Community: John Goodman and Joel McHale tease Season Three secrets

Joel McHale and John Goodman talked with TV Geek Army and other press outlets today in a conference call teasing some of the plots twists and storylines for the third season of Community. As previously reported, John Goodman and Michael K. Williams are joining the cast in recurring arcs as Vice Dean Laybourne and biology teacher Professor Kane, respectively. Both men will be torturing various members of the Greendale staff and student body, gleefully taking over the role of chief agitators once filled by last season's meanie, Pierce (Chevy Chase).

For Goodman, who's been working on more dramatic roles on Treme and Damages of late, Community is a welcome return to the genre he loves the most.

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Goodman says he jumped at the job offer because of, "the cast. I think they are a wonderful ensemble. The writing is out there. It’s not a typical sitcom. It’s risky and a combination of great things. I was dying to get back into comedy again. I’ve been doing pretty heavy guys."

As the Vice Dean of Greendale's Air Conditioning Repair School, Goodman says he's got an axe to grind with Dean Pelton (Jim Rash) and I've "got his privates in a vice."

Asked what Laybourne's ultimate scheme is, McHale shares that, "all the stuff he is doing is setting up the Darth Vader-like empire that’s the Air Conditioning Repair School Empire. I feel like Jeff is going to be forced to help Dean [Pelton] at some point."

Why? For the very soul of Troy (Donald Glove) it seems. Goodman teases that the mechanically adept former football star is the Luke Skywalker to Laybourne's Darth Vader.

Interestingly enough, Goodman is only working on the series once a month which means he's cramming several episodes of material into condensed shoot days.

Goodman explains, "I usually work one person per session. I don’t know what’s going on [overall with the season]. I’ve got so much to do on the days that I do work, I don’t have time to goof around with everyone."

But McHale says that doesn't stop the main cast from stalking Goodman on his work days. "A lot of the actors just go and watch him so he doesn’t steal anything," he laughs. "I know that John loves the gushing but having him on the show is like we've got the Stealth Bomber and no one can touch us. We are all so excited and we wonder what bet he lost to have to come on the show."

McHale also shares that Professor Kane will be making Jeff's life miserable from episode one. "He is scary and plays an ex-con Biology teacher who has a lot of power over Jeff."

On a lighter note, McHale says the big musical sequence teased in the season three trailer will actually open the season premiere. "It’s an over-the-top, very large musical number with crane shots, explosions and the entire school is involved. I did pull a couple hamstrings and was hoarse after." What it's happening for will have to remain a secret.

In other Jeff news, McHale confirms that his character and Annie's (Alison Brie) relationship "will develop further on the romantic end of things, much to the chagrin of half the audience according to messageboards. It’s really divided right down the middle. Otherwise, I know that my father will become present in the series. Jeff has a lot of father issues and according to [creator] Dan (Harmon), my character will be put through hell."

Asked who he personally thinks Jeff should get romantic with -- Annie or Britta (Gillian Jacobs), McHale was genuinely flumoxed saying he hadn't thought about it. "I trust Dan implicitly. Jeff is a very guarded and uncommitted man. All I know is that he’s going to gravitate to Annie this year. But for my personal choice, I would think anybody from the WNBA."

Community's third season premieres on Thursday, September 22 on NBC.