HOW BAD WAS THE COMMUNITY / CHEVY CHASE EXPERIENCE?

[@AKABoondock19]

If Chevy had just embraced this show and his role, I feel it could have been a career renaissance for him. His character and performance was so fucking good on the show. I can only imagine how good it would have been if he as committed.

[@Antagon1s]

I dont think it would have been better, like with horror movies atleast it gets better when theres low budget restraints, if you have too much available it's easy to pile on and be extra, so with the character Pierce, I think it was so good because of Chevy's attitude, he comes of as an arrogant old man who doesnt really want to be there, and that made the character Pierce, he's perfect for the role.

[@dontron810]

He would make a comeback like Danny DeVito

[@ninjanibba4259]

@@dontron810 difference is, Frank is a likeable character and Danny bleeds into his performance

[@nba_fan7214]

Joel's spot on when he says it could have been an Alec Baldwin type renaissance for him. But he was such an a-hole that no one wanted to work with him after Community

[@Player-xm2mg]

Embrace his role in being the racist grandfather dan wants him to be. Both him and Dan wrecked community. If you watch community other characters where developing while chase wasn't. Chevy on the other hand should have handle the situation better because he's been in the industry longer.

[@putinmahcochin1636]

If Chevy had embraced the role like DeVito has Frank, that shit coulda been a hell of a magnum opus to such a loved comedian. Sad he let hubris and narcissistic tendency get in the way.

[@GeneralIzod355ml]

Danny got called in to save the show and he did Chevy was never as important to the show and he knew it his roll also was the old pathetic guy while Frank is a monster

[@frenchtoast2319]

Community is a shit show.

[@GeneralIzod355ml]

@@frenchtoast2319 it’s a great shit show , better than regular shows

[@frenchtoast2319]

@@GeneralIzod355ml lol wrong. I’d rather watch golden girls and I hated golden girls

[@GeneralIzod355ml]

@@frenchtoast2319 what’s a good show to you?

[@pdonettes]

“It wasn’t like that, except for one episode.” Describes Community in a nutshell.

[@Yakushii]

Yeah, I remember that documentary episode. Joel played Jeff who played Abed's dad but didn't want to be Abed's dad which worked for Abed because that's what Abed's dad really was like.

[@shaneleaman8916]

@@Yakushii They also did a Ken Burns spoof, the Pillowtown vs Blanketsburg war episode.

[@Holygiant]

@@shaneleaman8916 there are at least four documentary episodes lol, there's also the one about Pierce's bequeathings and the Dean's commercial

[@original_eethan]

@@Holygiant I'm pretty sure he was referring to the episode that was just completely a documentary about Abed's pillow fort VS Troy's blanket fort. The episode was shot in documentary style to save both time and money (a lot of photos instead of video), according to Dan Harmon, who was always behind schedule. Genius.

[@AVP2Ftw]

@@original_eethan The documentary style episode is the one where Pierce is in the hospital. Abed even mentions a line about how easy documentaries are to make.

[@yodizzll]

I maintain that the first 3 seasons of community are the best in sitcom history. And chase was a big part of that. To echo what everyone else is saying: if only he had really embraced the role… that show could have been something truly special.

[@kenzacharyrodriguez2591]

in a sense he embraced it so much, he became pierce in real life lol.

[@minarik01]

I agree. the first 3 seasons are perfect

[@AllergicFungus]

Definitely not the best. There are many great ones out there. Have you ever seen Scrubs?

[@aaronmontgomery6977]

@@AllergicFungus community is funnier

[@titanayrum]

Agree 100%, after the Gas Leak year, Community found itself with their characters becoming mature to the nature of the show, and it was amazing. The new characters really imapcted well the show. but Seasons 1-3 was just lightining in a bottle

[@smnoy23]

Chevy Chase’s famously difficult personality and Dan Harmon’s known perfectionism were never going to mix well, but at least we got three seasons of Pierce nonetheless. Despite it all he turned in a hell of a performance.

[@stackhat8624]

But if you remember Chase left the show during season 4 when Harmon wasn't there. One of Chase's frustrations was that he liked the writing in season 4 even less than seasons 1-3 and of course thats because Harmon wasn't there. If Harmon never got fired for season 4 then Chevy might have still been there until season 6. Of course Harmon got fired for getting everyone to chant "fuck you, Chevy" at the season 3 wrap party and then publicly playing Chase voice messages

[@gho5trun3r68]

@@stackhat8624 And also heavy drinking on set, creative clashes with the network, and most notably, an admitted incident of sexual harassment against a female writer on the show, Megan Ganz

[@AlmostReady504]

Community was the perfect vehicle for Chevy Chase at this point in his career. He should have been grateful

[@dan_hitchman007]

He seemed like too much of a horse's ass to be humble.

[@MegaSilverBlood]

Yeah and he played Pierce perfectly, but he seemed to resemble Pierce too much in the sense that apparently, part of the problem was that he didnt get the humor of the show, and he didnt like to play the grumpy old dude that didnt quite understood the younger generation

[@TitoTimTravels]

He was lucky to have work at that point. I think that he knew that, and it pissed him off.

[@Karynthian]

Your career isn't everything. If I'm in my 70s and after signing a contract I end up realizing that I'm spending literally 90% of all daylight in my life doing something I'm not super into doing, I'd feel like I'm wasting my life and that's an understandable reason for someone to lash out at people and be a grumpy asshole.

[@dan_hitchman007]

@@Karynthian If he was that unhappy with the TV job, he has plenty of money to quit and have his character written out. No need to lash out. However, Chevy has come across as not a decent person in many instances. He's often selfish and conceited on set and off (sounds like he has some deep seated racial prejudices too). If he's having a bad life, others must suffer as well. I've run across miserable souls like that. It isn't pleasant.

[@DoinItforNewCommTech]

Joel mentions Alec Baldwin, but I always think about Danny DeVito in relation to Chevy. Danny DeVito hadn't been in anything remotely successful since the early 90s, and was all but retired. Then he gets cast in It's Always Sunny and suddenly he's a household name again. Probably also helps that Danny is one of the nicest people in Hollywood, but Chevy could've been a star again. Instead, he fell into the same pattern he'd always fallen into, and was just an asshole to people who tried to give him a chance.

[@descendintostanarchy]

I wonder if Chevy was always like that though. Being the mega star he was in the 80s, he probably got away with it. But then it comes to the Naughts and he's not big anymore, but he acts the same. The difference this time is less people care if a semi washed up star from the 80s is a racist prick and just remove him from the show.

[@DoinItforNewCommTech]

@@descendintostanarchy By all accounts, Chevy has always been like that

[@squiddyft.insecurities3549]

community was never gonna be successful as sunny

[@max36047]

That's simply not true about DeVito. He literally never stopped working as both an actor and a director. Sure he wasn't the unlikely movie star he had been in the 80s, but he was still a big name who routinely popped up in movies and tv shows as well as being a director and producer. DeVito was brought into Sunny, because the ratings of the first season were poor, but the network liked the show. It's much closer to the truth to say that DeVito saved the show by bringing in enough attention to how good of a show it was while also being able to fit in with what the show was doing and not overpower it with his presence.

[@sceneitallwithjeffandjon6984]

@@max36047 And Devito has been a voice actor for a long time.

[@scatterthewinds3126]

I just can't believe McHale is almost 50. I thought he was 30.

[@havfunonline]

I mean Abed and Troy accuse him of being 40 in season 1…

[@hollykm]

a DILF

[@wireboar7321]

Yeah, he was a little bit over thirty in the first season iirc, damn, that guy knows how to take care of himself

[@FreePalestineFromGenocideNOW]

I remember him as being in his 30s back in Spiderman 2

[@wireboar7321]

@@FreePalestineFromGenocideNOW damn, you won't tell just by looking at him

[@viscousgoo2021]

*I will never stop missing "The Soup" with Joel* . Used to be one of my favorite shows.

[@marleneg7794]

Old school.

[@benbelzer8303]

Great show, funny! Cast member dancing around dressed up as a maxy pad making fun of The Hills.

[@dchaosmusic]

Yea Joel was funny on "The Soup" but we all know who we care about Audience: BRUUUUNOOOOO

[@Hippidippimahm]

@@benbelzer8303 it’s MANKINI!!! 😂

[@jcapps5050]

He is tac sharp

[@an_oracle]

Tbh hearing the hours they worked on Community I can't blame him for being pissy about it, though my sympathy is more with Shirley who literally felt like she wasn't able to be there for her family with the hours. I can't blame her for wanting to leave

[@user46346bdtgry]

yeah to be fair to chevy chase, working 16 hours a day, every day, is insane. ridiculous that were asked to do that. in my country it’s illegal to work over 48hrs a week

[@xyPERSON]

The other cast members had to work just as long and hard as Chevy did but you don't see them behaving like douchebags. Chevy Chase is the way he is because he chooses to be that way period. People like him who have that kind of attitude easily burn bridges and make enemies in show business.

[@an_oracle]

@@xyPERSON it's possible. I don't know enough about the guy. I do know a lot about Dan Harmon and how he can be a bit of a Kubrick about things, and they even say in behind the scenes that the hours were grueling. I just know personally I probably wouldn't be able to cut it so part of me wants to give him some slack. Then again you could be right so whatev

[@ryancrosby5]

@@user46346bdtgry where is this magical place?

[@Skeletomania]

@@xyPERSON his personality aside, chevy chase is in his 70s. It's hard for someone his age to keep up with someone younger

[@AKABoondock19]

Chase had a history of leaving set early before all of his scenes were completed. For this reason, he and Harmon had a bit of a rocky working relationship. During the production of Community season 3, prior to Harmon's exit, Chase refused to do a key scene during the episode, "Digital Estate Planning." The episode, as fans will remember, transformed the cast into 8-bit video game characters, and there was supposed to be a touching scene between Pierce and Abed stemming from Pierce's father. Chase refused to do the scene, believing it wasn't funny and he walked off the set. It was the last day of shooting and the sets were being taken down so this was the only opportunity to film in the scene. Harmon was very upset about scrapping the scene and the way Chase reacted to the situation.

[@itztezcaproductions6131]

@@michaelcieply9363 I can't find the scene, could you hand it over please?

[@itztezcaproductions6131]

@@Antonio_-rg6fb Thanks my friend

[@sandrobot809]

did you just paste the wiki

[@flamendless]

Nice copy paste from the net

[@IkeRetsam]

@@flamendless Who cares?

[@juanpabloortiz1547]

His "missing kids growing up because I'm here" really hit me

[@MrWiggnuts]

No one is forcing him to be an actor

[@LittleRedWhine]

@@MrWiggnuts That’s such a silly response, its a valid thing most of us will face with any job and your allowed to comment on it and people need jobs man

[@MrWiggnuts]

@@LittleRedWhine no one wants to hear it. Like you said most people deal with it so why would anyone want to hear someone else crying about it. Single parent with kids , two jobs, and barely paying bills... sure I feel for that. But this guy making good money and making dumb jokes.

[@KrisWinnie91]

@@MrWiggnuts that’s not the point. Joel and the rest of the cast were putting in crazy hours to film the show. They knew they were making television was very beloved by many, and it meant a lot to them to keep making it. Except for Chevy, clearly. Which is Joel probably called him out like that. They could all be home doing whatever, instead they’re there on set putting in those long hours.

[@MrWiggnuts]

@@KrisWinnie91 so it's the show or kids. He made his choice. Live with it

[@danielpenrodii2389]

It didn’t help that Dan Harmon had an inflated ego as well and chose to punch back at Chevy through childish ways. At that point, it was just a feud that they couldn’t fix.

[@redhood9962]

Dan Harmon is not innocent at all. Don't get me wrong i'm not defending Chevy here but instead of handling this situation like an actual professional, Dan just kept teasing at Chevy.

[@kavalogue]

Ayyyyy exactly. I'm sick of hearing Chevy Chevy Chevy. Let's talk about Harmon's bullshit

[@slushpuppie19]

@@kavalogue I mean the main difference is, when Harmon left, the cast were bummed out and all wanted him back, and fought to get him back. When Chase left... they waved goodbye lol

[@kavalogue]

@@slushpuppie19 I mean, the main difference is they looked at harmon knowing he could ruin the whole show if they went too far. They looked at Chevy like a fellow cast member. Thats why

[@slushpuppie19]

@@kavalogue I feel like maybe they respected Harmon's creative genius though, and made allowances for it because it came from a better place, like just wanting his vision to be actualised, wanting the show to be perfect. Chevy Chase just wanted to be the star, get the best lines, top billing, and go home early. Harmon might have been hard to work with but in a different way entirely.

[@DropTheMike53]

McHale is one of the nicest people I’ve met. Met him at FanExpo Chicago last month and he was super nice. Treated a meet and greet like an interview since he was trying to plug his new shows. I was like “you don’t need to tell me of your new show since I’m here for you”.

[@TheKitchenerLeslie]

Chevy is older and has bad back problems going back to injuries from SNL. He was addicted to painkillers because of that. Always Sunny shoots around DeVito's schedule. They shoot all his scenes within a week or two and the rest is filled in by the rest of the cast. Half of their job is maintaining continuity (wardrobe and props) to make it look like De Vito is always there... but he's already been gone for months by the time they're finished.

[@Keesha_Hardy]

Interesting

[@chedderburg]

Yeah, I don’t like When someone says stuff like “I’m missing my children growing up for this” like that’s anyone else’s fault or probably than yours. Also Chevy missed a lot when working on SNL he did his time. He does seem difficult to work with so don’t work with him, which I guess is where they landed.

[@bigred8432]

He said that in reference to someone else who was demanding a shorter work day. And in jest

[@Skank_and_Gutterboy]

@@chedderburg The fact is, Hollywood is full of big egos, creeps that get handsy with the girls, drug addicts, and serial sexual harassers. I'm a bit cynical about all the "Chevy Chase is the king asshole" stuff. That gets said all over the place but nobody ever has specifics. He probably is an asshole, most Hollywood types are, I'm just cynical of the degree to which he is. Even when Jane Curtin was doing a rare tell-all of why she hated Chevy during SNL, her stories were tame, I came away with, "Is that all you got?" He made a crack once about how you belong in a kitchen instead of a movie set, so? Jane and everybody else was putting more coke up their nose than food in their mouth, so it's not like their credibility is worth a crap. Until somebody can provide some specifics, it just comes off like a myth that has grown legs, like Richard Gere getting a gerbil extracted from his ass and the group KISS stands for Knights In Satan's Service. Dude's been in Hollywood for 50 years, give me something I can use. People just knee-jerk say that Chase is a jerk just like people who have never listened to Nickelback proclaim that Nickelback sucks because it gets said all over the place.

[@rabbitman8535]

​@@chedderburghe shouldnt have taken the job, or continued with the job if he coulsnt handle the time. Yvette quit after season 5 because she couldnt work her personal life with the schedual. He didnt have to continue with the show if he didnt like the script, schedual and dan

[@Antonio_-rg6fb]

I feel like Joel is tired of being asked about Chevy is not like he’s going to add anything new to conversation.

[@ajet0452]

He definitely doesn't want to talk about it anymore. Everything he's in an interview about community it gets brought up and he looks exhausted whenever they ask him the same fucking questions over and over.

[@purehyperbole5727]

He looks fine about it.

[@Lurklen]

It is kinda funny how he's become like the chronicler of Chevy's time on the show.

[@Cee2k]

he was the closest to him though and you can't not ask about Chevy Chase because HE'S CHEVY CHASE!

[@MinecraftMasterNo1]

If he doesn't want to be asked about Chevy then maybe he shouldn't be playing Chevy in a movie? just a thought lmao

[@emeraldcelestial1058]

Joel is just being respectful to Chevy and also to the community actors that Chevy himself 100% pissed off and he handles it all like a champ.

[@yogurtpimp]

That joel pissed off or chevy pissed off?

[@emeraldcelestial1058]

@@yogurtpimp What do you think?

[@n00bmastr69]

@@emeraldcelestial1058 Your sentence made it sound like he 100% pissed off the community actors

[@yogurtpimp]

@@emeraldcelestial1058 If I knew, I wouldn't be asking. Others might understand what you wrote, but your sentence structure confuses me.

[@emeraldcelestial1058]

@@yogurtpimp Ok dude, fixed, happy?

[@DiabloSandwich59]

The biggest mystery to me is how Allison and Gillian in particular feel about him

[@TylerWilsonKokiri]

I'm more intrigued by how Donald Glover and Danny Pudi felt about it, considering the racist implications

[@kingpleb6914]

@@TylerWilsonKokiri Donald Was a lot more vocal about the situation after he left the show, the others were tight lipped about it, Donald even said he felt like Chevy Chase was insecure with how his career fell from when he was at his peak in the 70s/80s, pretty harsh stuff but deserved IMO

[@sikufox]

@@kingpleb6914 harsh...or accurate?!!

[@Jonathonson]

@@kingpleb6914 the way he said it was a lot nicer, but yeah. Harsh as fuck.

[@tylercastaneda3527]

@@TylerWilsonKokiri because of the Implication

[@wvu05]

Two things can be true at the same time. Yes, Chevy was difficult to work with, but Dan Harmon made it worse by doing things like naming Pierce's father Cornelius: Chevy's real name. Once that happens, it seems line things got a lot worse.

[@darrenfleming7901]

as far as I can tell this whole thing is just Hollywood people having big egos, which should not be shocking to anyone.

[@Strobobel]

Youre both correct

[@Rebecca-asdf]

@PetsayMalunggay yeah but like ur fueling the fire that’s also burning u. i’m sure if the lines were making fun of him but he was actually real irl people would have stood up for him bc generally most ppl don’t like when “innocent/nice” people are “bullied”. but it sounds like he was not that great of a person irl and so sadly most ppl probably just let it slide bc they thought he got what he deserved. had he stopped acting up, maybe the lines wouldn’t have reflected the bts tension.

[@CharlieNoodles]

I don’t think you lot comprehend just how much of a colossal bastard Chevy actually is. He may have been a massive comedy star from SNL and his movies, but he’s also one of the most hated men in entertainment. And for good reason. He has a long, LONG history of harassment and abusing his co-stars. He’s a sexist, racist, homophobic bully and nobody wants to work with him anymore.

[@wvu05]

@@Rebecca-asdf Does any of that make Dan Harmon less of a jerk for airing dirty laundry? The boss is supposed to rise above stuff like that instead of needle a subordinate more and more.

[@socialismo52]

I feel like there's a version here where Harmon was also a big problem too. He probably doesn't get mentioned because he's killing it right now, but some of the stuff Harmon was doing sounds a little irresponsible from a leadership perspective. Chase was more seasoned and more frustrated by it. Harmon is a genius, but even he's open about how destructive his narcissism can be.

[@whodatninja439]

making community clealy wasnt a good fit for him. he shouldve just been a writer, producer but not in charge of the whole thing. community became less about the characters and more about him and his insecurities, an outlet for him to vent. in the commentaries, season 3 specifically, harmon constantly complains that his stories arent good enough and that he was behind schedule, working overtime and overbudget, and while he's hungover from drinking, and mocking chevy of course. And then he still threw a big hissyfit after he was rightfully fired. And mocked the season 4 episodes as they aired on twitter, to the annoyance of his former writers who were still working hard on the show (like megan ganz who he sexually harrassed) Season 4 isn't even that bad. it's clearly underrated. Season 3 was a shitshow to make, and it shows, like Chevy disappearing and a lower budget, but still it has some diamonds in the rough.

[@__vha]

From what I’ve come to understand over the years it seems like Harmon often brought his personal issues into his professional life. Combined with his self admitted alcoholism it just lead to tense situations all around. There’s no doubt that he’s an amazing creative but he also has an ego just like Chevy and both their egos clashed.

[@DyslecticAttack]

And you know who is the biggest spokesman of that version? Harmon (after he had time to cool off at least). He's said again and again that Chevy and him didn't align creatively, and that their flaws spiralled into eachother. Harmon is terrible at timekeeping and deadlines, while Chevy has always been ascribed as a bit of a diva who doesn't like to be kept waiting. So Chevy is impatient because he wants to do his thing and get it over with, and Dan is always taking longer because he wants to tinker with the ideas a bit more. Add that one is living his dream (got his own show to run where he can do any idea he has), while the other is retirement age after a career that dwindled towards the end. Add that they're both prone to being insensitive and selfish. Add that they're both stressed due to different things. Add that Harmon writes Pierce crudely and that Chevy doesn't quite get the humor and mainly sees the flaws his character has. Add that Dan in retribution of Chevy complaining would add more flaws to Pierce, and if he could help it flaws he saw in Chevy. They just really didn't fit.

[@MattGrossChannel]

I remember being at Los Angeles City College, when they were filming "Community". Chevy stormed across the set screaming like a madman. It was very jarring to witness.

[@hoboringmaster8029]

Now i know my first stop when i visit LA !!!!!!!!!

[@nickv1212]

@@hoboringmaster8029 This person sight sees.

[@PaperclipClips]

Huh, I used to go to LACC! 😲 How long ago was this?

[@MattGrossChannel]

@@PaperclipClips It was one year before the death of Cory Monteith, if I'm not mistaken 2012.

[@PaperclipClips]

@@MattGrossChannel Oh, okay. I had already left the school by then. Thanks for the info!

[@cameronhodgetts920]

Bear in mind, when Joel says "he hated the hours", what this means is that Dan Harmon was such a perfectionist that he would keep everyone for hours after they were supposed to wrap, well into the night, trying to get every scene just right. Now obviously, Joel talked about missing his kids growing up, which isn't fair to him, but as a young and relatively unknown actor, he was probably more willing to put up with stuff like that. But for a veteran actor and old man like Chevy, who probably signed on just to keep himself active and have a bit of fun, you don't want to be filming until midnight, and then turning around and starting at 6 am the next day. Can you imagine what those kinds of working hours would do to a 66 year old man? Chevy was at retirement age, and he was being worked for upwards of 70 hours a week. No wonder he wasn't happy. The real villain of Community wasn't any one of the actors or writers. It was mental illness. Dan Harmon's depression and anxiety tortured him, which led to an environment where everyone was miserable.

[@cameronhodgetts920]

@@michaelcieply9363 which probably made Chevy a lot happier. But Joel still missed his kids growing up. I believe all productions should have some kind of welfare officer or HR in place to ensure that the actors' best interests are kept in mind. Working those guys for 15-18 hours a day all week long isn't fair practice. There are other examples of how actors get treated awfully while working on projects, but with specific regard to Community, the show runners demanded far too much of everybody. And it clearly made them all miserable.

[@Parialated]

Then going for a animation show was a wise decision

[@cameronhodgetts920]

@@Parialated yeah, Harmon always says that Rick and Morty has freed his mind in many ways

[@Skeletal33]

They averaged 70-80 hrs per week shooting

[@cameronhodgetts920]

@@Skeletal33 70-80 hours a week divided by a 5 day work week is 14-16 hours a day. Most people work half that amount. Old people definitely don't work that amount.

[@benparrish672]

Joel McHale as Booster Gold in a solo movie would be a great movie

[@wyatthastings6400]

I'm sorry. Did you find that in the book of good ideas?? Cause that would be dope asf

[@seanluyanda6382]

@@wyatthastings6400 riiiight ..almost as good as the Ryan Reynolds Deadpool casting

[@lucasfortes7705]

I'd watch that.

[@a7xfreak6741]

That would be amazing

[@redhood9962]

Wow that's really spot on 👌👌👌

[@StandAsYouAre]

To me the way the cast have gone about Chevy publicly has been pretty classy and factual. They could have all said absolutely worse things, but that didn’t. And that deserves credit. And it takes someone who is confident in themselves to do that. To see that human are flawed, and what is the point of twisting the knife on someone you never see anymore. There are other shows where stars absolutely crap over each other and it changes the way you watch a show after that.

[@outtrigger]

it also makes you realize chevy wasnt that bad, or they would have all dragged him

[@mrcritical6751]

Only one who seems to have dragged him is Donald and all he’s done is just being up that Chase said he thought people only found Donald funny because of his skin tone

[@livingcheese2910]

@@mrcritical6751 To be fair, it's hard to blame Donald Glover after such a comment. At one side, Chevy comes from an older generation with a different world view (that thankfully changed over time), which you have to respectfully understand. But at the other side it's also a hard question to which point you can tolerate it. And that he seemed a bit self-centered or stoic on set didn't help.

[@mrcritical6751]

@@livingcheese2910 he had a whole “I’m the star here and you’re not” mentality just cause he was an A-lister back in the 80’s. I once heard a story where a bunch of teens knocked into Chevy’s car and he had a whole “DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!?!” Meltdown, dude was not ready for his star to fade

[@motodog242]

Aside from like Glee, haven’t heard of another show where the other actors drag their co-workers name through mud. It was kind of obvious that Lea Michelle was an unlikable person, since her character on the show was just as unlikable.

[@LakerGold24-8]

"To Pierce. May he rest in Pierce." -Shirley Bennett (drunk Shirley Bennett)

[@fineblanket]

The thing is, you're asking the opinion of the guy who would be the least affected by Chevy. So, if he said it was bad, assume it was wayyyy fucking worse.

[@runthejudes]

Damn you’re right

[@TheEpsilonExpirement]

Yeah, as the straight white guy in a friend group with a Pierce-type that eventually had to be cut loose, I don’t have even close to an idea of the full extent of how difficult it was for some of my friends

[@serena6418]

@Your unfriendly Neighborhood Demon how is that guilt. they're literally just saying that they didn't experience any form of bigotry? it's their own observation of their life

[@AdamsRocksHurt]

@Your unfriendly Neighborhood Demon the shit personality is oozing out of your comment

[@KungFuHustling]

That's a really good point

[@Mokkari77]

Quentin Tarantino on Joe Rogan's show said he preferred Chevy movies to Bill Murray because while Murray's characters start out as jerks and become better people by the end, Chevy is always a jerk and never changes!

[@stefan1024]

I like Bill Murray more because I'm a big old softy, but I agree with Cevy's special quality you describe here. He's also a very relatable jerk.

[@redsands1001]

Bill Murray has stories of having been a nightmare to work with and other times delightful. Really dependent on what version of Bill Murray he wants to be and how long he's in a movie.

[@radicalthinking5651]

@@redsands1001 to my understanding he starts movies out in a great mood and veing really sweet, and the longer it goes on the angrier and angrier and harder to be around he gets. That's why groundhogs day was shot in reverse because he was in a better mood when they started then in a real shit mood when they ended

[@Mokkari77]

@hopeless I was talking about what Tarantino said not Rogan.

[@pCeLobster]

I've never felt that either of them conveyed very much beyond their lines tbh. There's never much of what you'd call a character there. Bill Murray always seems like he's just Bill Murray saying lines. Someone was like say it more nicey nice because your character has had a change of heart, so he added kind of a saccharine niceness to his tone for a few scenes. Chevy was even lower effort really, although his basic delivery was funnier to me. I especially don't get the modern day adoration of Bill Murray, as if he's this unassailable paragon of coolness. He was in some decent movies and has some funny lines but he's not exactly an electrifying once in a lifetime performer. I get that he's "dry" but to me he seems more dull than dry.

[@BCBaron]

Well, I guess a lot of credit should go to the directors, writers, and all the other people behind the scenes of Community for being able to extract such a good performance out of Chevy Chase despite all of the personal issues and challenges involved.

[@shmavster4209]

I mean just cuz he’s a piece of shit doesn’t mean he’s a bad actor or unfunny, he’s good at his job but is overall a bad person

[@kentonkruger8333]

@@shmavster4209 Yeah I don't think "extract a good performance" is the right wording here, at least I hope that's not what the original commenter was going for. "Work around those issues to get a good final product" maybe.

[@recoil53]

Well Dan Harmon wanted to make Chevy his reclamation project. Also Chevy Chase is very talented. It's just that his personality gets in the way of his abilities. There is a reason Bill Murray is the beloved SNL member of the era and can get actual parts while Chevy does "Pandas vs Aliens".

[@NA-nz9lv]

that wouldn't be enough, he's definitely a good actor and nobody is doubting that, he's just an hassle to work with because of how self-centered he is.

[@gamble777888]

Chevy is one of the most talented comedic actors of all time. Period. I wouldn't give the showrunners or directors credit for "extracting" a good performance out of him. Chase could roll straight into set from a sleepless one week drugs and alcohol raging binge and give a good performance.

[@thepiratepenguin_]

The Danny DeVito comparisons are spot on. Everyone loves Frank and I've never heard anyone say a single negative thing about Danny. Chevy could have been on that same level, but since he seemingly burned every bridge with the cast and crew of Community I haven't seen him in a single show or movie.

[@bobbypinkston9374]

Chevy was phenomenal in community. It kills me that he hated being there because his timing and delivery was vital to so many episodes. Chevy was a dick, but Harmon chose to take the worst path with him and ruined potentially a season or two more of good pierce episodes.

[@ZinSockhyr]

Peirce left during s4 when he wastn even doing it. So 🤔

[@tmage23]

Community didn't shut down Yahoo's streaming service. Yahoo shut down Yahoo's streaming service. It was nearly unusable

[@DLSacks]

I remember attempting to watch Community on my computer via Yahoo Screen and it literally not working. I finally got it to work through a Roku device and it was like watching live TV because I couldn't pause or touch anything once I started or the whole app would crash. Season 6, however, is extremely good. Way, way better than it has any right to be.

[@hoboringmaster8029]

Yeah, even at work it was hard to watch. Too much buffering....

[@grape512]

@@DLSacks I thought I was the only one who couldn't pause or anything, lol. It was intense wondering if each episode would play all the way through (almost always did). Somehow I still had a positive opinion of that season. Finally watched season 6 episodes again this month and can appreciate them more.

[@Alex-wo2jk]

yeah....it was pretty bad. glad others remember it as well

[@mercedesmercado4231]

I stopped watching halfway through the last season because of it. It would randomly shut off in the middle of an episode and then restart at the beginning. It was a terrible service. Lol

[@UltraPoseidon]

Fun fact: Chevy Chase and Bill Murray got into an actual fist fight on the set of SNL when their egos were clashing so much.

[@dmartig1]

That was blown out of proportion. It was a shoving match where both guys conceded years later they were terrified of the idea of an actual fistfight.

[@Raumes513]

@@dmartig1 it’s weird to me that chevy or bill would be scared of Chevy or bill 🤣

[@dmartig1]

@@Raumes513 Bill Murray talked about it on Stern. They were separated by Brian-Doyle Murray who was about a foot shorter than those two guys. So they obviously wanted somebody to break it up

[@dan_hitchman007]

@@dmartig1 Both Bill and Chevy have reputations of being not so nice guys at various moments.

[@Noah1997callahan]

And then they became buddy’s again on Caddyshack

[@Smashtacular01]

McHale is a class act.

[@raspyswirly]

True, I've never heard him say anything bad about his Community castmates, especially Chase (that wasn't in jest)

[@MattyandtheMusic]

Seeing Joel playing Chevy Chase in A Futile and Stupid Gesture was amazing. Just perfect casting with superb execution. I think Joel had the best perspective on Chevy in order to play him- he had seen him at his best and worst and fully understood what sort of man Chevy was at heart. It was also just hilarious to see Joel’s Chevy doing coke with everyone.

[@mrpicky1868]

i just want to thank everyone involved in Community ... from writing to stage everyone was clearly giving it 100

[@dr.braxygilkeycruises1460]

It would be nice to hear from Joel McHale about things other than Chevy Chase. I'm sure he's tired of answering the same questions over and over again. In any case, *#SixSeasonsAndAMovie**!!!* #Community

[@mattqueen4140]

"I've never seen you talk about it" ...Good to know you literally did 0 research before this interview

[@spamwise249]

To be fair, the hours worked on Community do seem unreasonable by any other profession's standards. I don't know film and TV and maybe it was neccessary and agreed to, but the way these stories come off, that the cast were sat around waiting until the early and even late hours of the morning for the writers to finish writing scenes just feels wrong. The other actors seem to say it was fine but I also get why Chevy or anyone involved wouldn't be happy about it.

[@DillsyYourDaddy67]

That was mainly due to Dan Harmon. He would turn up late to set and not even have the script finished ready for filming. Dan would still be finishing the script whilst the crew and cast would be standing around waiting to start filming. Not to mention he'd drink a lot and fall asleep on set regularly. Chase didn't like this type of behavior and the way that Dan wrote his character, particularly the more racist stuff. On one occasion, Dan got heavily drunk and brutally insulted Chase in a drunken speech in front of the cast, crew and Chase's family.

[@pcbassoon3892]

No reason to call Donald Glover or Yvette Nicole Brown the N word though.

[@Profile__1]

​@@pcbassoon3892I had read that Chevy didn't call THEM the n word, and the context of him saying the word was different.

[@TjaVideos]

@@DillsyYourDaddy67 whaaat! where did you hear that from? i believe you dont get me wrong but this gives some points for Chevy why he was frustrated on set. drinking and sleeping while finishing the script WHILE the cast is waiting for him in front of him. man, i wouldve been pissed aswell.

[@TjaVideos]

@@pcbassoon3892 he didnt say it to them, i mean why would he? he wasnt angry at them.

[@Serenity113]

Not really surprised by this. I've always heard that Chevy Chase has a history as an arrogant prick to everyone he worked with ever since he was SNL. I googled it and apparently he's labeled as the Most Hated Member of SNL lol.

[@bogregz]

@hopeless doesn't even have to do with anything and people aren't saying that lmao

[@TheScreamingMime]

Harmon and Joel are also confirmed assholes. It's a bunch of professional narcissists, Chevy is just a more successful narcissist.

[@finn0729]

@@TheScreamingMime there's being an asshole and there's being impossible to work with

[@DrKlausTrophobie]

@@finn0729 If it where impossible, wouldn't it have hurt Community? Doesn't seem to me like that. My point: Use smaller words.

[@extrahachse3118]

@@TheScreamingMime Chevy was pretty washed up at this Point. Community revitalized his career. But even then, Chevy Really Seems to be a Special case of jackass. Just Reading the behind the scenes of his roast Shows how hated he was.

[@sunnygolightly9996]

I'm just gonna say it, Joel is the hottest 50-year-old I've ever seen.

[@tycrabapple9282]

Yeah damn he looks 35-40

[@sunnygolightly9996]

​@@tycrabapple9282 Working out crazy does keep men looking young. But I couldn't tell he was 38 when Community started airing anyway. So his face was helping, too.

[@og6702]

na, paul rudd

[@sunnygolightly9996]

@Breathe.AllWllbewell. He will only became the hulk again if we name the hottest 50-year-old someone else while he's on pills.

[@quanicle101]

have you seen lenny kravitz? dude is almost 60 and he has the abs of a 20-year-old bodybuilder

[@koopakinkreet]

To Chevy’s credit, I’ve heard a lot of people say the shooting hours on this show were mental. Actors continually surprised 12 hour days to shoot a 22 minute show

[@FooeyMcgooey]

It's no different than KZbinrs making a quality video

[@ryyan820]

@@FooeyMcgooey how the fuck does this correlate lmfao.

[@falcononpc9845]

@@FooeyMcgooey Not exactly. Even small-scale TV Shows have cast and crews much larger than any KZbin videos. I'm not discounting the fact that KZbin has spawned some real heavy-effort projects, but to compare the two would be silly.

[@stackhat8624]

@@FooeyMcgooey ummm, Community was a single camera sitcom which are VERY time intensive.

[@Satanhadapoint]

Idk what everyone’s talking about. Those are normal hours for movies and television. Hell, I even work 12 hours most days and I don’t get paid $10,000-$1mil a day (episode in this case)

[@BishopWalters12]

I grew up a huge Chevy fan but Chris Columbus who directed Home Alone was going to originally direct Christmas Vacation but he left the project and said Chevy was a nightmare to deal with. Chevy has a history of being an a@@@@@@.

[@mattmattix2598]

And what movie is better for having him in it?

[@Logan_Baron]

Oh yeah, there were problems with him in every single project he'd worked on going back to SNL. So it wasn't because he came off of movies and lowered himself to tv, instead of using it as a reinvention of his career. I'm still a fan of his work. He is a comedy genius. Though he has reached an age where he can not carry a movie anymore. There are no more Fletch's or even a starring role in another Vacation movie. He's a side character or cameo now. I would say most of the movies he did when he was younger were better for having him in them, though I'm not sure it would have been worth the problems of working with him.

[@saqlainalvi3333]

he has a history of being an aaaaaaa??

[@CommentPoster10]

He was also a huge dick to the director of Caddyshack 2. Chevy's been like this for decades. Harmon and co. should've known what they were getting into when they hired him.

[@WrecklessSith]

I like how you guys are talking about the host or "presenter" as in you all don't know that man. I'm not even going to tell you but he played the best Lex Luthor imo.

[@jonahpatterson7561]

Omg! Thank you! It was making me crazy how he looked familiar

[@batdog2183]

And the best Flash

[@jscan4442]

He also played the best transvestite in Sorority Boys.

[@lupin2589]

Oh my god I wondered what was bugging me about him! He really was the best Lex, and probably the best actor on the show

[@kylegibbard]

Hands down. Best Lex.

[@coolocelot]

I'm probably just young and black but I never saw anything with Chevy Chase in it other than Community and I thought like Eddie Murphy was the biggest comedy star of the 80s

[@bebop2523]

Chevy Chase was more 70s and early 80s before he was eclipsed by Eddie Murphy. They both got their big break on SNL. Chevy Chase was in the original cast from the 70s and Eddie Murphy saved the show from cancellation in the 80s before blowing up and becoming a huge movie star.

[@dan_hitchman007]

Eddie and Chevy were both meteoric for a time.

[@Kaddywompous]

Chevy was big but, you’re absolutely right. Eddie was indisputably the biggest comedy star of the 80s.

[@toniklocc]

Nah Eddie was bigger you’re right

[@christophervance1165]

Eddie is the best stand up, ever.

[@CourtlandSandoverSly]

Chevy doing 18 hour days at age 65 is kind of a drag, and it's mostly because Harmon is a mess. It wasn't like they *needed* to be there that long.

[@jjanglesandfriends]

“It wasn’t documentary style… except for 1 episode” is a great summation of Community

[@zachalderson5608]

I was so sad when he left. Some of the funniest, and my most favorite, moments were from Chevy. Sucks he had to be so difficult.

[@Noah1997callahan]

Agreed. He’s what drove me to like community, used to fry with laughter. Sucked he was such an asshole because he is a legend

[@mlgnerd13]

Petition to get Michael to play Pierce in the Community movie, if it ever gets made. That would be so funny, just play it off like nothing's different

[@shadowoftime01]

He could be an illegitimate son looking to get back at the school/surrogate son that destroyed the father he never knew. One of Pierce’s sperm wasn’t hyper virile after all! Let’s build out that story circle…

[@squattingheads]

@@shadowoftime01 could be a clone. Like Lex in the end

[@DanteYewToob]

Or reincarnation from his insane religion.. lol Then you find out it’s an illegitimate kid of him and eartha kitt… lmfao

[@araisikewai]

It's going to be a different dimension Pierce coming in through Rick and Morty portal.

[@vedantshah9480]

Michael?

[@hahayou6405]

Lmao I was thinking the presenter looks like Chevy before he said so himself

[@roddydykes7053]

He also looks like Opie

[@MegaDcmp]

Was thinking he looks like John Corbett

[@briangschneider9961]

he looks like Will Ferrell

[@twitchytril]

That's Michael Rosenbaum, Lex Luthor in the CW's Smallville.

[@momentsmeanmore]

Chevy Chase as Pierce Hawthorne was my favorite character!! I mean it's hard to pick favorites because I loved the cast as a whole but I feel like Chevy's character was the most misunderstood. I started to notice a lot of what my grandpa went through before he passed in Pierce and so I have more respect and understanding of older people struggling with the times we currently live in. Pierce did have some profound moments and I reflect on those nuggets of truth that he sprinkled into the series like what he said about "the people we love" in the earnoculars episode. Hell I still use "Streets Ahead" to describe something that's on the next level!! I love what Chevy brought to the show.

[@SonGojit456]

My Grandfather Wasn't This Retarded or Racist as Pierce.He was a Farmer and a Billionaire.

[@abdullayaser700]

@@SonGojit456 more like BASED

[@skyreach669]

The irony here is that Community is what brought Chevy back on the radar for me and a lot of other people.

[@thatoneguychad420]

Yeah and what's sad is, I thought he was brilliant in the early seasons. Really good.

[@SkullMan---]

Michael does actually kinda look like Chevy, would be interesting to see his take on the role!

[@janetbeatrice9505]

I'm not familiar with the host, but when the video first came on I wondered if that was Chevy Chase for a minute. He looks a lot like him!

[@damonhargett4284]

Well Joel actually played Chevy in a movie called a stupid and futile gesture on Netflix…it’s about national lampoon

[@dklutch6111]

@@damonhargett4284 mans clearly didn’t watch the video to the end lol

[@wordyballoons]

Now that you mention it, I can't unsee the resemblance!

[@joesephkroll2056]

I think he looks like Will Ferrell in a hat

[@snoopywriter3643]

I’ve read and heard that wherever Chevy goes to work he believes it to be “The Chevy Show”

[@adamellis6785]

Unlike “The Chevy Chase Show” which only lasted five weeks.

[@snoopywriter3643]

@@adamellis6785 He clashed with the star of the show. Lol

[@lanceturley7745]

@@snoopywriter3643 Well, no one hates Chevy Chase more than Chevy Chase.

[@daltonsteinkamp384]

It's weird how Joel plays such an asshole on the show, but he's such an honest and nice guy in real life.

[@fredericklockard3854]

The greatest comedy of all time IMO. Inventive, hilarious, and quick as hell.

[@jazminratzlaff5357]

Love Joel McHale, what a class act he is! Great actor, perfect timing and dry sarcasm in comedy. Very handsome as well. Could not have had better casting for Community, Chevy is definitely one of my top faves as Pierce Hawthorne.

[@Nathan-gd7xq]

This guy looks way more like Chevy Chase than Joel McHale. Will Forte also looks way more like Bill Murray than the guy who played Bill Murray in that movie.

[@joonpak]

Will Forte looks more like Bill Murray than whoever that guy was on Groundhog Day

[@ender003]

It took a surprising amount of digging to find out who the host even is. Nowhere in the description or comments did I see "Michael Rosenbaum".

[@KurosOverkill]

That movie ended up giving me some sympathy for Chevy, esp. after looking up the real details.. How many times has he asked himself "If I had stayed one more day, would Doug Kenny still be alive?", and what does that do to someone?

[@supersteve1585]

Joel played Chevy in a Netflix movie.

[@nrXic]

I suppose it's ultimately NBC's fault getting in the way of the original casting plan and Harmon's vision. They wanted star power but no one watched the show for Chevy.

[@Joe_Parmesan]

I specifically started watching the show because of him. Everyone else made me stay, but, I gave it a chance mainly because of Chevy Chase

[@nrXic]

@@Joe_Parmesan Yeah I should have worded it better because I too checked it out for Chevy alone (didn't know the rest of the cast) but I thought I was the only one. No community fan I've talked to also watched it for Chevy. That could be due to my age.

[@Scounger01]

i also started watching the show way back in the day because i saw Chase was in it but by the end of the first couple episodes the rest of the cast was more likeable, i know Pierce is supposed to be a kind of "lovable asshole" or like a sort of racist grandpa that more or less means well. but before long he just turns into an asshole and the first time i watched it, i felt like he was just doing a really good job of acting like an asshole and the more you watch it the more you realize he really isn't acting all that hard to do it

[@nrXic]

@@Scounger01 yeah there's always the "lovable asshole" that works and Chevy could have done it if he applied himself and his talent. Ironically the "lovable asshole" aspect was coming through in the very episode that he stormed off of because he thought a particular hug wouldn't be funny. But that was the point, it was meant to be endearing.

[@PaintAndPlayWithJay]

I think the best contrast to Chevy as an example is Danny DeVito on Always Sunny. He embraced the role, came in to the show as a fan and because he wanted to do it and then enjoyed every moment on set and became great friends with everyone. He was a big deal movie star in the 80s and 90s yet doesn't take himself too seriously to just have fun.

[@filthyfrank.5]

But they also shoot all of dannys scenes within weeks. Then the rest of the cast shoots for months. They work around his schedule

[@goodsoopjoey]

Pierce was absolutely my favorite character. I wish he could have known how much that character was adored at the time.

[@JackDManheim]

If you are a fan of Community you NEED to do yourself the favor and get hard copies of the first two seasons, or in any version available that includes the episode commentaries. The episode commentaries are brilliant for this show and those first two seasons specifically. The room was always packed with people eager to talk about a show that they were proud of. And you get to hear The Russos, Dan Harmon, Justin Lin and other behind -the-scenes bigwigs vent their frustrations from working with Chevy Chase on the small screen. Some of them pull this off subtly; Dan Harmon does not. Harmon is often very blunt about his thoughts. Probably moreso than he should have been.

[@persephoneblack888]

Chevy has a history of being like that, even from the early days of his career. He's just notoriously snobby and rude.

[@ramonafox8746]

Joel handled this amazingly. Anyone could have just cursed out Chevy but Joel was still really civil and mature about it.

[@jonathanhall3640]

It feels like my dad is asking the questions. He talks the same way about Chevy

[@TomGallagherSuperboyBeyond]

Community didn't shut down Yahoo's streaming service. They did that themselves. You can't sell a streaming service for a single tv show, even if it's as good as Community. Especially when the website itself ran like garbage, forcing a lot of Community fans to turn to piracy just because Yahoo's site was borderline unuseable.

[@clarkmichaels822]

Dan Harmon was definitely also part of the problem. I think Joel and the other main cast side with Dan because he was the showrunner and the head writer, but no way that the guy who sexually harassed one of his writers because he had a crush on her and uses the content he makes to deal with his issues wasn't also a hugely disruptive presence. Having Chevy Chase and Dan Harmon on the same set was asking for trouble.

[@ScorpionFlower95]

Harmon harassed a writer? Yikes Big big biiiig yikes

[@undeadman7676]

@@ScorpionFlower95 A shit ton of people are blowing this out of proportion as if 60-70% of what Dan Harmon did isn’t normal human interaction(normal / abnormal separated by the line). He had a crush on one of his employees. He professed his love. She rejected him. He stewed for a season. ----------- He hung the prospect of firing her over her for a few months while he continued to stew about the rejection. It’s definitely closer to a child’s temper tantrum than an adult should ever get, it’s definitely harmful behavior, but to call it actual abuse is disgusting. There is a WORLD of difference between what these idiots call “abuse” and what was actually an abuse of power. Nothing he did was illegal. Nothing he did SHOULD be illegal. It was probably right to fire him, but it was not this big scandal everybody’s making it out to be.

[@ScorpionFlower95]

@@undeadman7676 okay, how did he expressed that 'crush" ? Because the majority of the society, believes it is okay to express a crush by being downright inappropriate, creepy and rape-y

[@Lynchy626]

@@undeadman7676 He openly has admitted he acted like a total creep and was harassing her

[@kaydybala8913]

@undeadman7676 Sorry to break it to you , but that is the textbook definition of sexual harassment. Google it. If someone rejects you and you respond by retaliating in terms of working conditions that is illegal.

[@jjturner4424]

You’re never too big to be in any project, especially if it’s good.

[@ahsansiddiqui4263]

joel mcahle is such a sharp guy.

[@sebastianalegria3401]

i'm glad they invited Joe to talk about what it was like working with The Community's cast and especially, with Chevy Chase, who's not an easy-going guy to work on a set.

[@realhyrulesoverlord]

Joel McHale is still so underrated as an entertainer/actor. He's still yet to get that BIG break to put his face and name up there with the bigs.

[@dhammaboy1203]

I always find it fascinating when famous stars and musicians become shocked at realising nothing is permanent. I guess they weren’t paying attention to almost all of their peers who have the same story! A life long career like Bowie, The Beatles, Al Pacino, etc is even rare among the rare!

[@theplanetruth]

I loved Chevy in Community. He was old school Chevy. I loved the whole cast too.

[@Mockingbird-22]

Joel is much more down to earth than I would have expected. I like him even more now lol

[@philoctetes_wordsworth]

I was just wondering about Michael Rosenbaum the other day! Good deal. Glad to see and hear him again. Love Joel, too.🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗👍🏻💯👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻💋💐

[@dinewalton]

To be fair to Chevy, they said that Community would shoot for 16 to 20 hours a day. If i had to stay at work for 16 hours, i would get grumpy too

[@TruOnyxfire]

That's not being "fair", Chase knew the hours he would be asked to work before he ever started and accepted the job, anyway. Don't take the job if you don't want to be there or put in the hours expected.

[@kilocopter]

On Chevy chase Joel: I talk about it all the time Michael : I never heard u talk about it 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@darrenconrad5405]

These guys are so sincere arent they?

[@arunk-vc]

A lot of people miss Joel's inherent sarcasm 😂

[@michaellively8132]

Not unlike his Bob Odenkirk interview….Michael: “here’s something NOBODY knows - you wrote Farley’s Van Down By the River.” Odenkirk: “I’m pretty sure everybody knows that.”

[@marylizabetha]

The complaints about the long hours make me think of Bradley Walsh who played Graham O'Brien, companion to the 13th Doctor in Doctor Who. One of his reasons for leaving the show is that the long hours were hard on him because of his age.

[@rusianalf]

chevy was streets behind

[@JaguarNZ45]

I LOVE Joel McHale he's just frick'n rad, so dang good as Jeff, and loved THE SOUP!! bring it back!

[@jlkegl01]

Currently rewatching community a second time, and had no idea this stuff ever happened. Wow

[@komolhuq8752]

Funny enough, I couldn’t stand him the first time around watching community as a teenager. Now as an adult I see that without him playing the villain, the show would not be near as good. “I say things others won’t. That has value.” Perfectly describes him. And the fact that he would leave “early”. I’m pretty sure they mean leave before filming is done. But by normal standards he was leaving when a regular work day ends to have dinner at home. This is just the reality. 6 of the 7 were nameless faces looking to make a career, so they kinda just dealt with Harmons Shitty hours hoping the hard work would pay off. Chase was already a household name, a part producer for this show, and I think just having a laugh since I doubt he needs the money or expected any fame from a small sitcom. If we all take a moment to empathize with this old big shot, who just wanted to have some fun and then being told regularly by his 30 something year old “boss” that he needs to miss dinner with his family to do overtime regularly, just like everyone else, I’d laugh and walk out too. I’d inform Harmon(who’s work I love btw), “listen son, you got me all day to film whatever scenes you need and I’m back here in the morning if you realize you want to change or reshoot something. There is no reason I need to miss diner with my fam and my bedtime while I’m 70 years old. We are making tv, not working construction buddy. I know y’all bond and have crazy fun antics and riffing in the late hours like all casts and crews, and talk about those who’ve left for the day, but I don’t care. Im old, those years of staying up are behind me and Im working on show that I helped produce because I’m too old to be some directors bitch on his beck and call. Don’t like it? Take it up with the board which you work for and I’m on.” Even if chase never said it. That’s what he was communicating with his leaving without permission. He was communicating to Harmon that Harmon did not have the power to rule Chase and Harmon needed to figure out how to get his work done in the alotted time, not chase needing to stay late.

[@harrymills2770]

Ever hear the story about Fred McMurray on My Three Sons? As a movie star and star of the sitcom, THEY accommodated HIS schedule. He was only going to be there so many days and for so long each day, and they better by golly accommodate that or they weren't going to get him. I've been an actor and a performer in the pit orchestra for stage productions, and I can totally see how a person would get sick of all the wasted time. When you learn YOUR part and YOUR cues, you can get fed up by directors who either aren't organizing the thing properly, or members of the cast who don't have their shit together, so YOU have to pay the price with YOUR time. It takes more patience than I can muster. I'm just not that much of a team player. "Is there a way I can do my bit and go home?" "No! And you should be GRATEFUL, you little bastard!" Anyway. Not extremely experienced or anything like that. My main takeaway from that part of my life was that the musicians' job was typically much more demanding and much less appreciated than the job of the actors, who got all kinds of attention and all of the accolades. It was a major turn-off to the whole "theater experience" for me, and gave me a generally low opinion of actors in general. But I have a pretty wide "this is bullshit and I ain't takin' it" streak.

[@oakleyraverty1030]

The implication that only Chevy had a successful career is quite ignorant. Perhaps he was the most household name but that was simply in conceit of his age. I would argue only Danny Pudi was otherwise unknown with each of the other leads starring/running/writing for multiple well known shows

[@allthebanter9316]

Hey great idea, maybe next time my boss tells me “you aren’t keeping up with the quota, we need you to stay a few more hours so any of us can get paid” I can say that huh

[@ForeverShadowBanned]

@@allthebanter9316 If you grew a set of balls you could say that. You work the agreed amount of hours you took on when you started the job, anything extra is charity work and is completely your choice. The only person making you a slave is you.

[@allthebanter9316]

@@ForeverShadowBanned no, you work the agreed STANDARD of work, and when your fellow workers pay is also on the line, not just yours, you pull your foot out your arse instead of crying about it

[@o0Avalon0o]

I honestly can see why the long hours would be annoying to Chevy. The movie/ tv industry needs to finally have a technical renaissance & schedule people using software made for it. Too much time is wasted, for example, having high paid actors sitting 10hours in the cold waiting for their scene & it ending up not even being shot that day... It's ridiculous we're still doing it this way.

[@gamble777888]

Things can get dynamic and unexpected on set it's tough to schedule everyone optimally. Consider this costs the producers actual dollars so if it was something they could fix easily they would do so immediately. And not saying there aren't production teams that just suck terribly, and carelessly waste money and time, because there are, but even in the best productions there are sooooo many variables that can completely ruin what is planned on the schedule any given day.

[@ultramaximusreviews]

I love how he has a Finding Bigfoot hat on. Chevy Chase was a pompous ass when he was young full of himself and now he is just a grumpy old man LOL

[@ricardocantoral7672]

He actually had the audacity to state that SNL went downhill after he left the series.

[@thefartist]

@@ricardocantoral7672 it didnt

[@ricardocantoral7672]

@@thefartist To be honest, I never found those first five seasons to be that funny anyway. SCTV was always the superior sketch comedy show.

[@thefartist]

@@ricardocantoral7672 whats SCTV?

[@ricardocantoral7672]

@@thefartist Second City TV

[@bobbillings]

As a fan of Chevy over 40 years, to this day I still have never seen a single episode of community, My New Years resolution for 2022 will be to start stream watching community, and I'm going old school, one episode a week, no binging to make it last. I'll do Game of thrones in 2023.

[@TD-sw3kv]

Rosenbaum, i admire the way you let it all hang out. Cheers.

[@711ramen4]

Dang. My kids just recently started watching it, and it's so good seeing the episodes together. Always holding out hope that the Russo brothers get the Study Group together for an Endgame Winter Session of Community.

[@iamzebra7025]

Because Alec Baldwin is known to be an angel on set.

[@prabhleenreen3594]

IK lmaoooooo I heard he was horrible to work with too

[@DendyJungle]

Well he's certainly a trooper. Couldn't have been easy on that set. They had him dress up in crazy costumes, having him wait for Tracey to do a million takes, telling him he couldn't flirt with interns. It must have been hell but he did it til the end. Don't think he ever called Donald Glover any slurs

[@OwenT2]

🔫🔫

[@Cormano980]

Wow , this aged badly

[@rockoutmichigan]

Community is one of the best shows ever.

[@amirmohamad2270]

I watched Community in a time that years later I realized I was going through clinical depression during it. The show really helped.

[@stormgeist1766]

You would be a fantastic Chevy Chase! You have always reminded me of him, both in facial expression and demeanor, in terms of many of your characters. I love Joel, but I cant think of a better person to play a younger Chevy than yourself.

[@kylemurray3526]

Kind of a weird sidenote: when Joel mentions Alec Baldwin reinventing himself, the first thing I thought of was him voicing the evil boss on the Clerks cartoon in 2000. But most will think of 30 Rock (and for good reason). Fuck, I’m old.

[@anthonyelwick3600]

He had a problem with belushi overshadowing him on snl

[@Rodshark75]

And then with Murray replacing him and becoming a massive star

[@danielc1978]

It was the other way around: Belushi was jealous...you can research it....

[@danielc1978]

@@Rodshark75 Actually, the SNL cast were upset that Chevy left the show...Murray didn't become a "massive star" until Ghostbusters (although Stripes was a hit)

[@johannesgutenburg6425]

*Buscemi

[@johannesgutenburg6425]

*Buscemi

[@Irjackson2287]

Community was so good everyone must see it

[@hoffmanfamily2452]

You find me more rabbit holes than a champion dachshund. Thank you for having on a guest who mentioned an unknown to me, Doug Kenney. I went down that rabbit hole and I’m watching everything about him now from the Netflix “documentary” called A Futile and Stupid Gesture (in which this tall bastard plays Chase), to Tom Synder interviews with Kenney. My Memorial Day barbecue prep will have to wait.

[@christianvoorhees69]

Nothing But Trouble is my favorite Chevy Chase lead. Love ya, michael!

[@Themanintheredcoat]

I think every Hollywood diva/adult baby should have to work a 9-5. See where all that acting out gets you in the real world

[@ManSeekingMeaning]

Is that Michael Rosenbaum? I don’t think I’ve ever taken so long to recognize someone, holy shit.

[@AdaRamos-h7r]

His "missing kids growing up because I'm here" really hit me. His "missing kids growing up because I'm here" really hit me.

[@tonypine3434]

Twice it seems

[@blackbird5634]

Chevy went to rehab at 72yrs old and that very fact has helped keep me sober. I don't ever want to be pushing my walker around rehab, looking at the back end of my life with an eye on the DT's and detoxing and all that crap. . AGAIN. So while I don't know what happened with him in his life to make that kind of choice, I can say that knowledge of it has made me rethink some choices for the better.

[@universpro7741]

I'm currently watching s2 ep9. The stories are so creative and entertaining and the jokes are so original and funny

[@danilea4633]

I actually think Michael would be the perfect casting choice for a young chevvy chase! Height discrepancy or not, he's got very similar features, same chin, similar sounding voice, good comedic timing! No shade to Joel (and I haven't seen the movie they're talking about) but I just can't imagine him as a young Chevvy at ALL!