It’s been speculated for a while that the new season of “Community” might see some interesting changes to the production crew, although not many fans were expecting this exactly – it’s now been revealed that Jim Rash, who plays the role of Dean Pelton on the show, is going to direct an episode in tandem with Nat Faxon, a fellow actor.
Fans of the show might recognize the situation to be a bit ironic, as season 3 showed Jim Rash’s character, Dean, attempting to direct a commercial for a college, and failing spectacularly, leading to his complete mental breakdown. And now the actor must attempt to do the same in real life – only without the dramatic ending, hopefully.
It’s already known which episode in particular the two will be handling – it’s the second episode in the season, which will introduce a new character to the show, Elroy Patashnik (played by Keith David). The show’s producers have not been very secretive about the planned plot developments in the new season, so various elements of the upcoming story are already known. Of course, various parts of the plot remain secret, and the people behind “Community” generally know how to reveal just enough to drive the public interest to its absolute limit, without giving away anything important.
While other TV shows have frequently put their cast members in the director’s chair, this is the first time this is happening in “Community”, and the crew seems to be just as excited as fans, according to insider reports. Jim Rash already has some non-acting experience with the show, as he wrote an entire episode in season 4 on his own. It’s worth noting that fans almost universally acknowledged that particular episode as the best one in the entire season, some seeing it as the highest point of the show itself.
It’s been six seasons, and the show is still as fresh as on day one, according to the majority of fans – a feat that very few TV productions can brag with. “Community” definitely owes a large part of its success to the strong support of its fans, and the producers recognized that early on, doing their best to involve dedicated fans in the development of the series. This worked out in their favor in the long run, as the show now has one of the most active fan bases. If the special episode works out, it would be interesting to see more episodes done in the same style in the future, although of course it’s likely that this has already been planned in advance, and it’s not a decision they’re going to make based on the episode’s performance.