Community returned to the annual PaleyFest last night for an astonishing fourth year in a row. The series was already the first to come to the popular annual television festival three times in a row, much less four. But of course, this year is a notably different one for the series, on the heels of some huge changes, including the widely publicized departure of creator Dan Harmon (and several other producers), along with Chevy Chase leaving near the end of production on Season 4.
That being said, it was another entertaining appearance by the cast and producers, including the announcement of… puppets! It turns out an upcoming episode – guest starring Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander – will involves Dean Pelton (Jim Rash) getting the group to open up about an awkward experience using puppets, and we were presented with a quick video of these puppets of all the characters sitting around the study group table, followed by the cast being handed their puppets onstage.
The night began with a table read of the Season 4 premiere, with writer Andy Bobrow subbing for Donald Glover, who wasn’t able to attend, and guest star Fred Willard playing Pierce, both in and out of Abed’s sitcom fantasies. Joel McHale couldn’t resist cracking, “It’s just like a regular table read – Chevy’s not here,” referencing Chase’s frequent absences from the weekly table read, even before he left the show.
Unfortunately though, little else was said about Chase’s departure. Attempts by moderator Michael Schneider to inquire about the situation and how Pierce’s absence might be dealt with in a potential Season 5 were mostly met with jokes – with new co-showrunner David Guarascio referencing Willard’s presence, saying, “I think we’ve proven that you can just say it’s Pierce and move on.”
Guarascio and fellow showrunner Moses Port did talk more directly about the daunting task of replacing Harmon, with Guarascio cracking, “Obviously we knew we would fail, so once you accept that, you can move on.” He went on to praise Harmon as a “great creative talent” they’d long been fans of, but also said they felt the entire Community cast and crew were also incredibly talented and could let them know, “if we were veering off course,” and that their approach was, “We really need to listen to them,” when it came to taking advice from the returning cast and writers.
Jim Rash and Joel McHale reenact their Community tango
He also noted the studio and network were tremendously resistant to their idea for the season premiere, and when they realized they had their first Dan Harmon type conflict on their hands, they felt, “We were doing something right." He added that if there seemed to be no major notes about a given episode, they’d ask, “What are we doing wrong?”
A couple of upcoming episodes were discussed, including this week’s Thanksgiving-set episode, which will introduce Jeff’s father (played by James Brolin), with Joel McHale saying, “It is quite intense between Jeff and his dad.” Britta plays a role in this, and Gillian Jacobs said that would-be therapist Britta had, “Finally worn down Jeff and is making progress with his daddy issues.”
Guarascio noted introducing Jeff’s dad was, “years in the making and it just felt like it was time.” While he described actually making the leap “Frightening,” he said, “We just felt like people wanted to see it and we wanted to tell it.”
Another upcoming episode has a comic book vibe and will delve into the group’s origins. Asked if we might see Annie’s Boobs again, Guarascio said, “Annie’s Boobs is part of the origin of the group… so perhaps you will.”
Yvette Nicole Brown also teased her “favorite thing ever is coming…” which likely was referencing the puppet episode, which she noted she was extremely excited about when it was revealed at the end of the panel.
Guarascio said that the unlikely relationship between Troy and Britta will continue, and not to think it’s a foregone conclusion it’s doomed. However, he also brought up the Britta/Jeff/Annie love triangle, saying there would be a “resurrection” of something there – that would “lead to something we’re not expecting.” McHale couldn’t help joking that the love triangle “gets consummated,” which would certainly be a happy occurrence for Jeff.
Jim Rash also discussed the episode he wrote, which is influenced by body switch stories like Freaky Friday, and Rash said tells a story “very important to Troy and Abed.” McHale said he felt Rash’s episode was, “one of the best we’ve ever done.”
It was also revealed by the writers that “There might be a little paintball” coming, though Bobrow stressed, “Not an entire episode.”
Source : ign[dot]com
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