Community Cast: Donald Glover’s Exit Is ‘Sad,’ But Troy’s ‘Really Funny’ Send-Off ‘Feels Right’
There are two questions on every Community fan’s mind as the cult comedy’s fifth season (bowing Jan. 2 at 8/7c) draws near: How will Donald Glover‘s beloved study grouper Troy Barnes — who’ll appear in just five of the upcoming 13 episodes — be written off the canvas? And will his send-off be a satisfying one?
TVLine dropped by “Greendale” just days after the actor wrapped production, and while the mood on set was slightly somber (“I really, really, really miss him,” Yvette Nicole Brown confessed), the entire cast was in enthusiastic agreement about just how fitting a farewell his alter ego ultimately receives.
“It’s a great goodbye and it feels organic,” Brown shared. “You wonder what there could be that could break up Troy and Abed or make Troy leave Greendale, but what it is makes sense.”
VIDEO | Community ‘Rings’ in Season 5 With Britta Worship, Donald Glover In-Jokes, Walton Goggins
Agreeing with his co-star, Joel McHale explained that Troy’s exit “is not just sprung on you” in the season’s fifth installment. Instead, “There’s a build up to it, and there’s a really good, really funny reason why he leaves.”
Troy receives “a tantalizing offer” early in the season, Gillian Jacobs added, which causes him to do “some soul-searching and looking inward, trying to figure out who he is and who he wants to be.” And once Troy has come to said realization, he will enjoy “a nice departure that doesn’t make you feel sad about the character; it feels right.
“It’s one of those really bold storytelling moves that you probably would never want to make as a writer, but when it’s forced upon you, it’s a good opportunity to write some epic episodes – which I think they did,” she continued. “We would never want to split Troy and Abed up, but it’s probably good for Abed, to push him to see who he is outside of that friendship… It was kind of a crutch for both of them.”
“It’s not a ‘happy ending,'” per se, McHale agreed. “Abed is losing his best friend and that’s very sad. But within that sad thing happening, [creator] Dan Harmon puts in lightning bolts of jokes and it’s great.”
As for the how the shoot itself went, the Community co-stars were once again on the same page: It was rough.
“That was hard to shoot,” McHale confessed. “As an actor, when you shoot something that’s intense and emotional, you can then go home and have a glass of wine – or four! But with this, Donald was really leaving and it was very sad. I count those years with Donald as a privilege, to both work with him and be with him. Despite being one of the most talented, funny guys, he’s a really great guy — I would hang out with him even if he was talentless! Yeah, I miss him.”
VIDEO | Community Sneak Peek: Jeff Unexpectedly Finds Himself Back at Greendale as [Spoiler]
“We shot our final Troy/Abed scene before Donald actually left,” Danny Pudi recalled with a laugh, “so it was weird to be doing that last goodbye and then showing up again later in the makeup trailer… This [departure] is sad because a large part of the show and the experience for me has been this Troy/Abed relationship, and even more so it’s been Donald and Danny hanging out. But I’m excited for him because I know he’s got a lot of things to pursue. The nice thing about [Donald’s final episode] is that the writers did a really good job of doing justice to both Troy and Troy and Abed.”
And what of a possible return from Childish Gambino himself somewhere down the line?
“There is a little bit of hope that maybe Donald will come back,” Pudi shared. “There’s always a chance. That’s the thing about our show: I never really believe anything is done anymore. Community has given me the best gift: the perspective that nothing is dead until it’s dead. So, there’s a window — a tiny, tiny window…”
Follow @MegMasters
I have had faith that Harmon would handle his departure very well (story-wise), and this only solidifies my thoughts. Very excited for the new year. Sherlock on the 1st, Community on the 2nd!
Six seasons and a movie where Donald comes back in te movie as a featured guest and a cameo by Chevy Chase.
“After everything Scrubs has done for him!”
Can’t wait. I’m sure the send-off will be send but satisfying.
“Community has given me the best gift: the perspective that nothing is dead until it’s dead.”
That’s a great way of putting it-can’t argue with Pudi on that :). I like that he’s remaining optimistic and positive about the whole thing.
Very glad to hear they seem to have found a good way for Troy to leave the show, in a way that the cast is pleased about. I’m all for a story that involves him going off to do what makes him happy, and I like that they’ll deal with how Troy and Abed’s friendship is affected by all of this.
The comments from Joel, Danny, and Yvette made me go, “Aw…”, though. Very sweet, touching comments from them. I don’t blame them for being sad, I get the feeling it’ll be an emotional moment for the viewers, too. But I’ll definitely be interested to see how it plays out.
Bah, sorry for the italics screw-up!
I thought you were just whispering. ;-)
I’m sure Dan wrote a great send off for Troy. I’m glad Donald is in first 5 episodes of season 5. Hope he comes back for an appearance in season 6 and movie.
Sorry, but Glover is still a d-bag for bailing early. If he keeps this up in his career, he’ll have the same reputation that Mandy Patinkin and Rob Lowe have now – quitters.
He’s not that good a rapper either. I listened to a few of his songs and it was cool in the “hey that’s the guy from Community” sense, but nothing I would ever actually buy.
Either you don’t like hip hop or you’re crazy!
Childish Gambino > Troy Barns
Did you read any of the messages he posted on Instagram? He’s had a rough year and is having issues. You’re both jerks.
yea coz his personal issues and depression is less important than you wanting him on community. I love Troy. But if this has to happen it has to happen
Screw you man have you dont why he left he has his own personal issues your the douche bag.
I consider anything new we get from this show to be a treat and a bonus, so I’m grateful that we got five extra episodes with Donald and Troy. It’s going to be sad to be without him, but I was sad about last season without Dan, so at least now we have his brilliance back to give Troy the proper farewell.
Life is a combination of joy and sadness, punctuated by moments of serendipity and both good and bad absurdity. It;s all a part of what it means to be a part of a Community.
:-( :-)
I hope that Donald works things out in his life and gets to a point where he could come back to the show. Hopefully the group dynamic won’t be too shaken. Chevy is a pain in the a$$ and a complete d-bag, but we’re still down two characters in one year.
Bright side: No super tough budget cutting decisions to make!
I did think it was weird that everyone was talking as though Donald would never be seen again though. Usually, actors will say “I’m sure that I’ll still see him around” or something like that. This kinda sounded like he defected to Russia or something.