I caught up with “Community”star Danny Pudi July 13 at San Diego Comic Con where the Chicago native thanked fans for the show’s success.
Pudi also accepted the trophy his character, Abed Nadir, earned for being voted runner-up in RedEye’s 2011 Best TV Character tourney, thanking his family and friends in Chicago and fans everywhere for the honor. (Daryl Dixon, Norman Reedus’ “The Walking Dead” character, won.)
He then hinted at a theme evident in the NBC show’s panel later in the day. “Six seasons and a movie,” Pudi says in the video clip above, “and we couldn’t have done it without all the fan support.”
The actors and new show runners David Guarascio and Moses Port couldn’t have shown their appreciation for fans in a bigger way, repeatedly thanking them for the show’s fourth season after once again facing cancellation. They also presented fans with special gag reel and best of Season 3 video. One video ended with a still that read “Our fans never Britta it.”
During interviews with NBC and at the panel, Pudi and other cast members said that they weren’t sure what was coming for the new season, and that things were a little uncertain with the departure of show creator and previous show runner Dan Harmon after his public feud with star Chevy Chase.
“We never know what’s going to happen, but we all know we’re going to have a good time doing it and we’re going to try our hardest to do something different,” Pudi told NBC.
Pudi told me that the Greendale students will be studying history this season, which kind of goes without saying I guess.
Cast members had not seen scripts for the new season, which won’t start filming until August. But during the panel a few things about the new season were revealed:
The show’s characters–I’m guessing Abed and Troy (Donald Glover)–will attend an Inspector Spacetime convention.
We’ll finally meet Jeff Winger’s father, but panelists don’t know who will play him. “Eddie Murphy, everybody,” Joel McHale joked.
Viewers will get a look inside Pierce Hawthorne’s (Chevy Chase) mansion. “The waterbed he sleeps in is only the beginning of the disturbing images you will see,” Guarascio said.
More animation? Possibly in the first episode, Guarascio said.
A Britta (Gillian Jacobs)-Troy pairing is possible.
Yvette Nicole Brown, who plays Shirley, said the German foosball players from Season 3 will return.
The relationship between Jeff and Dean Pelton (Jim Rash) will be further explored.
“Community” kicks off its 13-episode fourth season on Oct. 19 on NBC.
![Four years into cannabis legalization in Illinois, celebrations of the April 20 informal weed holiday known as 420 are getting bigger and more widespread. Named for the time of day a group of friends met to get high, 420 has become a chance for marijuana users to publicly share a previously illegal drug and the counter-cultural atmosphere surrounding it. The main event in downtown Chicago likely will be the second annual 420 Sesh Fest, at Green Rose Dispensary. The party will include live music, a magic show, carnival games, food trucks, pop ups, and product discounts. It also will feature Grammy-nominated […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ctc-l-Illinois-marijuana_175925141.jpg?w=546 "Four years into cannabis legalization in Illinois, celebrations of the April 20 informal weed holiday known as 420 are getting bigger and more widespread. Named for the time of day a group of friends met to get high, 420 has become a chance for marijuana users to publicly share a previously illegal drug and the counter-cultural atmosphere surrounding it. The main event in downtown Chicago likely will be the second annual 420 Sesh Fest, at Green Rose Dispensary. The party will include live music, a magic show, carnival games, food trucks, pop ups, and product discounts. It also will feature Grammy-nominated […]")
