corddry's?). Regardless of how she fits in, Jacobs is funny and one more great addition to this cast.

We'll see Jacobs back on Community for Season 5 next season. We'll also see her in Steven Brill's comedy Walk of Shame starring Elizabeth Banks. But those who want to see her being funny before then should be following her Twitter. Jacobs is a Vine enthusiast… to put it mildly…

Elizabeth Banks may soon be doing the Walk of Shame on the big screen, but at least she will have a best friend to help her through the experience. Gillian Jacobs, best known for playing Britta "The Worst" Perry on the critically acclaimed NBC series Community has signed on to join Banks in the upcoming Steve Brill comedy and will be playing the main character's close bud.

According to THR, the movie, which Brill also wrote, is about a "high-strung news anchor" (Banks) who is having the worst day of her life. After a drunken night and a short trist with a stranger, the character wakes up the next morning to find herself locked out without her wallet, phone or car. What's worse, she has an incredibly important job interview to get to and must travel across the city of Los Angeles to make it time. The trade doesn't mention how Jacobs fits into the plot, but presumably she will be a person who Banks goes to looking for help. Last week it was reported that James Marsden would be in the film as well along with Willie Garson (Sex and the City). Brill most recently directed a segment of the omnibus comedy Movie 43, which will be out in theaters next month, but before that his last feature directorial effort was 2008's Drillbit Taylor with Owen Wilson.

In addition to her work on television, Jacobs has been keeping busy on the big screen as of late as well. This past summer she played a part in the apocalyptic comedy Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, but has The Incredible Burt Wonderstone with Steve Carell, the horror comedy Milo, the dark laugher Teddy Bears and the Paris, Je T'aime-esque Cleveland, I Love You wrapped and looking to be released in 2013. She is currently filming the thriller The Lookalike, which co-stars Justin Long.

Community may not have returned on October 19 as originally expected, but the cast hasn't left us high and dry without one of TV's funniest offerings around to make us laugh. In addition to a funny video featuring the cast in their study room habitat, another video is making the rounds, this one focusing Alison Brie and Gillian Jacobs, who've stripped down to their undies for some silent-movie fun.

Unlike the other video, which was NBC-issued and had the Community cast in character as Troy (Donald Glover) and Abed (Danny Pudi) discussed the fourth season premiere's delay, this "pin-up special" (via EW) appears to be unaffiliated with Community and is all Jacobs and Brie, directed by Mark Seliger for GQ.

(Possibly NSFW).

Well, aren't they silly? And that seems to be the intention of the video. Just a reminder that they're goofballs who can also work some racy lingerie (and in Brie's case, a bird-costume). Of course, the above video has very little to do with Community other than that Brie and Jacobs on screen together reminds us of the series' absence from the line-up. But with the funny-sexy tone, I'm also reminded of Annie's "Teach me How To Understand Christmas" song during "Regional Holiday Music" last year.

Give me your hands!

Show me the door!

I cannot stand!

To wait anymore!

Somebody said

Be what you be

We could be old and cold and dead on the sea.

But I love you more than words can say

I can't count the reasons I should stay.

It's the community San Diego Comic Con 2012 panel live blog. Season 4! There's no Dan Harmon and the cast has been shoved off to Fridays under the all seeing eyes of new showrunners David Guarascio and Moses Port, and we're here in Ballroom 20 mostly to see what they have to say about how one of our favorite shows and how they're going to keep it awesome.

9:58: I got a sneak peek at the cast before I got here and they all look so awake and pretty and cheery that I feel bad for not being 100% awake at the time. I'm awake now! Let's panel!

10:00 A "we're moving to Friday night" auto tuned supercut of footage from the prevous 3 seasons starts the panel. It's auto tuned and hopping and involves and nice "When I say Greendale, you say sucks" pre-chorus

10:02Video ended with Troy and Abed: "You tried to kill us, but you only made us more awesome." Did we? Let's find out. Mike Snyder leads a "When I say 6 seasons you say..." call and response, audience loves it.

10:03 Here comes everyone's intros. People cheer, you know how it goes.

10:05 We all cheered a little for Moses Port. That was nice of us. Megan Ganz is here wearing a "Save The Cape" t-shirt.

10:07 First question: "Is it going to be okay?" Answer from Port: "A couple months ago, we were huge fans...suddenly now we're here helping to keep it going...only thing we care about is that it's this weird gem and that's not going ot change."

10:10 Joel says: "we got a Season 4 because of you...so if we get cancelled in 13 episodes, that's your fault too"

10:10 Yvette says her and Joel's relationship is a lot like Shirly and Jeff's relationship in that she beats him at foosball all the time. They name drop Nick Kroll from the Foosball episode and reveal that the fooseball obsessed Germans will "be back"

10:12 Joel says we will meet Jeff's father this season, then he jokes that dad will be played by Eddie Murphy. The first part was news, the second was funny.

10:13 Dani Pudi had fun exploring darker Abed, but it broke his heart to not return Troy's special handshake. He says, yes, the tiny Dreamatorium lives, but he'd rather do more Troy and Abed in the Morning.

10:14 Allison Brie really enjoyed the the new "loosy goosy" Annie. Gillian, Dani and Allison all loosy-goosy for about 20 seconds, the crowd is mildly aroused. Allison tries to add "And Annie" to the "Troy and Abed in the Morning" song, Dani asks: "What are you doing?"

10:15 Gillian's reflections on Season 3: There were a lot of hugs.

10:17 A run down of all the characters that have died on the show makes Joel realize that more people die on Community than most comedies. A whole glee club, Pierce's father, etc.

10:18 Yvette Nicole Brown says: "We've seen you on Twitter" thanks everyone for being here, is also looking forward to Nathan Fillion later today. She says Shirley always have her purse because she's from inner city Cleveland and you never leave your purse behind.

10:20 Who is Jeff texting all the time? Joel says he's composing texts, maybe not sending them at all. Megan Ganz reminds him Jeff has a twitter account.

10:22 The blanket fort was a big disappointment to production in Season 2. They wanted a pillow fort, only had time for a blanket fort, and that was what lead to the Troy and Abed war.

10:23 Clip time! Highlights from Season 3.

10:25 Hashtag unveiled: #POPPOPComicCon

10:26 Megan Ganz used to schedule her college classes around Law and Order re-run blocks, obviously knows her L&O. She had tons of fun writing he episode. She'd love to do another one. Yvette says: "SVU" Joel says: "Yes, sexual crimes."

10:28 We're going to let David and Moses talk now: David says that they understand the show deeply, love it and just want it to keep being what it is. Like no other show, he says, the fans influence Community. When they are in the writers room they are thinking about us. Moses says they're not going to come in and change everything, they don't want to. They have a great cast, he promises they will "not screw it up."

10:30 David on Season 4: "For a lot of the characters, it's senior year, a time of emotional change." It gives them time to explore some serious relationships like Jeff and the Dean. We'll get to see Pierce's Mansion. We get to go to an INSPECTOR SPACE TIME CONVENTION! Crowd goes wild! Megan Ganz says: "We'll go twice if we keep getting that reaction." David tells us all to cheer again so executives can hear.

10:33 On graduating, David says: "These characters will be in each others lives regardless of school....did I dodge that ok?"

10:34Season 3 DVD comes out August 14th, two days after Yvette's birthday. There will be commentaries on every episode, two featurettes, on on X-mas show, one on blanket fort episode, over 20 minutes of outtakes, deleted scenes

10:36 Quick peek at some of the gag reel from Season 3. One of them is Allison rapping. Her longest Freestyle ever. She claims that is her repping Childish Gambino.

10:37 Dani: "Joel and I can do the Christmas rap!" And then they do. It involves Joel saying: "MotherF*cker."

10:39Gillian says: "You are the reason we are coming back for a fourth season and I hope that you know how much we appreciate you." She loved the 6 Seasons and A Movie art show, us. "We may not get Emmys or even get nominated for them, but we win every online poll that we're up for." She thanks us for giving her a 4th season. And she has a video bout the fandom for us!

10:43 Fandom video has people with evil Abed goatees, flashmobs, interviews with fans, the Six Seasons and A Movie Art Show, clips of the cast on other shows talking about how it isn't a "cult following" it's a cult.

10:45 End of clip has Joel McHale saying he'd kiss every fan. Dani says line starts with him.

10:46 Gillian on Britta/Troy: "You know, I don't know anything about writing a television show, I think it's a delicate line between having a lot of sparks and farts without becomng a relationship show." David jumps in: "The sparks might become a fire." That's the first Gillian has heard about it.

10:48 Time for fan questions. First: "Did any of you actually go to a community college?" Joel: "Gillian went to a community college...oh wait, that was Julliard."

10:49 Guy confesses crush for Gillian Jacobs, Gillian, Allison and Dani sing "Daybreak" to him. Doo-doo-doot-oot-doo-doo.

10:52 Woman dressed as Inspector Spacetime says she's actually the 5th Inspector. Ugh,

10:53 "Is there going to be an Inspector Spacetime TV show?" Answer: We don't need to make the show to get the fandom from the show. Megan Ganz says there was an Inspector Spacetime fan video where they kept saying "Blogons" which is why they added the joke that "Blogon" means thank you in Blorgon.

10:58 Last question: There was a great payoff over 3 seasons with the Beetlejuice thing, is there going to be something that pays off in Season 4? Megan Ganz says the layering will always be part of the show because the writers, cast and crew actually love the show so they're all adding layers. Panel ends, everyone cheers!

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.

Another great Community Halloween episode, yet I can't help but think that last week's "Remedial Chaos Theory" somehow stole "Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps"' thunder, even if just a little. I'm not implying that last week was a better episode (I'll just flat out say it was) but a part of me senses that had the two intricately, and similarly, structured shows not come out back to back, this week would have seemed even more special.

Yes, it was still special and Greendale's study group scared up more than a few laughs. The real accomplishment is the episode's writing (by Dan Harmon himself) because all the stories are not just told from the character's point of view but to the point where it actually feels like they are telling the story. From the choosing of who's in their tale, right down to the dialogue, Community's writers have crafted such well defined characters that you could turn on any of the segments mid-way and probably guess who's telling it. So let's get to the stories.

"One member of our study group has homicidal tendencies."

The episode is structured around Britta, the over enthusiastic psychology student/investigator, trying to figure which one of the study group members' tests showed psychopathic potential. It's worth noting that this was set up in last week's tag, when everyone took the tests to begin with, which is pretty rad since not many series work the Halloween conceit into the season's narrative. Anyway, one of the group is deeply disturbed and Britta's determined to find out who it is, hence the lame and seemingly impromptu pre-party (although, that's probably just her way of throwing a party). After a visit from the Dean and some delicious Dorito puns, the plan to examine everyone's scary stories commences and it wouldn't be Community if they didn't throw in a whole bunch of references so all the tales parody horror sub-genres tropes.

"In the news tonight. Top Story. An escaped convict from the asylum has escaped and he's mental and he's on the loose and stuff."

Britta kicks off the story telling with her rendition of the 'kids killed at make-out point' urban legend. The dialogue is extra rambling and all over the map, the story is rushed and a little self-conflicted. Like I said, you can tell who's telling the story. Britta and Jeff are making out in an old car at some cliched perch over the city when they hear a noise. Jeff investigates and is brutally (?) hacked (scratched) to death. Cut tp the group as she wraps up the yarn and quickly puts on her sleuth cap, asking Abed how he felt about that story. He and the others were all embarrassed, presumably for her and her poor storytelling. Seems fair.

"No. We should call 911 on my fully charged cell phone. Lock the doors and then stand back to back in the middle of the room holding knives."

Abed finds Britta's story to be completely illogical and full of stupid characters doing stupid things, so it was basically like most generic horror crap pumped out these days. He decides to set his tale in a deserted log cabin the woods scenario but, being the Vulcan that he is, his horror story plays out a lot more, hm, logical. Cut to the muzak, which Troy seems to have heard before and is the only one enjoying, before we're back to the story. I did get a kick out of Abed and Britta kissing and the ensuing shushed I love you. Plus all the over the top camera work on the otherwise mundane story worked pretty well.

"Wait... Teach me to read."

But not well enough for Annie, who prefers her stories a little more on the bloody side. And also kind of like Twilight, if Edward were illiterate. Of course, her leading man is Jeff in a tale of a young maiden and a vampire with a heart of gold. Instead of biting the innocent Annie, Vamp-Jeff turns to his skanky concubine Britta for a much needed fix. When she flees in disgust, Annie not Britta (who is totally okay with it), he melts her heart by asking her to teach him to read (I know, left field). She's able to teach him his letters but unfortunately not how to quell his monstrous nature. Good thing she's a a monster - a werewolf - and can, and does, rip him to shreds. A twist! And a horrified study group, especially Jeff.

"You tried to destroy us but you only made us MORE AWESOME!"

Troy's story is a riff on the mad-scientist archetype, with he and Abed playing fallen fighter pilots who find refuge in what appears to be a very similar cabin to the one that Abed and Britta were trapped in a few threads back. Come to think of it, Annie's story takes place in that set too! Moving on, inhabiting the cabin in the middle of nowhere is Pierce the, you guessed it, mad scientist. After drinking something 'so medical' out of a couple of wine glasses, TroBed wake to find themselves literally TroBed, since they are now one after Pierce sewed them together at the hip. Only this time, being forced to be together forever obviously isn't a bad thing, it gives them super powers which they use to become telekinetic, telepathic and genuinely more awesome. Oh, and to sew Pierce's butt on his chest and then swap his feet with his hands. "Feet hands."

"That wasn't even a ghost story. It was like an episode of some show we're all too young to have heard of."

Pierce feels like he's been picked on - "I'm your crazy, old, racist friend... I was anyway, now I'm not so sure" - so it's obviously his turn to deliver a Halloween horror story. However, since it's Pierce his completely misses the point and also comes with a healthy does of both misogyny and racism! I guess home invasion is a sub-genre of horror but it usually involves weirdos in masks and unsuspecting victims, not stereotypical gang-bangers and what can only be described as an aging porn-star. "You. Are. Still. Relevant." I'm also quite certain he knocked Troy out with his penis. "What the hell was that?"

"Bye! I forgive you."

Oh Shirley, usually I'm not the biggest fan but this week your self-righteous and religious bent worked perfectly for the parodic episode. The group, sans Shirley, is partying away in that same damn cabin (very soon to be damned cabin), enjoying many vices, including a sweet pot bong when, oh no, the rapture hits. Tornadoes, locusts, frogs, it's like New York out there. The good Christians were swept away leaving the cool kids behind to deal with the Devil-Dean, "Hell-O," and his strategy of scorpions, enemas and a demon that eats your genitals. Thankfully, Shirley comes to their rescue, well, for a second, mostly just to lecture before leaving them to be chainsawed to bits by the Dean. "Gay marriage!"

"One of us? You took that test too, right?"

Shirley's vibe manages to ruin the Britta pre-party and ruining "a Britta party, that's like letting poop spoil." Shirley's sermonizing makes the group disperse, so Britta has no choice but to spill the beans and tell everyone about the sleeper sociopath. And even though they think that's stupid, she tells them that if they leave they might get axed, knifed, poisoned or strangled by a crazy masked member of the group. Of course, this puts everyone on edge, and instantly suspecting her - and each other - just in time for the lights to go out. And suddenly everyone's rocking their weapon of choice (Troy's Wolverine pencils would win, obviously) except Jeff who, as usual, has to calm everyone down.

"I'm no sociopath. I always know what I'm doing is wrong. I'm just a guy who doesn't like taking tests, doing work or getting yelled at."

Jeff quiets the surging mob and tells his own more calming story. One that makes Chang - in his only and very brief appearance - the killer, something that seems natural and perfectly okay by the group. Especially after he admits he's just a little misunderstood and looking for a hug. "You're welcome." What? Pierce pulls the 'gayest thing he's ever heard card' while the rest of the group grows suspicious of his disarming nature. When finally forced to point out his test he can't because, well, it's just a bunch of bubbles he filled out randomly. Probably something he should have mentioned a while ago, not that it mattered since Britta ended up Britta-ing the test results after all. They can all rest easy, there isn't one maniac amongst seven normals but vice versa... only, who is the sole normal? They don't know but we're shown that it's Abed (not to nitpick but that doesn't mean Jeff isn't also sane because his results are not accurate).

"Troy and Abed sewn together!"

The tag brings us back into Troy's world with Pierce the mad scientist still butt-chested, foot-handed, hand-footed and strapped to the operating table. TroBed are also still sewn together and using only their telepathy to communicate leaving old 'feet hands' basically in solitary. They're content to stay sewn, consume his brandy ("that's terrible") and maybe take a spin in their mind-power-fixed F-18. Jinx! Overall, another strong episode for a season with a sluggish start. How does it rank among the previous Community Halloween episodes? Well, you can be your own judge of that but I thought it had a great and complex conceit yet, and most importantly, was still really funny. However, if you were wondering how "Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps," stacked up against the other Halloween themed NBC Thursday night comedies, just check out Eric's scientifically determined rankings.

Show and Tell:

Pre-Party!

Inspector Spacetime and Constable Wigglesworth.

"Trick-or-Dean."

Lights Flickering for Halloween. Halloween Week. All Saints Day... Month.

Free taco beef from the army.

Troy dancing to Abed's musak.

"I love you"-"Shhh!"

"Stifle your slacken maw you drained and tainted bitch dog."

Cut to Britta on the words the skanky concubine.

Community CGI werewolf? WTF? Here comes 20 bottle episodes for that cash (good thing they rock!)

Cutting the sandwich.

"Still am Pakistan, you want to try me?"

Carrie.

Troy's Wolverine pencil claws.

Britta'd. Pulled an Abed. Don't Pierce.

"That's terrible."

8 steps? Because Britta had two stories, no?

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.

In the preview to "Remedial Chaos Theory," I discussed how Community hasn't seemed to click yet this season. Sure, this year at Greendale has had its moments and it's still early but last week strayed a little too far from the winning formula - which with this show, is mostly a lack of formula mixed with the amazing cast that makes up the core study group. However, this week proved that I haven't been constantly recommending this comedy as one of the smartest, funniest and most consistent on television for nothing. And how to they return to form? Probably the most high-concept bottle episode imaginable. This week, for "Remedial Chaos Theory," we spend most of our time off campus at...

"Troy and Abed's New Apartment."

This week opened on a number, 303, which is kind of funny since "Remedial Chaos Theory" is Episode 304 (Hm. 303? Are you sure? Yes, I wrote it down twice). Perhaps this is the third episode in the third season in a parallel timeline but more on that later. Troy and Abed, or TroBed, recently became roommates so now comes the inevitable housewarming party and one of the rare occasions the group meets off-campus.

The boys are determined to host a great gathering, they even read the book on it, so let the fun Yahtzee filled night begin! Oh wait. How rude. A little tour of the place first, who cares about the bathroom or kitchen, how about the brick that keeps the downstairs door open or Abed's replica of the rolling boulder scene from Raiders. But before anymore busting of these adult chops or looking up the rules on how to play Yahtzee, somebody has to go get the pizza. Not the one Shirley, and her baking problem, made out of ketchup and cream cheese. The only and obvious solution - since they all have fast fingers to noses - is a role of the dice (this is where I point out how smart/prickish I am and how I immediately caught on to the fact that it was seven to six but hey, I'm sure you did too).

"Just so you know Jeff, you are now creating six different timelines."

Some of the same events and gags occur in all of the timelines but, as Eric pointed out in his early review, what really informs the narrative in different and interesting ways is not who's present but who is missing from the apartment. What character went to get the pizza? Also, notice how each characters' actions and reactions change depending on who's (not) around.

Well, the first throw of the dice (which flies up into some really expensive looking graphic) and it comes down a 2. Annie. She leaves to fetch the food and this sequence serves as a kind of baseline for the rest to riff, by introducing most of the key repeaters starting with Pierce's Eartha Kitt mile high anecdote. Soon "Roxanne" is going on the stereo, Jeff is stopping Britta from singing along and she takes off to the bathroom while Shirley heads for her pies. Jeff needs that Serbian Rum and smacks his head on the ceiling fan. Speaking of fans, Abed finds Britta and a funny smell in the bathroom but just then Annie returns with the pizza, "pizza, pizza, me so hungry." I wonder what happens in the other timelines?

The dice rolls 4 in the second timeline, which has Shirley off to get the pizza. This brings up the groups baking intervention scheme since, for some reason, Shirley's compulsive baking has become a problem. I don't know why an abundance of treats is a problem, I'd be more concerned with her 'He Has Risen' apron. Again, 'Roxanne' is squelched by Jeff, Britta dashes to the bathroom but we get our first taste of the Norwegian troll, a housewarming gift from Pierce to Troy.

The timeline ends with Shirley's return, unhappy over burnt pies and unappreciated baking while the rest of the group is accused of making googly eyes at one another - which, to be fair, they do. And that leads directly into the next roll, Pierce's 3. With Pierce out of the picture the group can get right down to the googly. After Jeff and Troy have a little alpha-male off, Troy joins Britta for a smoke (her pot, him candy cigarettes) and their sparks fly. Jeff bumps his head but Annie gently tends to the bump while Shirley, well, she bakes? Speaking of baked, Britta is up next (roll of 6), which frees up the bathroom for Annie and Jeff, post-bump, and allows Pierce to fully unleash his jealousy on Troy in the form of the Norwegian troll. Cue, Britta back with the pizza-man fiance, "wait, there are other timelines?"

This is my favorite timeline for obvious reasons (feel free to sound off on yours below). The dice rolls 1 and Troy's going to run because he doesn't want to miss anything at the party. Of course, mayhem quickly ensues with Annie slipping on the Raiders' boulder, Pierce getting shot in the leg - complete with blood spray in Shirley's face - and Britta lighting the place on fire.

Remember this timeline as we move onto the final number on the die, the 5. Abed goes to get the pizza, which leaves a lot of emotions left in the apartment. Britta heads to smoke her joint and quickly returns to find Shirley's pies. Jeff hits his head but Annie consoles, eventually with kiss in the kitchen. Pierce was going to spring the troll but Troy's so nice about the move that he no longer wants revenge. And then things quickly turn. All three amiable situations turn nasty and/or weird - pie pushers and hippie drug addicts, daddy deja vu while kissing, gift wrestling and the troll - before Abed returns. He found a nickle. Finally, the last timeline (number 7) happens when Abed catches the coin and reveals Jeff's selfish trick to not have to go get the pizza. He does and the group has a great or 'prime timeline' without him. Shock, they don't need and would be better off without him. He needs the group.

"Evil Troy and Evil Abed."

The tag not only returns us to the 'darkest most terrible timeline' but it also returns Community's once consistently amazing tag to its former glory! This is truly one of the weirder ways to end an episode but it was hilarious. Drunk, now alcoholic, Shirley muttering, "to Pierce. May you rest in Pierce," before laughing and snapping at the blue-streaked Britta (her usually lameness shining through). Pierce died from the gunshot wound and Annie's in a loony bin. Jeff's missing an arm and Troy, in the saddest tale of all, lost his voice box when he ate the flaming Norwegian troll (?). However, this Abed (#1) knows he should have caught the falling dice. He knows about the prime timeline so he makes fake goatees and vows revenge. But all is not lost as 'prime timeline' Abed senses the disturbance. The force is strong in that one. God, I love this show.

Homework Assignments:

Rule #2 for being the perfect party host.

TroBed.

"Indiana Jones and The Apartment of Perpetual Virginity."

Single Malt Platinum Boobs and Billiards Club.

Annie's got a gun... again.

"Can't believe those are real mahogany bunk-beds in there, those must have cost a few allowances."

Abed fixes little Indy.

"Oh my god, they taste just like regular size pies."

"Give it Pierce, It feels fun... You are bad at gift-giving!... I demand to be house-warmed..."

Encarta It!

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.

It's only a matter of time until we get a Captain Planet movie. Hell, back in July it was revealed that Don Murphy, one of the producers on Michael Bay's Transformers franchise, is already planning to bring the blue eco-friendly hero to the big screen. If the movie does happen, eventually they're going to have to find someone to play the title role, and after seeing the newest video from Funny or Die, I have to recommend Don Cheadle.

Also starring Gillian Jacobs, Efren Ramirez and Brenda Song, the video begins with the Planeteers standing up on a ridge watching some workers take down a bunch of trees. Hoping that Captain Planet can help, the group uses their power rings to summon him...but the results aren't exactly what they expected. Check out the video below.

Is there any way to make sure that's the Captain Planet movie we get instead of just a two-hour version of the television show? As much as I loved the series as a kid, adult Eric wants to watch the superhero as an eco-terrorist that turns babies and puppies into bushes and then curses out his friends. The evilness also seems to help people ignore the shittiness of the costume, which will help keep the budget down. Make it happen, Hollywood!

Trying to define the term “A-lister” with any sort of consistency is like trying to describe why ninety-five percent of the population seems to think Jennifer Aniston is sexier than Kate Winslet. If you were listing their features on paper, I’m not sure you’d have ninety-five tally marks next to Aniston. Kate Winslet has stunning eyes, a beautiful smile, a nice figure, but she’s more classically beautiful, which, oddly, works against her on the sexy scale. Jennifer Aniston just is sexier. And using that full-proof logic, let me now bring forth the rambling, semi-coherent definition which we’ll be using for the purposes of this piece of ordered deliciousness.

An A-lister is the person Hollywood goes to when they want a sure thing. Their name goes on the poster along with their face. Everyone else ends up somewhere in the background. They’ll carry at least a strong portion of the running time (though sometimes less than half), and ultimately, the success or failure of the film will affect their earning power more than anyone else’s. They’ll have an uncanny knack for getting their ideal projects greenlit and it wouldn’t seem weird if you heard two different tables at the same restaurant having a conversation about said person. They don’t necessarily need to be on a Julia Roberts level, but they do need to be better known for their acting than Jeff Daniels. He’s the cut off point. My mom knows who Jeff Daniels is, and has seen some of the stuff he's been in, but I guarantee I will never in my life hear her ask when his next movie is coming out.

None of the actors and actresses on this list are more known for their acting skills than Jeff Daniels is, but we, the visionaries here at Cinema Blend, believe someday they will be. We believe someday our moms will be asking when their next films will be out, and three, perhaps even four, separate restaurant tables will be espousing some sort of opinion on which of their movies they like best. We believe they will leave us with an amazing collection of brilliant movies and quite a few we’d rather forget. We believe someday we’ll be able to say things like “That wasn’t as good as Aaron Paul’s last movie” without getting blank stares. We believe there’s a Tom Cruise in here, a few Vince Vaughn’s and maybe even a Lauren Bacall. We believe these things because we can’t help ourselves and because one of us is one-sixteenth Gypsy. Here’s a look at twenty up and coming actors who will one day lead big-budget event films and Oscar-worthy dramas. Their mere interest in a film will inspire rewrites and the removal of studio tape, and by their forties, we’ll be playing Sporcle quizzes trying to remember all their acting credits.

Amber Heard

Amber Heard is one of the most devastatingly beautiful girls in a town full of devastatingly beautiful girls. Her A-list looks have helped get her this far, and odds are that alone won't be enough to get her farther. Still, I'm betting Amber has something bigger and better than early-life hotness in her. Not because she can act necessarily, the jury's still out on that, but because she seems willing to try. See Amber could very easily sit back and be another Blake Lively, but she hasn't done that. Her career so far makes one thing very clear: She's a gamer. She's good looking, yes, but she keeps getting work because she's pretty much up for anything. Got a weird indie-movie where she'll be engaged in a naked threesome? Count her in and forget the body double. Nic Cage doing some crazy, hell-themed, car-revenge movie and you need someone to play his badass chick sidekick? Sign her up. Need a babe to play Seth Rogen's underage girlfriend in a stoner-action comedy? Amber Heard is there. Amber Heard's approach is no-holds barred, an actress who's actually there because she seems more interested in acting than being a brand. She doesn't have a list of things she won't do in her contract and because of that I think her big break will happen at any minute. I'm betting it'll be as frequently naked muse Chenault in The Rum Diary, if that long since finished Johnny Depp movie ever released. But even if it isn't, she'll be big some day anyway, because Amber Heard is up for anything.

Anton Yelchin

Remember that scene in Step Brothers where Rob Riggle tells Will Ferrell he wants to punch him in the face? Not for any particular reason, of course, there's just something about that suck hole that needs punching. That's how I feel about Anton Yelchin's passive-aggressive, one hundred and eight pound frame at the start of every movie. There's just something about him that bothers me, makes me want to yell “man up” during random intervals until he feels self-conscious and changes, but as the movie goes on, I always start to hate these Anton Yelchin characters a little less. Then by the end, I'm cheering as they go skinny dipping with Amanda Seyfried and make out with Kat Dennings. I don't know why it happens, perhaps it's because Anton Yelchin's emaciated frame is Oliver Twisty, but more than likely, it's because these characters are supposed to come off as effeminate douches until they slowly start to figure it out. Such is the power of Anton Yelchin that he could convince me to hate him, the bastard.

Donald Glover

Donald Glover is the next Tina Fey. I mean that. He's a creator as much as he is a performer, a guy who when he wants to do something is willing to simply step up and make it happen himself. He's prolific. A fountain of creative genius. He already starred in, co-wrote, and produced one of the funniest movies of the decade. It's not Donald Glover's fault that people weren't smart enough to see it. You really should run out and buy a copy of Mystery Team. On Community he's one half of the funniest comedic duos since Larry and Balki, but he's destined for bigger things than Bronson Pinchot. People were half-joking when they started a grass roots campaign to convince Sony to make Donald the next Spider-Man, but would anyone have minded if they'd taken the internet seriously and actually cast him? Probably not. He's too talented, too likable, for just about anything (even something as ill-conceived as Sony's Spider-Man reboot) he does to suck. He'll be huge, he'll do it all on his own, his way, through talent, hard work, and sheer likability. No, he's not related to Danny Glover.

Emma Stone

Emma Stone has proven she can be a charming-ish love interest (Superbad), a solid supporting actress who can occasionally carry a scene (Zombieland), and now, with last month's release of the enjoyable Easy A, she's proven she can topline an above-average comedy that actually makes its budget back. That leaves her with a choice. She can either attempt to become Anna Faris, a not really worthwhile goal she will fail at, or she can try to be the next Jennifer Aniston, a more reasonable use of her talents she can definitely succeed at. It'll all come down to genre choices. I can't tell you how many reviews of Easy A I've read that have called Emma Stone a funnywoman. She's not. Gilda Radner was a funnywoman. Emma Stone is a good actress with excellent comedic timing. She's more than capable of servicing comedic material, but trying to force laughs on her own will ultimately prove a different story. Here's to hoping she goes the Jennifer Aniston route, and in doing so, takes a few more Office Space's than Along Came Polly's.

Terry Crews

I'm voting for Camacho. That needs to be on a bumper sticker, somewhere. Terry Crews is heading into his mid-forties and he's been working non-stop in film and television for more than a decade on more than forty different projects. You might think that at his age, after so much work, if he was going to make it big it would have happened by now. But Samuel L. Jackson was forty-six before Quentin Tarantino recognized what he could do, and made him a mega-star by casting him in Pulp Fiction. That's where I see Terry Crews. He's the kind of actor who only really gets big late in life, the kind of guy whose talent doesn't really mature until he's long past his sexual prime. Terry Crews is just getting going. He's becoming that guy that everybody recognizes from somewhere, and would probably like to vote for in a dystopian future where everyone's dumb and our president is a retired wrestler. He can play the warm and caring father, or kill with comedic timing. He can flex his muscles and hold his own with the likes of Stallone and Rourke. Everything, whether it's an Old Spice ad or a gun battle, is a little bit better with Terry Crews in it. It's just taking the world a little while to figure it out and now it's only a matter of time before he hooks up with the right filmmaker and gets his own Royal with Cheese.

Tom Felton

I'm not convinced, but if interviews and Youtube videos are any indication, Tom Felton sucks. Which doesn't mean he's a terrible actor—the opposite in fact is true. While his cameo in Get Him To The Greek gains him more street cred with me, his incredible performances in the Harry Potter franchise are what gains him street cred with 95% of everyone else. Which is sort of funny, because Tom Felton/Draco Malfoy only accounts for like 7% of Harry Potter references. Outside of Harry Potter, Felton's been writhing in the muck of a bunch of gritty indie flicks that only like 3% of the population has seen (.5% accounted for by Felton's family members) —case in point, you ever heard of 13 Hours or The Disappeared? This equivocating has caused Mr. Felton to be about as popular as banana peppers on a Subway sandwich. Of course, Vegas odds says there's like a 4% chance of him somehow ending up on the A-List. Because I'm a risk taker, and because I'm pretty sure Felton might just be an acting genius, I'd take the over in a second (22% of you should be smart enough to, too).

Anna Kendrick

On the surface Anna Kendrick seems eternally suited to be pigeonholed in the thankless role of best friend to whoever it is they've hired to play the movie's lead. The girl she's playing best friend to will have better hair, and Anna Kendrick would be doomed to spend her character actress life in a world revolving around the part someone else is playing. But Kendrick's better than that and while she may not have the best hair in whatever movie she's in, no matter how she's used there's always the sense that she's that girl you know, and will probably meet again. She seems real, in a way so few others have, and when given the opportunity to do something other than play the best friend, she knocked it out of the park. Maybe she'll keep playing the supporting role for a few more years, but when you watch Anna Kendrick there's the sense that she has something pretty great inside her somewhere. She seems real, in a way too few Hollywood actresses do. She's more than just the lead character's best friend, she's your best friend too, and too rare to leave her stranded at fourth billing in someone else's film.

Kieran Culkin

Eighty percent as cute and every bit as talented as his more famous older brother Macaulay, Kieran Culkin took a seven year hiatus from Hollywood after his Golden Globe-nominated lead performance in Igby Goes Down, only to recently return in a few juicy supporting roles including off-beat man whore Wallace Wells in Scott Pilgrim Vs The World. Brooding, angsty and always delightfully eccentric, Kieran Culkin usually comes off like that kid in Honors Math who ditches out the side door to chain smoke and read Phillip K. Dick novels. In all honesty, it's probably bad for society that we romanticize those underachievers, the Will Hunting's of the world, but how could we not when people like Kieran Culkin tinge their middle fingers with infectious rebellion and at-all-costs individuality.

Chloe Moretz

We stopped being amazed by child actors who actually seemed good at their job, some time not long after Haley Joel Osment proved it was possible for kids not to suck on screen in The Sixth Sense. Haley Joel was a big deal, and every kid actor that came after him, no matter how good, is not. But Chloe Moretz is at least as good as Osment and as a bonus, she has parents who don't really seem to care about traumatizing her all that much. It's probably not good for her eternal soul and I worry that all that time she spent covered in sticky red entrails during the filming of Kick-Ass may have turned her into Dexter, but if she can avoid the massive drug problems of similarly treated child actors then Chloe Moretz could grow up to be something pretty good. Or even if she does turn into a coked out party kid as she gets older, there's still the chance she'll end up turning into Drew Barrymore, hopefully minus a starring role in Poison Ivy 7.

Gillian Jacobs

Gillian Jacobs is the kind of woman who looks like she doesn't need to wear makeup, the kind of girl who you feel certain rolls out of bed looking that way, and only looks cuter when her hair is messed up. She's one of the most underrated components of NBC's Community, going toe to toe with Joel McHale as the empowered female who secretly would rather be the girl next door. Gillian has wicked comedic timing and she's versatile too. Whether she's playing a day-shift stripper in Choke or a British party crasher in Helena at the Wedding every scene sparkles just a little more when she's in it. One look at her and she just seems like she's destined for something bigger, like she should be replacing Julia Roberts as the new queen of rom-coms, or at the least providing a less uptight, judgement-free alternative to the ones starring Katherine Heigl. At some point Jacobs is going to hook up with Judd Apatow and blow the world away, until then enjoy her on TV and plan for the day when your wife will own all of her movies on DVD.

Clark Duke

The first time I saw Sex Drive, I turned to my roommate and said, “Hey, that's the kid at the party in Superbad.” “No,” he said, “That's the kid from Greek.” Such is the it factor of Clark Duke, that his second feature film and first major supporting role would immediately remind me of his only other film, a one-off bit part he's not even credited for, and remind my roommate of a show on ABC Family. There's just something about his mannerisms that is really funny, like if a 1976 Chevy Chase took two years off to eat excessively and somehow grow more sure of himself. Clark Duke is a throwback. He's the chubby, cocksure, loud idiot for the internet generation. God only knows if he'll reach the lofty heights of Belushi, but I'm pretty sure he'll smash a few guitars along the way.

Michael Pitt

I've known Michael Pitt was going to be famous for the last ten years. Remember Finding Forrester? He's the kid who can't come up with Coleridge, even though his last name is Coleridge. I remember watching the nervous sweat pool around his cheeks and thinking this kid's got it. Then, the next year he showed up in Bully, playing a stoner that impulsively joins a murder plot because he wants to have sex with one of the girls involved. Again, awesome. Same thing in Hedwig And The Angry Inch and The Dreamers and Funny Games. Now, Michael Pitt is the second lead on Boardwalk Empire, Scorsese's new HBO Prohibition drama. Do I really even need to tell you he's awesome in it? This kid has literally been the best thing about almost every film he's been in, the only thing holding him back has been his penchant for taking obscure indie films most people don't see. There's a way to be groundbreaking and at least partly mainstream. Someday Michael Pitt will mark his territory in that place and at that point, he'll have turned into his generation's Gary Oldman.

Mia Wasikowska

In the space of a single year, this year, Mia Wasikowska has managed to play the lead in one of Hollywood's most financially successful blockbusters while at the same time tackling a pivotal supporting role in one of the year's most critically acclaimed indies. And still, almost no one seems to know her name, let alone how to spell it. That won't last long. She has too much range. She does quietly complex almost unlike any other young actress you've seen lately on screen, and she has a knack for channeling that into bravery and strength when it's needed. Mia has a kind of ethereal grace, the kind you'd get from Grace Kelly, combined with an inexplicable layer of Christina Ricci oddity. She's beautiful, without looking exactly like anyone else you've already seen on screen. Maybe she'll get caught up in corset dramas, that seems to be where she's most comfortable, but expect to see more of her.

Aziz Ansari

A good comedy needs three things: a funny premise, talent and momentum. Sometimes that momentum can come from a flawless script, but more often than not, it channels from the main actor either through energy or cleverness. Jim Carrey, Chris Farley, these guys are house of energy comedians, they come at you with all they've got, hoping to infect you with their determination. Woody Allen, Christopher Guest, these guys are clever, improving and subtly bouncing off what's given with a relentless wit that builds throughout a film. At twenty-seven years old, I've seen Aziz Ansari do both. From the brilliant Funny People Randy spin-off to the low-energy retorts of Tom Haverford on Parks And Recreation, Aziz Ansari is quietly one of the most talented comedians we've seen in years. He can carry the show like at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards or he can steal a scene here or there like in Observe And Report. It's like young Bill Murray and old Bill Murray fucked and had a dark-skinned baby. Good God, people would not pay money for that sex tape.

Joel McHale

Now nearly 40, you have to think with a hit TV show like Community under his belt that Joel McHale is more interested in putting a new pool in his backyard than getting even more famous, but it's probably going to happen to him anyway. His eerily perfect combination of easygoing charm and biting, sarcastic wit in a Hollywood ready body is too much for anyone, let alone a studio exec sure to see dollar signs, to resist. The current incarnation of Saturday Night Live isn't going to crank out any more new movie stars any time soon and we have to find the next Adam Sandler somewhere. Maybe it'll be Joel McHale, who probably believes he's far more likely to end up mirroring Rodney Dangerfield's career path than Billy Madison's, but you never know when he'll hallucinate a girlfriend stealing penguin. He did a good job in Soderbergh's otherwise blah The Informant! last year. It's only a matter of time before the movie world starts to notice, and craves more of his lanky, cynical talents.

Ben Foster

Ben Foster has played a psychotic prisoner in My Name is Earl, a learning disabled teen in Freaks and Geeks, and a confused and sexually frustrated artist in Six Feet Under… and this eclectic bibliography only accounts for his early television work. Whether he's playing a psychotic, erotic cowboy in 3:10 to Yuma or a panicked yet determined brother in Alpha Dog, Foster always keeps his audience in rapt attention. Maybe it's the nuance of crystal eyes. Maybe it's that dreamy/scary effect he shrugs out like its nothing (somewhere there's a girl all ready to change him). All I know, is back in the day Foster and fellow coworker Jewel Staite (of Stargate: Atlantis fame) were on this show that nobody remembers, with a title everyone knows (Flash Forward). It was about two kids, one a class clown, one a girl who tried to act grown-up, trying to make it through the ups and downs of middle school together. When Foster's teenage self entered that set, he walked on-screen like he was some Ellis Island immigrant knowing he had arrived. He may make famous for his off-kilter good looks, he should make famous for his acting skills, but I think he could make it on charisma alone.

Aaron Paul

Aaron Paul is a brilliant actor, but perhaps more importantly, he's handsome and creepy and depending on how he's dressed and how his face looks, either an intellectual member of high society or a learning-disabled product of inbreeding. He easily waffles between extremes with the slightest alterations. Johnny Depp can do that too, one minute a conquering hero, a merciless villain the next, all while never saying a word. It's all in the face, that handsome, yet up to no good smirk, the one that won Aaron Paul an Emmy for his work on Breaking Bad. Do yourself a favor and check out the remake of The Last House On The Left or his turn as Sarah's ex-Mormon boyfriend Scott on HBO's Big Love. I haven't the slightest idea where Aaron Paul will end up in ten years, but I can promise you the path to get there will be littered with a lot of strange films.

Jaden Smith

Jaden Smith is going to be a massive movie star, whether you like it or not, and whether he deserves it or not. His dad is Will Smith, one of the only big Hollywood box office draws left on the planet, and Will has sort of made it his mission to turn Jaden into his heir apparent. It's happening, you can't stop it. The good news is that Jaden might not actually be bad at it. The Karate Kid remake was one of the few movies worth seeing this summer and while most of the credit goes to the brilliant work of Jackie Chan, Jaden wasn't half-bad for a 12-year-old. He has a famous Dad, he probably doesn't have to try that hard, but he seems to be trying hard anyway. Maybe Jaden has inherited enough of his father drive, determination, and flat out talent that we won't mind all that much when he's shoved down our collective throats. At least he hasn't tried to become the next Jonas Brother, he could have done that you know, and it would have worked. The kid, for now at least, seems genuinely interested in acting. He'll be a star and maybe this is one case when nepotism isn't such a bad thing.

John Francis Daley

John Francis Daley is either going to be huge, or he's going to be exactly as big as he is now for several years to come before fizzling out. I really can't make up my mind. You see, common sense tells me his time has passed. Even though he's barely twenty-five years old, the last half-decade has been dominated by hyper-intelligent, socially-awkward, shyly cute nerds like Michael Cera and Jesse Eisenberg. John Francis Daley is nothing, if not that character. He's been playing that character since he was called Sam Weir on Freaks & Geeks. Hell, he's still playing that character (now named Dr. Lance Sweets) on an above-average crime show on network television. He's like the bizarre-o Matthew Grey Gubler. For the love of God, those two should be churning out scientist double date comedies like Harvard-educated Cheech and Chong's, but alas, the two crime crushers have yet to connect. I think maybe John Francis Daley might headline a few thinking man's Rom Coms at some point, but maybe that's only because I've learned what the likes of Seth Rogen, James Franco, Linda Cardellini and Busy Phillips had to teach me: being associated with Judd Apatow gets you a couple of Scooby Doo flicks and an invitation to the Hanks Family Thanksgiving, at worst.

Justin Timberlake

Like Michael Vick, John Travolta and Disney's non-Pixar animation department, Justin Timberlake has been written off an almost uncountable number of times. He went from Star Search to The Mickey Mouse Club to N Sync to pop superstardom, all of which involved handsomeness, likeability and singing. Then, out of nowhere, he went from Saturday Night Live guest host to Alpha Dog to Black Snake Moan and now to The Social Network, literally crushing every performance like acting was his primary skill. And the sick thing about it is, it just well may be, all while ignorant purists keep writing him off. I can't tell you how many times before The Social Network came out people told me, "Yeah, it sounds great, but it's got Justin Timberlake." We need to face facts, people. Justin Timberlake is not only handsome beyond words, he's an excellent actor who throws himself into the work. If you gave me three possible outcomes for JT's future: fading away, continuing on as an above-average supporting performer or achieving Hollywood success beyond his musical achievements, I would undoubtedly put it all on the latter, even if he did start his career as a Mouskateer.

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Suggest candidates of your own in the comments section below.

Too much of a good thing can eventually become bad. This was a lesson taught by Community in last season’s finale, Pascal’s Triangle Revisited, through a hilarious visual metaphor of Troy attempting to eat a giant cookie.

For me, that lesson rang true during this week’s episode of Community. Though I normally love Abed’s self-referential humor, there was simply far too much of it.

The main plot of this episode focused around the production of a film Abed was making. While this project starts as a cooperative effort with Shirley to get the word of Christ on YouTube, Abed’s ideas for the film become more and more ambitious. His goal is to create a film about God and Jesus from a filmmaker’s perspective, which eventually becomes about the filmmaker and the filmmaking process. Word of Abed’s production spreads, and soon enough, Abed is regarded as a genius visionary. With a new cabal of sycophants in tow, Abed’s descent into megalomania is rapid, eventually leading to his delusion that he is both a messiah and the world’s greatest filmmaker.

Once he finally sees the fruits of his labor, Abed realizes his movie is atrocious, and prays to God about his fears of his filmmaking future. Shirley, who has grown furious with Abed for his blasphemy, hears his prayers and takes pity on him. At risk to her own reputation, Shirley destroys the prints of the film in front of Abed and his lackeys, destroying in their eyes the chance to see the greatest film ever made. Abed realizes the sacrifice Shirley makes in doing this, and thanks her by filming the original rapping gospel viral video she originally wanted to film.

Now, religion is a particularly tricky topic to tackle, so some slack must be given to Community’s writers for the effort. And the plotline is not without its moments – both Shirley and Abed are very entertaining throughout the episode. Besides, it fits well with the comedic standard that “people in Jesus wigs are always more funny”. But the premise of this episode stretched into a 22-minute comedy simply doesn’t work. I enjoy digs at Charlie Kaufman as much as the next guy too stupid to appreciate his films (Synecdoche, New York bored me to tears), but when too much time is spent on the same reference, it becomes grating instead of charming. Meta humor loses its allure when it’s pushed into the forefront, just as Abed’s entire movie about the filmmaking process turns out to be crap.

Unless, of course, the entire episode is a parody of itself – about how Community and Abed’s character overuse meta humor to begin with! Wow. I need to lie down.

At any rate, the subplot this week was much more charming and damn near as absurd as the main plot. In most television shows, when you have octogenarians drinking whiskey from the bottle and stealing cars, that’s usually the most absurd thing that week. But then there’s Community.

Pierce, growing tired of being told what to do by his younger and more responsible classmates, decides to sit with the “hipsters” – a group of whippersnappers who all have hip replacements. The hipsters are able to get away with murder at Greendale, since whenever anyone tries to reprimand them for their crass or outrageous behavior, they fake bouts of dementia. Jeff and Britta , who serve as the study group’s surrogate parents, try to convince Pierce that the hipsters are a bad influence on him, but he’ll hear none of it.

Pierce at first feels liberated by the behavior of his newfound friends, but it grows wearisome as they become more reckless. Eventually, the proverbial shit hits the fan when the hipsters steal Dean Pelton’s car and crash it in the slowest joyride ever caught on film. Jeff is at first angry with Pierce (and eager to get his name removed from Pierce’s emergency contact list), but then realizes that Pierce was only acting out for attention. He lovingly scolds Pierce, and the bizarre father-son relationship between the pair returns to normal.

This entire subplot plays like an after-school special and is pinpoint in doing so. Pierce’s character is such a juvenile that you absolutely buy into his naiveté and his child-like shenanigans, and by the end of the episode you are rooting for him to do the right thing.

Extra Credit:

- This week’s Quote of the Week was tough to choose; while the episode wasn’t the strongest, there was no shortage of hilarious exchanges and one-liners. But as I stated earlier, Shirley was in fine form this episode, and her rapid-fire religious insensitively won me over. After Abed quotes the Bible during a quarrel with Shirley, she asks him, “Did you just Scripture me, Muslim?” When Annie points out that Jesus was Jewish, Shirley asks, “Are you ever gonna let that go?” Shirley is also hilariously mean to Britta while filming her religious movie, and snaps at her to “do the line, Atheist.” Why are these quick, religiously intolerant quips so funny? It’s all in the delivery. Shirley was on fire.

- I also have to praise Abed on his cinematic comparisons for Jesus in the New Testament, whom Abed describes as a mixture of E.T., Edward Scissorhands and Marty McFly. I’d watch that movie, no question.

- The closing gag was also great to see, since it wove in more of Troy and Annie (who were both absent from most of the episode). Abed, Troy and Jeff all arrive in the study room at the same time, with Troy and Abed dressing like and emulating Jeff. The charade continues until an annoyed Jeff leaves, which would have been funny enough, but Annie comes in seconds later dressed in the same outfit.

- I really hope the writers find more to do with Abed as the season continues. Like I said, I enjoy his meta-humor, but it works best in small doses. Abed was at his best this season when emulating Gary Sinise’s character from Apollo 13 in last week’s episode Basic Rocket Science. And I loved his Don Draper impersonation from last season’s ep Physical Education. I’d like to see him take on more personalities of famous pop culture characters. That, or for Abed to have a storyline woven into the main plot that doesn’t entirely rely on his detached behavior.