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The Star-Telegram has an interview with Danny Pudi, who plays pop-culture savant Abed on NBC’s Community. Here are some of the highlights:

On what Pudi knows that Abed doesn’t:

I grew up a huge baseball fan and sports fan. I remember just memorizing baseball cards and statistics as a kid. I’d get the newspaper every day with my grandma, and I’d read the newspaper’s sports section every day, and just kind of memorize statistics. I grew up in Chicago during a beautiful time in terms of sports, where Michael Jordan was winning championships left and right, and I’m a White Sox fan, so it was a great time to memorize statistics and stuff.

On how people react to Abed:

It’s kind of fun to be the voice of so many people. I’ll meet people all the time who’ll say, “Dude, I know someone just like [Abed]!” Or “I’m that guy! I quote movies all the time!” People will quote movies to me on the street sometimes, and I’ll just have to be like, “Yep! Totally!” Even though sometimes I don’t even get ‘em. Because I’m not Abed — but I am Abed. I think everyone can say that they know someone [like him], and I think there’s a little bit of Abed in everyone.

On whether appearing on a show with the very tall Joel McHale makes him feel short:

He doesn’t make me feel short, but he does make me feel like less of a man [laughs]. Joel McHale is, I think, 6-foot-4, and so is Chevy Chase. I’m 6-foot, which is great. One of the things people say often to me on the street is “Wow! You’re much taller than I expected!” Because of my frame — I’m kind of wiry and gangly, and I look like an Indian Gumby — my frame is way smaller than Joel or Chevy’s. Those guys are like real men. I’m kind of like a boy, though. I am married, though. And I think my wife’s happy.

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Katharine McPhee Discussed Her Community Guest-Starring Role with Movie Web; here are the highlights:

What did you think of Community? Were you a big fan?

Katharine McPhee: You know it’s funny. I tell the story, Joel – I got on the show and obviously, you know, I was in a really crazy cycle because I was just coming off of my first promo week of my record being released and so I wasn’t watching any television at that time. And Joel was like so, you know, how do you like our show, you been watching it? And I was like, uh, I’ve seen it but I haven’t been seeing it. And he goes – he was like oh, that’s horrible. He was like, that’s horrible, you’re on our show and you haven’t even watched it. He was like, you’d better go home and watch it. And I swear to you since then I’ve TiVoed and watched, you know, because I haven’t been home – literally watched every episode. And, I just – I just think of – in all sincerity, separate from me being a part of the show for this one episode, I think it’s one of NBC’s best shows on TV right now, because it’s so well written. All the characters are so defined and, you know, I just wish the best for all of them on that show because they really deserve it. It’s a great show.

Will we see you in Community again? Is there a chance for you to come on again?

Katharine McPhee: You know, I think there’s always a chance. I was discussing – no, well I wasn’t discussing. The producers had come up to me – they always have a couple of characters come back and reoccur. And they said, “Well oh, maybe we’ll be able to have you back,” which was always a nice thing to hear. It means you did a good job and – but of course if my show – I got this pilot that I got which was also an NBC show, if it gets picked up I highly doubt I’ll be another guest. I probably won’t be the guest starring on their show because I don’t know if there’s competition within your own networks but, I’m not sure yet.

How was working alongside Chevy Chase? I mean you play his what – his stepdaughter?

Katharine McPhee: Yeah, well speaking of someone who’s funny, he is a fun guy. You never know what’s going to come out of Chevy Chase’s mouth, it’s just like unpredictable. And he’s very sweet. And I was worried like the first day and I’d never met him before and I was like oh, I hope he’s nice. And I get intimidated easily and he was just such a lovely guy – really, really, lovely. I mean everyone was lovely on the show.

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For the month of March, Hulu is teaming up with fans and TV critic Ken Tucker (Entertainment Weekly) to see which of this season’s shows come out on top. This week Community is facing Glee, so make sure to visit and vote for Community!

Here is what EW say about Community:
The Soup’s Joel McHale slips comfortably into a likable-wise-guy role as the star ofCommunity. McHale gets to flirt and insult to his heart’s content, and he’s impishly believable in both modes. Chevy Chase, meanwhile, ups his WASP quotient and dims his IQ to its lowest wattage, turning up as a would-be-hip baby boomer. Between McHale and Chase, Community has every TV comedy style covered.

And about Glee:

Has there ever been a TV show more aptly named than Glee? It both embodies and inspires exactly that quality. I’m not a musicals kinda guy. But this comedy is so good — so funny, so bulging with vibrant characters — that it blasts past any defenses you might put up against it. Glee will not stop until it wins you over utterly.

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A new episode of COMMUNITY “Physical Education” Episode 17 which will air Thursday March 3 2010 at 8pm on NBC.

Episode Synopsis: COMMUNITY “Physical Education” Episode 17 – Jeff (Joel McHale) is excited to show off his pool skills in his new billiards class, only to have his will tested when shorts, not designer jeans, are the required uniform to play. Meanwhile, the gang focuses on helping Abed (Danny Pudi) woo a potential mate by bringing out different sides of his personality. Chevy Chase, Gillian Jacobs, Ken Joeng, Alison Brie, Yvette Nicole Brown and Donald Glover also star.

Also be advised that If you’re a fan of Joel McHale, ‘Community’ and flagrant full-frontal nudity, then here’s your Christmas present:

The ‘Soup’ host and ‘Community’ star sent out a warning on his Twitter page that reads, “So … on this Thursday’s new ‘Community’ I’m pretty much going to be naked. I’m sending this tweet to prepare my family.”

Read more: COMMUNITY “Physical Education” Episode 17 | Daemon’s TV
And TV Squad

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Nola has an interview with ‘Community’ star, Ken Jeong. Here are some of the highlights:
“My dad was a professor for 35 years, ” said Jeong of D.K. Jeong, an economics professor now retired from the faculty of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro. “I took a class with him in college — just audited it. Watching him teach was like watching him work a room, like Don Rickles.
“He’s clearly where I got my comedy. It amazed me how deeply similar teaching is to performing. When you teach a class, you’ve known the curriculum for years, and you develop a style, the way you present information. You want to develop it in an entertaining way so it sticks with the students. It’s really just like a stand-up comic working an act over and over again, years and years of work until it’s the tightest joke possible.
“My dad definitely had his act honed, after 30 years. It was amazing to see how smooth he was. It was really professional. There was no dead air, really tight. I think about it all the time when I’m doing my character.”
Jeong’s own fish-out-of-water background as a joke-telling physician also plays into Chang’s personality.
“A guy who is Asian who is teaching Spanish, a guy who has a chip on his shoulder — it’s not unlike me being a doctor, ” Jeong said. “Why comedy? Why acting? Why Spanish? Why me?”

…

“I was able to see the pilot months before it was televised, ” Jeong said. “Once I read my part of Senor Chang, I just laughed out loud and said, ‘I’ve got to do this. I will not get an opportunity to do this again.’
“I get to go to work every day and just kind of muck around with people like Joel McHale and Chevy Chase. Our chemistry and our friendships have gotten deeper both off camera and on camera.”
Though a critical success, “Community” isn’t a sure thing for a second season. It’s drawing larger average audiences than comedy-night companion “Parks & Recreation, ” which has been renewed for 2010-11, and NBC’s lineup isn’t exactly spilling excess quality at the moment, but you never know. An average of 5.4 million viewers each week puts it on the bubble.
Jeong isn’t hurting for fall-back opportunities. But losing Senor Chang would be a blow. “It’s the best day job ever, ” Jeong said. “It really is.”

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“COMMUNITY”

“BEGINNER POTTERY”

03/18/2010 (08:00PM – 08:30PM) (Thursday) : “Beginner Pottery”-JEFF SHOWS OFF HIS COMPETITIVE SIDE IN POTTERY CLASS-Jeff (Joel McHale) unexpectedly takes interest in his new pottery class when another student shows natural talent. Meanwhile, Pierce (Chevy Chase) brings Britta (Gillian Jacobs), Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) and Troy (Donald Glover) along for a ride at his boating class. Ken Jeong, Danny Pudi and Alison Brie also star.

Source: NBC

Read more: http://www.spoilertv.com/2010/02/community-episode-118-beginner-pottery.html#ixzz0gkgO6I4h

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Community cast and creative team will be at the Paley Center on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 7:00 pm PT

Get tickets here.

IN PERSON:
Joel McHale, “Jeff Winger”
Chevy Chase, “Pierce”
And additional members of the cast and creative team.

Boasting a crack ensemble cast led by Joel McHale as wisecracking disgraced lawyer Jeff Winger, Community follows the misadventures of a quirky group of students at Greendale Community College, an institute of less than higher learning. Creator Dan Harmon’s cult credentials are impeccable—he’s behind Channel 101 and The Sarah Silverman Program, among other alt-comedy favorites—and Community is an intriguing and wholly successful move into mainstream, ready-for-primetime entertainment. A critical and popular success, Community delights with its rapid-fire, off-kilter comedy, its fundamentally humane heart, and a perfectly deployed Chevy Chase as ragingly inappropriate moist towelette tycoon Pierce Hawthorne.

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One of the best and, surprisingly, underrated new shows of the season, Community, still hasn’t been picked up for a second season by NBC. The problem? Selling soap.
Community features the “biggest band of misfit schoolmates since The Breakfast Club,” which finds itself alluded to more than once on the show. Their leader, Jeff, is an ex-lawyer (The Soup’s Joel McHale) who’s more interested in the social aspects of community college than making the grade.
Jeff’s friends at Greendale Community College include Britta (Gillian Jacobs), the object of his attention; Abed (Danny Pudi), a pop culture junkie; perfectionist teen Annie (Alison Brie); jock Troy (Donald Glover) and Pierce (Chevy Chase), the oldest member of the group. The show also stars Ken Jeong who plays mean-spirited Spanish professor Senor Chang.
The show’s gotten critical support but when it comes to viewers, but Community falls in the middle of the 130 network programs on the five networks.
Last week, from 8-8:30 p.m. ET, Community (2.3/7 in 18-49, 5.2 million viewers overall) matched its highest 18-49 rating since January 14 and is currently reporting its biggest overall audience since that same date. Thursday’s Valentine ’s Day themed episode was up 35 percent versus NBC’s 18-49 average in the time period this season prior to the Community debut in the slot (2.3 vs. 1.7).

Read the full story on Satellite TV Guru

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THINGS GET AWKWARD BETWEEN JEFF AND BRITTA—Jeff (Joel McHale) sets out to fix his relationship with Britta (Gillian Jacobs) after things get awkward with a drunken phone call. Meanwhile, Annie (Alison Brie) and Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) make plans to humiliate Señor Chang (Ken Jeong) in order to defend Troy (Donald Glover) and Pierce’s (Chevy Chase) dignity. Danny Pudi also stars.

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Decisions as to which network shows will be asked back for the 2010-11 season will made over the next couple of months.

For NBC’s new comedy “Community,” it’s like being a college freshman with a 2.0 GPA — it’s doing OK but there’s no guarantee it will return for a sophomore year.

For those of you who have not found this cool comedy, “Community” features the biggest band of misfit schoolmates since “The Breakfast Club.” Their leader, Jeff, is an ex-lawyer (Joel McHale) who’s more interested in the social aspects of community college than making the grade.

The show has received critical support, but when it comes to viewers, “Community” falls in the middle of the 130 network programs on the five networks.

A solution for the low ratings from Chevy Chase, who plays the world savvy community college student Pierce, has him thinking like a transfer student. “We could go to another network,” Chase sarcastically suggests during an interview on the set.

Read the full story on Fresnobee