Created by Dan Harmon, Community is a TV sitcom that ran for six seasons, the first five of which aired on NBC, while the sixth and final was picked up by Yahoo! Screen. In 2022, after much campaigning and anticipation by fans, a Community movie was announced to be in development at Peacock. Set in the fictional city of Greendale at a community college, the series follows seven characters from different backgrounds as they come together as a study group. It makes use of meta-humor and pop culture references, paying homage to film and television clichés and tropes.
Update September 27, 2023: This article has been updated by Jessica Peerez with new information regarding Chevy Chase's exit from Community.
The cast of Community boasted many talented actors like Alison Brie, Donald Glover, Joel McHale, and Jim Rash. Chevy Chase played the oldest member of the study group, Pierce Hawthorne, for the first four seasons of the show. At that point, he was possibly the most well-known cast member with decades of work and fame behind him. Suddenly, though, Chase's tenure on Community came to an end, and he was fired from the series. Here is why he was fired and the chances of him returning for the upcoming Community movie.
Chevy Chase as Pierce Hawthorne
Chase had an incredibly successful career, starting in the late 70s and continuing through the early 90s. He was one of the original cast members of Saturday Night Live when it began in 1975. He won three Primetime Emmys for his performance and writing on SNL. His early movie roles included romcoms like Foul Play (1978) and Seems Like Old Times (1980), both opposite Goldie Fawn. More than that, Chase was overall known for his archetypal characters in various comedic films, such as the National Lampoon's Vacation movie series, Caddyshack (1980), Fletch (1985), and Three Amigos! (1986).
Not having participated in a successful project since the early 90s, his casting in Community as the tycoon Pierce Hawthorne was seen as the actor's glamorous comeback. He appeared in 83 episodes as part of the main cast. As mentioned in a Reddit AMA, creator Dan Harmon had other actors like Fred Willard, John Cleese, and Patrick Stewart in mind for the role of Pierce. But he had to buckle under pressure from producers at Sony Pictures to recruit a household name like Chase for the role.
Of course, playing the role of a problematic, ignorant character that everyone is supposed to hate wasn't probably the best decision from the get-go. Pierce is a filthy rich older gentleman who has been attending Greendale's classes for years to spice up his lonely life. He has all the characteristic traits that people typically loathe in older, ignorant white men: sexist, homophobic, and racist. What's more, Pierce doesn't necessarily try to improve himself in any way. Watching the other characters pick on him and treat him just as badly sometimes feels weirdly cathartic, but that's always been his character's purpose on Community.
Controversies Surrounding Chevy Chase
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Chase has built a reputation as one of Hollywood's most contentious comedians. Many fellow hosts, actors, and comedians have openly spoken about Chase's behavior. After Chase criticized SNL's humor and its current cast, as reported by Variety, cast member Pete Davidson didn't hold back in his hatred towards the racist actor, calling him a "f**king d**chebag." Fellow SNL legend Will Ferrell recalled Chase's return to the sketch comedy show as a special guest and pointed out how he was insulting everyone he came across. As per US Magazine, Ferrell said: "When he got to one of our female writers, he made some reference like, ‘Maybe you can give me a h**djob later.’"
As for the actual Community cast and his behavior on the show's set, creator Dan Harmon opened up and reminisced just how troubling it was to work with the actor on set. Chase even went as far as refusing to film a key scene between Pierce and Abed in the stand-out season 3 episode 'Digital Estate Planning' because he didn't like the direction and walked off set.
According to Deadline, the feud between Chase and Harmon got heated when the creator called out the actor during the wrap-up party. The very angry voicemail the actor left for Harmon was subsequently leaked online. Harmon's own erratic behavior led to him being fired at the end of season 3, which everyone unanimously agreed was the reason behind a very weak season 4, often referred to as the 'gas-leak' year. Appropriately, he took back the show's helm in season 5 as Chase exited the show in the midst of season 4.
Getting Fired From Community
Chase's repetitive problematic behavior didn't stop there. In a 2018 The New Yorker interview, both Harmon and Glover opened up about the incidents that happened on Community's set. Harmon talked about how Chase was the first one to realize Glover's talent and gift in acting, and his jealousy knew no bounds: “I remember apologizing to Donald after a particularly rough night of Chevy’s non-P.C. verbiage, and Donald said, ‘I don’t even worry about it.’” Chase allegedly often tried to disrupt his scenes and made racial cracks between takes. He allegedly said things like, “People think you’re funnier because you’re black.” Glover said about Chase, "I just saw Chevy as fighting time—a true artist has to be O.K. with his reign being over. I can’t help him if he’s thrashing in the water. But I know there’s a human in there somewhere—he’s almost too human."
The final straw came when filming Community season four's episode six 'Advanced Documentary Filmmaking.' Chase expressed his anger with the story's direction — his character's arc in particular — and used yet another racial slur (although allegedly not used against any of the cast or crew). Both the actor and the network mutually agreed that it would be best if he left the TV series — so he did. As it seems, the actor hasn't repented nor feels guilty about the problems and hurt he's caused, claiming: “I don’t give a crap. I am who I am. And I like who I am. I don’t care. And it’s part of me that I don’t care."
Chase's Side of the Story
With enough controversy surrounding Chase and his exit from Community in 2012, the actor has now decided to open up about his side of the story. Joining Mark Maron's "WTF" podcast in September 2023, Chase was quite nonchalant, mentioning that he didn't even remember his participation in Community. As per the actor, it was the show who wanted him to join. "They wanted me. So, I said okay," he said. Talking about his departure from the sitcom, Chase said:
"I honestly felt the show wasn’t funny enough for me, ultimately. I felt a little bit constrained. Everybody had their bits, and I thought they were all good. It just wasn’t hard-hitting enough for me.”
Chase also expressed that although he didn't mind playing the character of Pierce Hawthorne, he preferred being alone. As per the actor, "it was too much" to sit at a table every day "with those people." However, the actor also said that he didn't think that people thought he was difficult to work with. "I just always assumed I was okay," said Chase.
Despite the actor's unpleasant exit from the show and the tense relationship he had with other cast members, there appears to be no bad blood between Chase and Harmon, at least on Chase's side. "I have no idea if we're okay," he said. "I've never been not okay. He's kind of a pisser. He's angry. He called and said he was sorry. I love him now." However, Chase also claimed that he hadn't seen Harmon since 2012.
Will Chase Return For the Community Movie?
After years of campaigning (by fans) for 'six seasons and a movie,' the creators held up their end by announcing a Community film would air on Peacock. There have been numerous discussions about who is most likely to return. Joel McHale has confirmed his return to Greendale alongside Alison Brie, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Jim Rash, and Ken Jeong. After much speculation, Donald Glover also recently confirmed that he will reprise his role as Troy. The only main cast member whose name hasn't been officially attached to the movie yet is Yvette Nicole Brown.
While fans hope that changes soon, the other notable absentee, Chevy Chase is not likely to return, given the controversies surrounding him and the actor's own dismal of the series. Many of Chase' cast members from Community have been vocal about his racist and sexist behavior on set and likely would not want him to return. Even Harmon mentioned that Chase's return is doubtful, saying: "I don't even know if it's legal for Chevy to come back." While Chase was an important part of Community's early years, the show proved it could move on without him.