The cast and producers of Community spoke about the show at the Television Critics Association summer press tour.
While the show makes jokes about the college and the students, the executive producer and creator of the show, Dan Harmon, said he attended a community college and he has no desire to insult the institutions or their students. He says, “I went to a community college when I was 32. That's what this is based on. I can't think of anything more heroic and noble than an open-admission system in the educational sector.”
Harmon adds, “The campus in the show, Greendale, is a character in and of itself. It is a humble character. I continually compare it to Charlie Brown's Christmas tree. Its ambition exceeds its grasp. And therefore, it is heroic.”
The cast includes one of Hollywood’s veteran actors. Chevy Chase plays the older student returning to school. Chase has also appeared on the TV series Chuck. He is a veteran of Saturday Night Live, and has starred in numerous hit films, including Foul Play, the Vacation films, Fletch, and Caddyshack, and has had many roles on TV shows throughout his 40 plus year career.
Chevy Chase Comments on the Writing and Cast of Community
“I honestly think that the films lately aren't as good as most of the stuff on TV. I never thought that I would be involved in a situation comedy until I read the script, and I was delighted to go in and say, ‘Please hire me,’" Chase says with some humor.
While he cracks jokes at the other actors’ expenses, he comes back to the fact that he thinks the writers of this show have done an incredible job and he is happy to be part of this cast.
“I do not improvise a lot [on this show]. None of us really improvise a lot. We add things here and there, but the writing itself is really what distinguishes this show,” he comments.
Chase also points out the other cast members. “I want to say that … this is the best cast I've worked with since --. I spoke about the writing earlier, but -- and, of course, that's primary, but paramount here also is every one of these kids -- brash young kids are really fine actors …”
He adds, “It really makes this fun to do every day, and I think that that's the most effective and the most important part of this experience.”
Community premiers Thursday, September 17, 2009 on NBC.
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