Joel McHale teases cryptic spoiler for long-awaited Community film: ‘Everybody dies'
More than two years have passed since US streaming service Peacock announced, in September 2022, that the sitcom's promise of 'six seasons and a movie' was definitely going to be fulfilled.
The Emmy -winning series ran for five seasons from 2009 to 2014 on NBC and for the final sixth season on Yahoo! Screen in 2015.
Series creator Dan Harmon is overseeing the film, and a majority of the cast are returning.
In a podcast appearance, McHale confirmed that a 'script was written' for the film, but shooting was delayed by scheduling conflicts.
'So that is a, that's when everyone's like, is that going to happen? I was like, well, we got the money, which is one of the harder things to do. Yeah. And everyone's in, so that is the other,' McHale told host Jesse Tyler Ferguson on the podcast Dinner's On Me.
'It's really coming down to schedules and a script was written. So all that is real. And I know that we have been talking about it for literally years, but it's, it will happen and there's just, you know, it's just getting those schedules together.'
As to what fans could expect, McHale said he had read the script and would offer only one spoiler. 'I am not going to tell you anything about it. I'll just say, everybody dies.'
In March last year, McHale, who played the playboy protagonist Jeff Winger in Community and guest starred in another hit series, The Bear, said that he would be 'shocked' if the film didn't start shooting in 2024. However, in July he said his lack of availability meant the film still hadn't begun shooting.
He had previously confirmed that Donald Glover would be returning as Troy for the film. 'The fact that we even got Donald to do it,' he said, 'that was the big piece.'
He also said that Yvette Nicole Brown, who played Shirley Bennett, would be returning. 'I think everyone's coming back. So far, we're pretty good.'
Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Jim Rash, and Ken Jeong were also confirmed to return.
Chevy Chase, who played millionaire Pierce Hawthorne, was not likely to return. He previously suggested that it might not be 'legal for him to come back'.
Chase's time on the show was riddled with behind-the-scenes controversy. The actor, 80, is reported to have left during the fourth season after using a racist slur on set.
Harmon told The New Yorker in 2018 that Chase would 'make racial cracks between takes' to try and disrupt Glover's scenes.
'Chevy was the first to realise how immensely gifted Donald was and the way he expressed his jealousy was to try to throw Donald off,' Harmon told The New Yorker in 2018.
'I remember apologising to Donald after a particularly rough night of Chevy's non-PC verbiage and Donald said, 'I don't even worry about it.''
In 2012, a source told The Hollywood Reporter that Chase had 'apologised immediately' after he used the N-word on set. The slur was not aimed at Glover or his Black co-star Yvette Nicole Brown, but used when Chase questioned dialogue in a scene with their characters, said the source.
In a subsequent interview on the WTF With Marc Maron podcast, Chase suggested that his departure was on his own terms.
'I honestly felt the show wasn't funny enough for me, ultimately,' he said.
'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.'
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Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
The Biggest Loser's biggest scandals: Contestants on noughties weight loss show reveal how they didn't eat for 10 days, were left with blood in their urine, and 'collapsed' from burning 8,000 calories a day
Contestants from noughties weight loss show The Biggest Loser have opened up about some of the extreme measures they took to shed the pounds. The hit series, which ran for 18 seasons on NBC and USA, saw obese or overweight people from across the US dropping upwards of 100 or even 200 pounds over a matter of months. Now Netflix has released a new three-part documentary about the programme, featuring people who appeared on the Biggest Loser, as well as producers, the show's doctor, and trainer Bob Harper (although the other coach - Jillian Michaels - declined to take part). The show ran from 2004 to 2016 airing on NBC, before it was cancelled. It was then rebooted on the USA Network in 2020, before being cancelled after just one season. In its heyday, the programme went global, with versions appearing in countries around the world, earnings hundreds of millions of dollars. The branding was licensed for products including cookbooks, DVDs, and weight-loss camps. When its NBC run was cancelled in 2016, it came after controversy, with critics arguing that it prioritised a number on the scale rather than contestants' overall health and well-being. Netflix's new docuseries, titled Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser, 'takes a look behind-the-scenes, exploring its cultural relevance and complicated legacy' - and as part of that, previous contestants spoke on camera about some of the dangerous habits they practised in a bid to lose the most weight, and scoop the $250,000 prize. Those practices included fasting for 10 days, and surviving on minimal calories while undergoing intense exercise regimes among others. According to Netflix: 'On their weight loss journeys, contestants were separated into teams and created workout and nutrition plans with trainers. 'The teams would compete in various challenges for prizes - like physical competitions or willpower tests - such as 'temptations,' in which contestants were tempted by high calorie food or drinks.' The contestant who lost the highest percentage relative to their starting weight won the series. Season one winner, Ryan Benson, admitted that he was doing 'super dangerous things', in the run-up to the final. Speaking about his experience on the show, he said: 'This was the first reality show where people make a physical change. That weight that we were losing was real. You can't fake that.' He added that as they got closer to the final, he 'lost all focus about getting healthy, and the focus became winning' - and he added that he sometimes feels he has 'PTSD' from taking part in the programme. 'The final episode was a live episode,' Ryan said. 'We are here live in Hollywood. They were doing it in the same studio where they filmed American Idol. During the final weigh in, i's just so nerve wracking.' He continued: 'It worked out great, because I won, but I was doing what most doctors would say were super unhealthy things. 'The last 10 days, I didn't put any food in my body. I was doing the master cleanse - drinking lemon juice and maple syrup and cayenne pepper - all these tricks that are super unhealthy, just to cut weight. 'At the final weigh in, we had to do a urine test. They said, "Ryan, there's blood in your urine, which obviously means you're so dehydrated".' He noted that the 'one thing' he 'really remembers' from the final is Jillian congratulating him on his win. 'She gives me a big hug, and she says, Ryan, you just made me a millionaire,' he revealed. This was far from the only concerning experience reported by previous contestants: two who appeared in the docuseries spoke about the staggering amount of calories they burned daily while on the 'ranch' - the secluded location where participants stayed during filming. Joelle Gwynn, who appeared in season seven of The Biggest Loser in 2009, said: 'The first week, we needed to burn a minimum of 6,000 calories a day.' Meanwhile Danny Cahill, who won the $250,000 prize for season eight after losing 239 pounds in just over six months, discussed his restrictive plan. He achieved staggering weight loss in the first week, dropping 24lb. This continued into week two, where he lost 12lb. In the third week, he lost four pounds - still well over the one to pounds that is considered healthy - but this was hugely disappointing to Danny. 'That was when I said, "woah, maybe I need to do something different here",' he recounted. 'And I started lowering my calories at that point. I was eating 800 calories and burning 6,000 to 8,000 a day. When I lowered the calories, I lost more. I got on the scale, and I lost 15lb that week. As it went on, I was like, "I need to stay here". He added: 'There is a push and pull on The Biggest Loser between losing the weight, the health aspect of it, the money, the prize. All this works in contrast to each other. 'My calorie count was lower than I think it should have been. Sometimes you're tempted to do things that you maybe shouldn't do.' Danny has regained the weight since appearing on the programme, and says that being the champion, then returning to his previous size was difficult. 'The shame you feel is a heavy weight to bear,' he admitted. Another controversy tackled in the docuseries was around claims that contestants were given drugs. In 2016, the New York Post reported that ex 'Losers' were allegedly given illicit medication to help them lose weight, quoting Joelle Gwynn. A source from the show told the Post the series was 'corrupt', and claimed that fitness trainer Bob Harper and his assistant were giving contestants ADHD medication Adderall (a stimulant). However Bob strongly denied - and continues to deny - the allegations. He responded at the time with a statement saying 'safety is paramount in my training regimen'. Speaking to the Daily Mail, he said: 'These allegations are absolutely false and are in direct conflict with my lifelong devotion to health and fitness. 'Safety is paramount in my training regimen and, while demanding, my approach has always focused on the overall well-being of contestants as they lose significant weight and educate themselves, for the first time, on living a healthy lifestyle.' In the docuseries, Joelle said that her quotes had been taken out of context. The Biggest Loser's MD, Dr Robert Huizenga, sued both Joelle and the NYP over the allegations that he went along with giving contestants illicit weight-loss drugs, but in 2019, a US District court found she had not defamed him. 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She was airlifted to hospital in a helicopter, where she was diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, a condition where damaged muscle tissue breaks down into the bloodstream. While she did recover, and returned to the show, Dr Huizenga banned her from joining the workouts temporarily. That season's winner Danny also reflected on the incident in the docuseries, saying: 'We were all scared to death; it was horrific.' Another major controversy came in 2014, when Rachel Frederickson - who did not appear in the Netflix documentary - won season 15. Rachel, who weighed 260 pounds (18.5 stone, 117.9 kg) at the beginning of the series, weighed in at just 105 pounds (7.5 stone, 47.6 kg). Her BMI was reportedly just 18. The enormous weight loss, and her tiny frame (described by one journalist as 'emaciated') caused concern amongst viewers. When the camera panned to Jillian Michaels, she looked visibly shocked at Rachel's diminutive stature, and could be seen mouthing the words: 'Oh my God.' 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