Posted in: Fox, NBC, Peacock, TV | Tagged: Emmys, joel mchale, ken jeong, peacock, Yvette Nicole Brown

Community: McHale on Hosting Emmys with Jeong, Yvette Nicole Brown

Community stars Joel McHale, Ken Jeong & Yvette Nicole Brown hosting the 2023 Emmy Awards? We're all-in on that - and so is McHale.

While the WGA strike was settled successfully, the SAG-AFTRA strike continues to roll on – now past its 106th day (with a new deal hopefully in sight). Because of that, getting updates on how things are going with Peacock's movie take on Dan Harmon's Community have ground to a halt. In fact, we've been reduced to covering Chevy Chase's less-than-complimentary comments about his time on the show. So to say that we're happy to have something different to report would be an understatement – and for this go-around, it's to throw our support behind a great idea that Michael Schneider from Variety has been pushing: having the Community trio of Joel McHale, Ken Jeong, and Yvette Nicole Brown hosts the 2023 Emmy Awards (set for January 15, 2024, on FOX TV).

While we'll leave it to Schneider to break down the reasons, we were pretty much sold once the names were put out there because that's some seriously great comedic talent that you would have on that stage. And it's not like McHale (Animal Control) and Jeong (The Masked Singer) are strangers to FOX – another major plus. But would they be interested? Schneider was able to get a response from McHale during an interview in support of Klondike Ice Cream Bars' "'What Would You Do?' Hometowns Contest" (with SAG-AFTRA strike limiting what McHale could discuss). "I would. Yes, I'm in," McHale shared – before offering the reality check, "They haven't approached us yet. That said, McHale already has some prep plans in mind, joking, "I can start giving Ken notes now. Yvette is really smooth on camera. But as we know, Ken hasn't had a lot of camera time. But I'll train him."

Community: Joel McHale Addresses Chevy Chase's Recent Comments

If you're a Community fan, then we're sure you heard the less-than-complimentary things that Chase had to share about his time on Harmon's series during his conversation with Marc Maron for Maron's WTF with Marc Maron podcast. "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," was one of the stones thrown during the interview.

Chase shared his frustrations with Maron and why he and the show's producers parted ways. When it came to his character, Chase said that he was fine with his role – but he apparently grew less interested in being part of an ensemble and what that would entail. "I didn't mind the character. I just felt that it was… I felt happier being alone. I just didn't want to be surrounded by that table, every day, with those people. It was too much." Not long after, castmate Brown offered a perfect response on social media – and now, McHale is responding to Chase's comments. "He [Chevy Chase] stopped hurting my feelings in 2009," McHale shared during an exclusive interview with PEOPLE. "I was like, 'Hey, no one was keeping you there.' I mean, we weren't sentenced to that show. It was like, 'All right, you could have left if you really wanted that.' But yeah, you know Chevy. That's Chevy being Chevy," McHale added in response to Chase's comments on Maron's podcast. "I wrote about this in my book, but I was like, 'Hey, the feeling's mutual, bud.'"

Community/Chevy Chase – Previous Conversations

In an interview with CBS Sunday Morning from February 2022, Chase responded to accusations about his on-set conduct while filming the NBC & Netflix series. And from the sounds of things, he's moved on and wasn't thinking much about it. "I guess you'd have to ask them. I don't give a crap!" Chase said with a laugh during the interview after being asked how he felt about the accusations his co-stars have made over the years. " 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," Chase added.

During his New York Comic Con 2022 (NYCC 2022) panel in support of his FOX animated series Krapopolis (renewed for a second season earlier today), Harmon took some questions regarding the film follow-up. In this clip, Harmon addresses whether or not Chase would appear, joking (maybe?) that he's not sure "if it's legal for him to come back." As for other names that have been mentioned that folks are wondering about, Harmon added that those were topics he wasn't in the position to address. Also, while a writing team is in place, they are still considering directors. From there, Harmon sings Guest's praises and talks up his Community "street cred" (with clips from Variety):

During the previous year, McHale opened up about what the Community experience was like when he checked in with Michael Rosenbaum's (Smallville, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) Inside of You podcast. Specifically, what it was like working with Chase and the incidents with him on set. In the following clip, McHale explains that he believes Chase wasn't a fan of the hours needed to produce each episode that would result in "not great moods" and times when production schedules were shifted to attempt to accommodate. He also discussed Chase's departure under "quite crazy circumstances," that "it could be tough some days; other days, great," and more:

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!