The mid-to-late '00s brought forth a lot of shows that are now considered some of the best sitcoms available today. For many of those series’ beginnings though, including Community’s, that title was far out of reach. Even with a growing fan base that seemed to enjoy the junior college comedy, critics had varying opinions on Community. Joel McHalen, one of the shows’ leads, recalled a particularly brutal one early on that hit closer to home.
Though the now-beloved Community has long since ended on the small screen, we’ve seen McHale multiple times over on the 2025 TV schedule since then (Animal Control, Yellowjackets, etc). Yet, while talking with Collider, the staple series remains as a large talking point. The comedian revealed he kept his head down while transitioning from hosting The Soup to acting, but wondered how he’d be received. He recalled that reporters were harsh to Community and, similar to Andy Richter’s experience, it was before everyone jumped onto the bandwagon:
