Community showrunner Dan Harmon has a habit of filling his works with some amusing meta-references and Easter eggs. Even though each episode of the sitcom seems to follow its own storyline, there are several pause-worthy moments that point to greater connections within the show’s own universe.
The main characters themselves are pop-culture junkies, so obscure references and unexpected cameos are natural. Hence, Community is way more detailed than the average sitcom. On the surface, it is just a college comedy, but as one gets a hang of it, Community boasts its own “multiverse” of sorts.
Donald Glover Followed A “Zach Braff Move”
One of the best Community characters, Troy Barnes was cut off the show in Season 5 as Donald Glover wished to follow his other artistic pursuits. As he quit in the penultimate season, comparisons can be drawn between him and Zach Braff. After playing the beloved protagonist JD in Scrubs for nine seasons, Braff appeared only in six episodes in the medical drama’s tenth and final season.
This comparison makes more sense when viewers consider the unexpected foreshadowing that an unknown Reddit user pointed out. The Redditor mentions how Troy “freaks out” in the first episode of Season 5 about Braff only being in the first six episodes of Scrubs Season 9. What’s ironic is Glover himself left the show after the first five episodes of Community Season 5.
Beetlejuice Appears After His Name Is Uttered Three Times
The titular character of Beetlejuice is one of Tim Burton’s best villains and a supernatural being who can be summoned once his name is said three times in a row. A Reddit thread started by an unknown user started a discussion on a blink-and-miss appearance of a background extra in a Beetlejuice costume.
Another user jepyang adds, “What’s really impressive is that this gag is set up over the course of three seasons. They mention Beetlejuice exactly once per season and when it happens in Season 3, this extra walks by in the background.” It goes on to show the particular attention to detail that goes on even in seemingly unimportant scenes of the show.
Blanket Forts As Coping Mechanism
Redditor BlackKnight6660 has an interesting observation on how a significant part of Troy and Abed’s friendship might have a darker undertone. The Season 2 episode “Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design” features the two best friends building a complicated blanket fort that takes the college by storm. The episode right after it includes a segment in which viewers find out that Troy’s uncle had passed away recently.
The Redditor’s conclusion is that building blanket forts is Troy’s way of coping with loss as in a Season 3 episode, Troy can be heard saying “[blanket forts] aren’t just for when uncles die”.
Frankie And The IT Lady Are Played By The Same Actress
The last season received some major changes with characters like Paget Brewster’s Frankie joining the main gang of students. Attentive viewers would note that Frankie was actually the “IT lady” of Greendale College.
With the change of roles, Brewster gets to subtly reference her own role in the show as Redditor redfive5standingby points out that Frankie is trying to find the IT lady in a Season 6 episode but to no avail. The Reddit post reads, “Brewster played the IT lady in season 5 before being re-cast as Frankie, which is why Frankie can’t find the old character.”
Danny Pudi Was Really An Extra In Cougar Town
Danny Pudi’s Abed is arguably the most “meta” character of Community. The aspiring filmmaker and pop culture nerd mentions in Season 2 how he was an extra on Cougar Town. And as a Reddit post by mattcoady shows, Pudi was in fact, actually an extra on a Cougar Town episode in the ABC sitcom’s sophomore season.
In Season 2 Episode 21 of Cougar Town, Pudi can be spotted as a random customer in an outdoor restaurant. Pudi’s steely gaze in this particular moment feels like he’s playing Abed even here! If that was the case, then it would have been one of the most memorable sitcom crossovers of all time!
Abed Has Experience In Delivering Babies
Community can be so meta at times that even seemingly useless “out of focus” background elements are given importance. A Reddit user (who has now deleted their profile) commented how Abed can be found in the background helping to deliver a baby in the back of a car. In this particular moment from Season 2 Episode 3, the viewers’ focus is actually on Jeff who is talking about his health.
In the very same season’s 22nd episode, Abed is yet again helpful in delivering Shirley’s baby. At this moment, he mentions how he has had some experience in such activities, a direct call-back to the third episode.
An Episode With A Latvian Reference Aired On The Latvian Independence Day
In the aforementioned Community episode from Season 2 “Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design”, Jeff and Annie chase a mysterious professor whom they also encounter in Troy and Abed’s pillow and blanket fort. In the middle, they are interrupted by what Troy calls a “Latvia independence day parade”.
This isn’t just a random occurrence as the episode actually aired on November 18, 2010. A detailed Reddit thread by notamustache added that this date is “the day of the declaration of Latvian independence” aka the Latvian Independence Day. Who would’ve though that the show would even incorporate accurate historical-georgraphical mentions!
Troy Wears A Spider-Man Tie
A popular Easter Egg on the show is Troy wearing a Spider-Man night suit in the opening episode of Season 2, a detail that hinted at Donald Glover’s interest in playing the character on the big screen. Ultimately, he ended up playing Aaron Davis in Spider-Man: Homecoming and voicing Miles Morales in Ultimate Spider-Man.
However, another Spider-Man fashion reference that viewers might have missed out on would be the scene in a Season 3 episode when Troy adopts a detective persona. Reddit user AlPrafedo
Amy Poehler Appears Through A Stock Photo
The Season 2 episode “Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking” finds an unexpected stock photo of Amy Schumer showing up in a Greendale classroom. While Redditor Zosodechaine pointed out this cool visual reference, a comment by Kruimelvlaai adds more context as in this episode, Abed tries to make his own mockumentary-like show. There are some obvious gags to popular sitcoms like The Office and Parks & Recreation, the latter of which starred Amy Schumer as Leslie Knope.
To quote Abed himself, “You can always wrap it up with a series of random shots, which, when cut together under a generic voiceover, suggest a profound thematic connection. I’m not knocking it. It works.”
Party Down Is Randomly Referenced In An Episode Featuring Martin Starr
Silicon Valley alumnus Martin Starr has acted in various comedies including Freaks and Geeks, and Party Down. The latter is a short-lived but acclaimed comedy dealt with a group of LA caterers wishing to make it big in Hollywood. Starr has also appeared in Community as a guest star, playing the political science teacher Professor Cligoris.
In Season 3 Episode 2, the only episode in which Starr appeared, Party Down is also subtly mentioned in a poster. As Annie reads a flyer, several posters seem to be stuck on a board behind. But as this Community, even the blurry background elements are of significance, as spotted by Reddit user JusticeSF.
