Chevy Chase Says He Felt ‘Constrained’ on ‘Community,’ the Show Wasn’t ‘Funny Enough’ for Him
Chevy Chase has some choice opinions about his time on the NBC sitcom Community.
“I honestly felt the show wasn’t funny enough for me, ultimately. I felt a bit constrained,” Chase, 79, confessed on the Monday, September 25, episode of the “WTF with Marc Maron” podcast. “Everybody had their bits, and I thought they were all good. It just wasn’t hard-hitting enough for me.”
The Saturday Night Live alum portrayed Pierce Hawthorn in the first five seasons of the comedy series. Community followed the hijinks of a community college study group and also costarred Joel McHale, Danny Pudi, Donald Glover, Alison Brie, Yvette Nicole Brown, Gillian Jacobs, Jim Rash and Ken Jeong.
The series, which premiered in 2009, was canceled after five seasons on NBC and was revived for a sixth and final season on the short-lived streaming platform Yahoo! Screen in 2015.
‘Community’ Cast: Where Are They Now?
Chase went on to state that although he “didn’t mind” his character, he “felt happier being alone.” He explained: “I just didn’t want to be surrounded by that table, every day, with those people. It was too much.”
The comedian exited the series in 2012 after he allegedly using a racial slur on set, after which he “apologized immediately” to his costars, The Hollywood Reporter reported at the time. Show creator Dan Harmon eventually killed off Pierce at the beginning of season 5 in 2014.
Former ‘Saturday Night Live’ Stars: Where Are They Now?
“I have no idea if we’re OK,” Chase said of his relationship with Harmon, 50, noting that he has not seen him since his 2012 firing. “I’ve never been not OK. He’s kind of a pisser. He’s angry. He called and said he was sorry. I love him now.”
Chase’s former costar Brown, 52, reacted to his podcast quotes via X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, September 26. “He seems nice,” she captioned a repost of an article about the podcast. She also responded to a fan reply asking if she would ever address her working relationship with Chase, writing, “Never have. Probably never will.”
Chase’s on-set behavior has made headlines several times over the years. In 2018, Glover, 40 — who also left Community in season 5 — accused Chase of making racially insensitive comments directed toward him on set. “I just saw Chevy as fighting time — a true artist has to be OK with his reign being over,” he claimed in a profile for The New Yorker. “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.”
Every Cast Reunion at the SAG-AFTRA Strike Picket Line: From ‘This Is Us’ to ‘Shameless’
In the article, Harmon recalled “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, for his part, responded to the piece via a statement at the time, telling the outlet he was “saddened to hear that Donald perceived me in that light.”
Four years later, he responded to claims that he is difficult to work with. “I don’t give a crap!” he said in a 2022 interview on CBS Sunday Morning, adding, “I am who I am. And I like where – who I am. I don’t care. And it’s part of me that I don’t care. And I’ve thought about that a lot. And I don’t know what to tell you, man. I just don’t care.”
