What The Cast Of Community Is Doing Now

In 2009, a new sitcom premiered on NBC, one that would never rise to the same ratings heights of hits like "Friends" or "The Office" but would nonetheless build its own special following. Boasting the writing talents of creator Dan Harmon and a tremendous ensemble cast that included comedy mainstays and newcomers, "Community" quickly became one of the most talked about and most consistently entertaining shows on television.

As the series went on — and it became clear that it would never be the hit that some of its network mates were — the "Community" fandom only grew more dedicated to keeping the show alive. The phrase "six seasons and a movie" became their rallying cry, and the show managed to survive for five seasons on NBC before getting a sixth on the streaming service Yahoo! Screen. The movie has yet to materialize, but the show did manage to produce a cast of stars who've all gone on to big things since the series ended. Here's what the cast of "Community" is up to today.

Few "Community" cast members have been as busy since the ending of the show as Alison Brie. During her tenure as type-A student Annie Edison, Brie also co-starred in the hit AMC series "Mad Men" as Trudy Campbell, which showcased her dramatic capabilities. Since the end of "Community," Brie has demonstrated both comic and dramatic talents in projects such as the 2015 rom-com "Sleeping With Other People," the animated sitcom "BoJack Horseman," and her Emmy-nominated Netflix series "GLOW," where she played a struggling actress who lands a gig as a TV wrestler. 

Sadly, "GLOW" was canceled by Netflix in 2020 as a result of production shutdowns from the COVID-19 pandemic. Although Brie was devastated by the premature end of "GLOW," she's spent recent years delving into a new challenge: screenwriting. In 2020, Brie starred in the psychological drama film "Horse Girl," which she co-wrote with director Jeff Baena. The two reunited in 2022 with "Spin Me Round," a dark comedy co-starring Aubrey Plaza and Alessandro Nivola. She also made appearances in the Oscar-nominated film "Promising Young Woman," as well as the anthology series "Roar" by "GLOW" creators Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch. 

Most recently, Brie teamed up with her husband Dave Franco to co-write "Somebody I Used To Know," a romantic comedy in which she appears alongside her "Community" co-star Danny Pudi. After the "Community" movie comes out, it's likely Brie and Franco will continue their creative partnership in the future.

Before Community, Danny Pudi was a largely unknown young actor who you might've recognized for his small roles on shows like "Gilmore Girls" and "Greek." Then came the character of Abed Nadir, easily the most memorable of the show's original ensemble cast, and Pudi quickly became a fan favorite with a devoted following of his own. Though his frequent scene partner Donald Glover exited the show early in its fifth season, Pudi stayed on through its final season, then got busy with other opportunities.

Among these included the 2016 comedy "The Tiger Hunter" and the 2017 reboot of "DuckTales," in which he voiced Huey. Most notably, Pudi joined the cast of the Apple TV+ sitcom "Mythic Quest" alongside Rob McElhenney, David Hornsby, and Charlotte Nicdao. In the series, Pudi plays Brad, the head of monetization for the titular video game, which allows him to play a much colder and more ruthless character than "Community" fans might be expecting. 

In addition to roles in films like "American Dreamer" and shows like "Clone High," Pudi also reunited with his former study group member Alison Brie in "Somebody I Used To Know," in which they replicated many of their old on-set antics from "Community" to portray former best friends. Their reignited chemistry on-set has only gotten the two actors more excited to return to the world of "Community," despite the 2023 Writers' Guild Strike indefinitely delaying production. 

Even before Community came along, Yvette Nicole Brown had spent the 2000s establishing herself as a prolific and versatile actress, with roles in "The Big House," "Drake & Josh," "Sleeper Cell," "Boston Legal," and more. As the church-going single mother Shirley Bennett on "Community," she became a crucial part of the show's chemistry-laden ensemble, though she sadly was absent from the show's sixth and final season on Yahoo! Screen. However, since the show's ending, Brown has continued to see an avalanche of roles come her way.

Alongside supporting roles in films like "Avengers: Endgame," "Broken Diamonds," and "DC League of Super-Pets," Brown also starred in the 2022 film "Disenchanted," a sequel to the 2007 Disney film starring Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey. Brown has appeared as a frequent guest on "Talking Dead," the live after-show for "The Walking Dead" hosted by Chris Hardwick, as well as the game show "Hollywood Game Night." In 2015, Brown starred in the CBS reboot of "The Odd Couple" starring Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon, which ran for three seasons until 2017.

Among Brown's other television roles include the ABC sitcom "The Mayor" with Brandon Micheal Hall and Lea Michele, which was canceled after one season, and "Big Shot," a Disney+ series starring John Stamos. Brown has also frequently appeared as a guest on the HBO series "A Black Lady Sketch Show," for which she received an Emmy nomination for outstanding guest actress in a comedy series. 

Ken Jeong famously worked as a practicing physician before he began performing stand-up comedy and auditioning for roles. It wasn't until 2009 that he landed two major breaks: Playing Mr. Chow in "The Hangover," and Spanish teacher Ben Chang in the first season of "Community." Although Jeong's character is fired from Greendale at the end of the first season, the character returns later as a student, then a security guard, and finally a member of the Save Greendale Committee during the show's final two seasons. 

Following the end of "Community," Ken Jeong has remained incredibly active in both film and TV. He created, wrote, and starred in his own ABC sitcom "Dr. Ken," and appeared in the 2018 blockbuster "Crazy Rich Asians." Since 2019, Jeong has been a permanent panelist on Fox's game show "The Masked Singer," and in 2020 started a podcast with former "Community" co-star Joel McHale titled "The Darkest Timeline," which ran for 25 episodes over the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

More recently, Jeong appeared in several episodes of Mike Myers' 2022 Netflix series "The Pentaverate," and is due to star in Season 2 of Christopher Miller's murder mystery anthology series "The Afterparty" on Apple TV+ in 2023. Jeong played a starring role in "Fool's Paradise," the directorial debut of Charlie Day, playing a struggling Hollywood publicist who befriends a mute man who resembles a difficult method actor. Jeong also directed a segment of Gillian Jacobs' film "The Seven Faces of Jane."

John Oliver first gained notoriety as a correspondent on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" from 2006 to 2013, though in 2009 he joined the cast of "Community" during its first season as Professor Ian Duncan, a former client of Jeff Winger who refuses to help him cheat his way through Greendale Community College in the show's pilot episode. Oliver played the character in several episodes throughout the first two seasons, before returning later as a more integral member of the Save Greendale Committee. 

Oliver's absence in Season 6 of "Community," however, was due to his time commitment to his own show, "Last Week Tonight" on HBO, which began airing in 2014 and has since become a staple of the cable network's late-night lineup. The show, which has won over 10 Emmys, has had a major impact on American politics, raising awareness for issues like net neutrality, cryptocurrency, and police brutality. 

Outside of "Last Week Tonight," John Oliver has provided voicework for animated shows like "Gravity Falls," "Big Mouth," and "Bob's Burgers." He notably starred in the 2019 live-action remake of "The Lion King" as Zazu, a role that originated in the 1994 animated film by Rowan Atkinson. Oliver has also produced shows like "Wyatt Cenac's Problem Areas," a documentary series where the titular comedian travels the world learning about social issues, though the show was canceled in 2019 after two seasons. 

Before he was in Season 5 of "Community," Jonathan Banks had a long career of supporting roles, including appearances in "48 Hrs." and "Beverly Hills Cop." His performance as Frank McPike in the CBS crime drama "Wiseguy" earned him an Emmy nomination for outstanding supporting actor, which was a first but not a last for Banks' career. In 2009, Banks joined AMC's "Breaking Bad" as fixer Mike Ehrmantraut, a character he portrayed until the show's end in 2013.

Following Banks' departure from "Breaking Bad," he joined the cast of "Community" in 2014 as Professor Buzz Hickey, the officemate of Joel McHale's Jeff Winger when the ex-lawyer gets a job teaching at Greendale. He subsequently becomes a member of the Save Greendale Committee, befriending Abed and even recruiting the gang to help him rekindle his relationship with his son, played by David Cross. Sadly, Banks' time on "Community" was short-lived, but for a good reason.

In 2015, Banks reprised his role as Mike Ehrmantraut in "Better Call Saul," the prequel/sequel to "Breaking Bad" which ran for six seasons and ended in 2022. Banks was nominated four times for his work in the spinoff and additionally made a cameo in 2019's "El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie" on Netflix. At 76 years old, Banks has no intention of slowing down any time soon, as he was recently cast in the science fiction thriller "Constellation" on Apple TV+.

Keith David has been a major presence in the world of film and TV long before "Community" was on the air, beginning his career in the early 1980s with film roles in John Carpenter's "The Thing," "Platoon," and "Road House." He also appeared in TV shows like "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," "ER," and "7th Heaven." In 2012, he made a guest appearance during the "Community" episode "Pillows and Blankets" as the narrator of the show's Ken Burns-esque documentary covering a pillow war between Troy and Abed that spans the entire Greendale campus, referencing David's own work doing voiceover narration for documentaries.

In Season 6 of "Community," David joined the main cast as Elroy Patashnik, an amateur inventor who is hired as their head of IT after the Dean becomes obsessed with his virtual reality program. Elroy later joins the Save Greendale Committee, though his aloof attitude towards the rest of the group and closed-off personality make him a bit of an outlier. His shining moment comes in the show's penultimate episode, when he revisits an old habit of encouraging white people at Garrett's wedding. 

Since the ending of "Community," Keith David has remained a frequent face — and voice — in Hollywood. He's reunited with "Community" creator Dan Harmon numerous times, voicing the President of the United States in "Rick & Morty." More recently, he appeared in Jordan Peele's 2022 film "Nope," and the Netflix miniseries "From Scratch," while also providing voiceover work for "Stargirl," "Amphibia," and "DC League of Super-Pets."