JamesG
11-19-2009, 01:52 AM
Joel McHale and Ken Jeong are having a very good year.
Earlier this fall, McHale -- who was until now perhaps best known as the host of The Soup -- appeared as an FBI agent in Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh's The Informant!.
Now, as disgraced lawyer Jeff Winger on NBC's critically-acclaimed new comedy Community, he has the central role in that all-too-rare commodity: a truly "smart" network sitcom.
Ken Jeong, a former doctor (yes, doctor!) whose scene-stealing turns in big-screen blockbusters Knocked Up and The Hangover made him instantly recognizable to millions, also stars on the show.
As Seņor Chang, surely the most tightly-wound Spanish teacher in the history of television, Jeong's near-maniacal intensity is the perfect comic counterpoint to McHale's low-key cool.
As the show heads into midseason -- NBC just committed to a full season of the series -- Joel McHale and Ken Jeong spoke with AOL TV about Community life, including drinking, the cast's chemistry and who went to a better college.
You both have had an amazing year: successful stand-up careers, movie roles, and TV gigs. What about being on a network sitcom appealed to you?
Joel: For me it was the catering. Free food all day long, which is something I had always dreamed about.
Ken: Sitcom food is by far the tastiest of all showbiz food. Honestly, you gotta try that oatmeal in the morning.
Joel: Mmm, it's steel-cut. [Joel & Ken make yummy noises]
The show's setting -- a community college -- feels very fresh. It's not a bar or a coffee shop or a living room.
Do you think that the setting helps the show avoid being formulaic?
Joel: I do think that community college -- and college life -- is an untapped resource. But it really also comes down to how great the scripts are.
I think the writing is the best on television, if I do say so myself. The writing staff is amazing. So I think that combo makes it great. That, and having Ken there.
Ken, I want to know more about Seņor Chang. Is he a bitter man? Is there another layer underneath that?
Ken: Absolutely. I think this Thursday's episode will help answer that in terms of getting the background as to why he becomes what he is.
I have an unlikely relationship come about with Joel's character Jeff, where he realizes something about my character, about what makes Seņor Chang tick, why he is so angry and why he is, at times, so mean and psychotic.
Joel, at first glance your character Jeff seems like the most "together" guy on the show, but he's not the moral center, is he?
Joel: You're right, my guy is not the moral center at all. My guy is the guy who has lied a lot through his life. He lied about having a college degree and now for the first time in his life he actually has to do work.
He had always skated by by using his mouth and his words and now he can't. And so he is facing those things every episode.
Is there much improvising on the show or do you stick pretty close to the scripts?
Joel: Well, the scripts are awesome. I would hold them up to anything. And on top of that they encourage improvising. If a DVD gets released you will see Mr. Ken Jeong go off for an hour and a half without stopping, and it is the funniest thing you have ever seen in your life.
Ken: It's great to have the luxury of these wonderful scripts. If you go to the table reads, where we just read purely from the script, they're so funny in and of itself. Then, to be able to have the freedom to do your own stuff and to see if that works, it's the best of both worlds.
The cast has such great chemistry. Did that come easily or has that been a process?
Joel: It took about four pints of bourbon and then we really liked each other.
Ken: Community is really just about alcohol plus chemistry. That usually equals combustion.
Joel: There are a lot of fires on set.
You both have impressive academic backgrounds.
Ken, you're a doctor! And Joel, you have a Masters in Fine Arts. Do you draw on those academic experiences in your work on the show?
Joel: I just draw on the college experience. I went to an enormous school so there is a similar feeling that I think a community college campus has.
Ken: I went to Duke, which is ... a Top Five school. Not community college. But whatever.
Joel: Wow. Um, wow.
Ken: But I've read books on other colleges. When I was at Duke I read books on lesser colleges ... and I looked down on those books.
Joel: Wow. How many years did it take you to graduate?
Ken: Eight.
You've been picked up for a full-season by NBC.
Do you still feel that "new show anxiety" or does that vote of confidence help you relax a bit?
Joel: I think now with it being picked up we feel like like, Great, here we go, let's make this the best we can. Hopefully that will send us into the next season.
Community airs Thursdays at 8PM ET on NBC
http://insidetv.aol.com/2009/11/18/joel-mchale-and-ken-jeong-on-community-college-life/
Earlier this fall, McHale -- who was until now perhaps best known as the host of The Soup -- appeared as an FBI agent in Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh's The Informant!.
Now, as disgraced lawyer Jeff Winger on NBC's critically-acclaimed new comedy Community, he has the central role in that all-too-rare commodity: a truly "smart" network sitcom.
Ken Jeong, a former doctor (yes, doctor!) whose scene-stealing turns in big-screen blockbusters Knocked Up and The Hangover made him instantly recognizable to millions, also stars on the show.
As Seņor Chang, surely the most tightly-wound Spanish teacher in the history of television, Jeong's near-maniacal intensity is the perfect comic counterpoint to McHale's low-key cool.
As the show heads into midseason -- NBC just committed to a full season of the series -- Joel McHale and Ken Jeong spoke with AOL TV about Community life, including drinking, the cast's chemistry and who went to a better college.
You both have had an amazing year: successful stand-up careers, movie roles, and TV gigs. What about being on a network sitcom appealed to you?
Joel: For me it was the catering. Free food all day long, which is something I had always dreamed about.
Ken: Sitcom food is by far the tastiest of all showbiz food. Honestly, you gotta try that oatmeal in the morning.
Joel: Mmm, it's steel-cut. [Joel & Ken make yummy noises]
The show's setting -- a community college -- feels very fresh. It's not a bar or a coffee shop or a living room.
Do you think that the setting helps the show avoid being formulaic?
Joel: I do think that community college -- and college life -- is an untapped resource. But it really also comes down to how great the scripts are.
I think the writing is the best on television, if I do say so myself. The writing staff is amazing. So I think that combo makes it great. That, and having Ken there.
Ken, I want to know more about Seņor Chang. Is he a bitter man? Is there another layer underneath that?
Ken: Absolutely. I think this Thursday's episode will help answer that in terms of getting the background as to why he becomes what he is.
I have an unlikely relationship come about with Joel's character Jeff, where he realizes something about my character, about what makes Seņor Chang tick, why he is so angry and why he is, at times, so mean and psychotic.
Joel, at first glance your character Jeff seems like the most "together" guy on the show, but he's not the moral center, is he?
Joel: You're right, my guy is not the moral center at all. My guy is the guy who has lied a lot through his life. He lied about having a college degree and now for the first time in his life he actually has to do work.
He had always skated by by using his mouth and his words and now he can't. And so he is facing those things every episode.
Is there much improvising on the show or do you stick pretty close to the scripts?
Joel: Well, the scripts are awesome. I would hold them up to anything. And on top of that they encourage improvising. If a DVD gets released you will see Mr. Ken Jeong go off for an hour and a half without stopping, and it is the funniest thing you have ever seen in your life.
Ken: It's great to have the luxury of these wonderful scripts. If you go to the table reads, where we just read purely from the script, they're so funny in and of itself. Then, to be able to have the freedom to do your own stuff and to see if that works, it's the best of both worlds.
The cast has such great chemistry. Did that come easily or has that been a process?
Joel: It took about four pints of bourbon and then we really liked each other.
Ken: Community is really just about alcohol plus chemistry. That usually equals combustion.
Joel: There are a lot of fires on set.
You both have impressive academic backgrounds.
Ken, you're a doctor! And Joel, you have a Masters in Fine Arts. Do you draw on those academic experiences in your work on the show?
Joel: I just draw on the college experience. I went to an enormous school so there is a similar feeling that I think a community college campus has.
Ken: I went to Duke, which is ... a Top Five school. Not community college. But whatever.
Joel: Wow. Um, wow.
Ken: But I've read books on other colleges. When I was at Duke I read books on lesser colleges ... and I looked down on those books.
Joel: Wow. How many years did it take you to graduate?
Ken: Eight.
You've been picked up for a full-season by NBC.
Do you still feel that "new show anxiety" or does that vote of confidence help you relax a bit?
Joel: I think now with it being picked up we feel like like, Great, here we go, let's make this the best we can. Hopefully that will send us into the next season.
Community airs Thursdays at 8PM ET on NBC
http://insidetv.aol.com/2009/11/18/joel-mchale-and-ken-jeong-on-community-college-life/