Jack Black had a cameo appearance in Community season 1, and to the actor, it served as a reunion of sorts. The NBC comedy from Dan Harmon debuted in September 2009. Though the series never broke ratings records, it found its footing, which resulted in an avid fan following. Despite the potential to become an anchor series on the network, NBC canceled Community after season 5. It then moved to Yahoo! Screen for a sixth and final season. Across those 110 total episodes, Harmon’s comedy featured a host of well-known actors and celebrities. Black, however, had a special connection to the Community creator.
Black appeared as Buddy Austin in the Community season 1 episode titled “Investigative Journalism." As a fellow student at Greendale Community College, Buddy tried to force his way into the study group that consisted of Jeff (Joel McHale), Annie (Alison Brie), Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown), Pierce (Chevy Chase), Troy (Donald Glover), Abed (Danny Pudi), and Britta (Gillian Jacobs). After making a terrible first impression, Buddy tried everything to win them over. The group voted against his inclusion until Jeff convinced them that Buddy’s presence would do no real harm. In the end, Buddy accepted an invitation to join another study group, claiming that Jeff and his crew were always the backup plan.
To play off of Black’s classic form of comedy, the episode featured the actor singing a song about Britta's “derrière” and a stunt that made his pants fall to his ankles. When the actor appeared in the 2010 episode, he had already reached a high level of notoriety for his work in High Fidelity, Shallow Hal, School of Rock, Nacho Libre, and Tropic Thunder. While Community made an effort to feature major guest stars, Black was one of the few who had a history with Harmon. Their continued friendship was what presumably led Black to cameo on Community.
Jack Black Has A Long History Working With Dan Harmon
Over a decade before Community debuted, Harmon tried his hand at another TV series titled Heat Vision and Jack. Fox originally ordered the comedy sci-fi series, but the network didn’t move forward with the project. It would have followed Black as Jack Austin, a former astronaut exposed to solar energy, resulting in superintelligence. Since the series never came to be, Harmon invited Black to appear on his first major TV series.
Black’s Community character's last name was clearly a nod to his role in Heat Vision and Jack. More importantly, Harmon got the entire band back together with a brief cameo by Black’s former co-star, Owen Wilson. The actor, who played Heat Vision, a talking motorcycle in the failed sci-fi series, briefly appeared at the end of “Investigative Journalism” as the leader of the group that Buddy was eventually invited to join. Black and Harmon also previously worked together on Computerman, Acceptable.TV, Great Minds with Dan Harmon, and Kung Fu Panda. It won't be surprising if the two men reunite with Wilson to collaborate on yet another project in the future.