Author: Emma Loggins
Date: 2009-10-19

Interview:
We had the pleasure of talking with Joel McHale (Jeff Winger) and Dan Harmon (Creator/Writer) from NBC's Community. Check it out below!

Joel, let me ask you, what was the appeal of this project for you?

Joel McHale: I read a lot of pilot scripts and always, you know, want to be in something that involves, you know, involved in something that's good and read - after reading Dan's script it was so head and shoulders above everything else that I was reading. And it had - I just, first and foremost it was just incredibly funny and then it had really strong characters and a lot of heart.

And I read it on a plane on the way back from a standup gig and I pulled this before, but I was sitting next to a guy who was watching it - What Happens in Vegas on his laptop and he was getting mad at me because I was laughing out loud while I was reading this script. And so I was interrupting his romantic comedy with Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher and I thought that was pretty ironic.

I mean, from what we've seen of it, I mean it looks like a very funny show. Obviously, the critics are very big on it. It looks like it has all the makings of a hit. So what are your guys expectation coming into this?

Joel McHale: Nothing short of 900 episodes.

Dan Harmon: I mean, I'm from Wisconsin so whenever things are going this well all I can start anticipating is the other shoe dropping. But that's what I've always done when things are going well. And also, you know, working in TV for 15 years what you learn to do because everything else is so outside your control, you just focus on what you do control. And it's like - it's so amazing to look over on the side and notice every once and a while that the critics are saying great things about the show and that NBC is being so supportive of it.

But, you know, the expectations of the show that I have are simply like, I - they can only be, like, I hope these scripts are good and I hope that the actors like them and have fun with them and stuff and I got to stop there.

Joel McHale: Yeah. And he might be from Wisconsin but I was raised Catholic, so I'm planning on being hit by a bus. No matter... how well it goes, I'll just - somehow a bus is going to come crashing through my hotel room. But Dan (unintelligible) did exactly what I think is that, you know, the show has not aired yet, and all you can focus on is trying to do justice to Dan's writing. And from there it's really up to NBC to air it and hopefully people will come to it.