Community's story and comedy were defined by the show's stellar cast, and since the show finished, the cast have gone on to develop their careers. Although Community was always on the edge of cancelation while airing, the show's devoted audience ensured the show continued for six seasons and is still awaiting a movie. However, until then, the cast and crew have participated in many projects for audiences to enjoy.
In 2009, television writer Dan Harmon created the comedic ensemble sitcom Community, and based the show on his experience at community college. The show followed a group of seven students at the fictional Greendale Community College; they formed a study group and engaged in misadventures throughout the series that often played with genre tropes from TV and film. For example, a campus paintball competition was depicted as a high-stakes action thriller that evolved into a spaghetti western. Community aired on NBC for five seasons before moving to Yahoo! Screen to air its sixth and final season in 2015. Though the show experienced several controversies regarding its cast and creator (Dan Harmon was even fired at one point), Community's remains a beloved sitcom for fans to revisit.
Community’s cast of diverse and talented actors was key to its success. The combination of seasoned comedic actors like Joel McHale with newcomers like Danny Pudi allowed for each actor to stand out and demonstrate their range of talents. Many of Community’s actors went on to star in television shows, films, and music projects that would change the face of pop culture. Here are the projects the core cast of Community has participated in since the show ended in 2015.
Joel Mchale: Jeff Winger
On Community, Joel Mchale played the sleazy yet brilliant lawyer Jeff Winger, who was disbarred because he had faked his law degrees. Jeff attended Greendale Community College to obtain a degree to continue practicing law, but Jeff ended up becoming a teacher. Along the way, he formed a Spanish class study group and became the figurehead of a small family of misfits. Joel Mchale entered Community already having made a name for himself with his work hosting and producing The Soup. After Community ended, Joel Mchale guest-starred in many TV shows, including Comedy Bang! Bang! Mystery Science Theatre 3000, The Twilight Zone, and Love, Death & Robots. He also has guest-starred on several reality television shows like Rupaul’s Drag Race, The Masked Singer, and Game On! In addition, he produced and hosted the shows Card Sharks and Crime Scene Kitchen. Joel Mchale has appeared in at least nine movies since Community ended, most recently in the film Queenpins released in 2021.
Gillian Jacobs: Britta Perry
Britta Perry was a rebellious high school dropout who attended Greendale Community College as a psychology major, Britta drastically changed over the seasons. She often tried to control or judge other members of the study group, despite her own life being a mess. Since Community ended, Gillian Jacobs has starred in numerous movies, wherein she has demonstrated her broad range as an actress. Gillian Jacobs has also voice acted in many well-known animated shows like Rick and Morty, Adventure Time, Star Trek: Lower Decks, and even voiced Harley Quinn in the Injustice animated movie. She has also starred in a plethora of live-action television roles, including her acclaimed performance as Micky Dobbs in the dramatic comedy show Love. Gillian Jacobs has also directed several short films, including Curated in 2018, the documentary More Than Robots in 2022, and acted and directed in a segment within the 2022 film Many Sides of Jane. Gillian Jacobs's movie prospects and skills have clearly evolved since Community.
Danny Pudi: Abed Nadir
Abed Nadir sees the world around him through the lens of television and movie tropes and references. Dan Harmon said he based Abed on his own struggles to socialize, and therefore Abed was often the source of Community’s best jokes and most creative plotlines. Danny Pudi has since appeared in around thirteen films since 2015, including blockbusters like Star Trek: Beyond and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Danny Pudi has also obtained recurring roles in several beloved television shows like Mythic Quest, DuckTales, Harvey Street Kids, and Mira, Royal Detective. In a theatre performance for the En Garde Arts series Uncommon Voices, Danny Pudi spoke about his cultural identity and struggles against racism in the entertainment industry. By performing in these projects, Danny Pudi has shown his comedic and acting prowess go far beyond Abed’s quirky self-aware references in Community.
Yvette Nicole Brown: Shirley Bennett
Shirley Bennett attended Greendale Community College to get a business degree and show her cheating ex-husband that her life didn’t end with their marriage. Throughout Community, Shirley shared her religion, her family life, and her struggles with the study group as they supported each other through difficult times. Since Community ended, Yvette Nicole Brown has appeared in many movies, including a cameo in Avengers: Endgame. She was in the main cast of television shows like The Odd Couple (2015), DC Super Hero Girls, Fairfax, and continues to star in the ongoing show Big Shot. She has also been a recurring guest on tv shows like The Talking Dead, Whose Line is it Anyway, and The Masked Singer. Though Yvette Nicole Brown didn't return for the final season of Community, her presence never left the show, and she has since built an impressive career for herself.
Alison Brie: Annie Edison
Annie Edison was an anxious overachiever who dropped out of high school after developing an addiction to Adderall. She then attended Greendale Community College, where she often kept the study group from failing their classes with her brilliant schemes and organizational skills. Since Community’s cancellation, Brie is most well known for her role voice acting Diane Nguyen in the Netflix show Bojack Horseman and for her two-time Golden Globe-nominated performance as Ruth Wilder in the Netflix series Glow. In 2015, Alison Brie also received an award at the Newport Beach film festival for her performance in No Stranger Than Love. The Scream 4 star Alison Brie has appeared in approximately twenty movies since 2015, including the Academy Award-nominated films The Post and Promising Young Woman.
Donald Glover: Troy Barnes
Troy Barnes was a football star in high school who transferred to Greendale Community College with little to no idea what to do with his life. He formed a close friendship with Abed and became the heart of the study group. When Donald Glover joined Community, he was well-known as a comedian, musician, and writer for 30 Rock. Glover left Community in season 5 to pursue other career opportunities. Since then, he created and co-starred in the award-winning dramatic series Atlanta. Donald Glover went on to appear in several blockbuster films, including The Martain, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and starred as Simba in The Lion King (2019) and Lando Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story. At one point there were even rumors Glover would play Spider-Man, though they never came to pass. Under Donald Glover’s musical moniker Childish Gambino, he has released two more albums since Community ended and has won five Grammys. He also wrote and released the iconic song “This is America,” which debuted at the top of the Hot 100 list. Donald Glover has taken the world of comedy, television, film, and music by storm- and there is no sign of him stopping any time soon.
Ken Jeong: Ben Chang
Ken Jeong played the unhinged Spanish teacher Ben Chang in Community. Ben was eventually fired and became an oddball mischief-maker who constantly harassed the students and staff at Greendale. At one point Chang even had a babu with Shirley. In 2015, Ken Jeong wrote and produced a sitcom revolving around his experiences as a doctor in the show Dr. Ken. Ken Jeong also appeared in several successful films, including Crazy Rich Asians, Avengers: Endgame, and Lady and the Tramp (2019). He also has numerous voice acting credits in animated shows like Bob’s Burgers, and animated films like Scoob! Recently, Ken Jeong has been hosting the popular reality competition show The Masked Singer. Having released comedy specials and appeared in many film and television projects since Community ended, Ken Jeong has made himself a household name to all audiences, not just those who have seen his performance as Ben Chang.
Jim Rash: Dean Pelton
While Community had many strange characters (like Magnitude), none were quite as peculiar as Dean Craig Pelton. Jim Rash played Dean Pelton, the leader of Greendale Community College, who was desperate for his school to be seen as a legitimate college. Sadly, Dean Pelton did not have the means or knowledge to actually make Greendale a high-quality school. However, he did have his favorite students, Jeff, Annie, Shirley, Troy, Abed, Pierce, and Britta, who he turned to whenever he needed help. Since Community's cancellation, Jim Rash has participated in many film and television projects as an actor, producer, writer, and director. He has worked on approximately dozens of television shows (like The Harley Quinn Show) and appeared in a variety of films (including Captain America: Civil War and Downhill) since 2015. Although Dean Pelton seemed inept at his job, in real life Jim Rash is quite esteemed at his job.
Chevy Chase: Pierce Hawthorne
Pierce Hawthorne appeared for four seasons as the wealthiest and most inappropriate member of the study group. Chevy Chase was the most well-known comedic actor to star in Community, given his experience on Saturday Night Live and his appearance in the Vacation movies. Chevy Chase left Community after season 4 after several heated arguments between himself and other cast and crew members (including Dan Harmon). After Community, Chevy Chase went on to star in several movies, including another Clark Griswold performance in Vacation (2015). He also appeared in several shows, including Hot in Cleveland, Wishin’ and Hopin’, and starred in his self-titled pilot Chevy.
While Community creator Dan Harmon has Rick and Morty, and Community executive producers Anthony and Joe Russo have the success of Avengers: Endgame, the Community cast consistently pops up in all forms of media (especially as actors in the MCU). From Academy Award-Winning movies to influential Golden Globe-winning television series, the cast of Community showed they had more to offer the world than just the characters they portrayed in Dan Harmon’s iconic sitcom. If audiences are lucky, the former Community cast members will continue to reinvent pop culture in various projects, and someday they may even return to Greendale Community College to film the long-awaited Community movie.