Should the show very-probably-be-canceled, what will happen to the very talented cast? You’d think that casting agents are biding their time before descending upon roster of superstars-in-waiting. Below is a list of where they are likely to end up next.

Joel McHale

With a growing range of supporting roles, Joel McHale‘s film resume is blossoming. Should NBC decide to cancel Community, it’s likely he’ll try to parlay into a full-time movie career. Of course, it makes sense that he would gravitate toward comedy. There’s always a need for good-looking, sarcastic protagonists and Paul Rudd can’t play them all. That’s where Joel McHale could flourish. Let’s see what type of project would be right for him. Perhaps he could play a womanizer guy who learns to respect women when a judge orders him to coach an all female peewee soccer team.

Gillian Jacobs

With potentially scene-stealing roles in several upcoming comedies, Gillian Jacobs is steadily building her fanbase. It’s hard to say where we’ll see her career end up. Right now I’m predicting either Owen Wilson‘s love interest in a movie about a surfer who takes over his dad’s hotel, or as the lead in an indie film about a quirky woman looking for love after the end of a long-term relationship.

But even when NBC gets it right, they manage to get it wrong. The show’s return will face some stiff competition from the opening round of the NCAA tournament, which isn’t exactly where a show struggling for ratings wants to be (Thanks to SeanMMcNally for pointing that out). Even so, it’s good to see the network has finally come to its senses. And by that, I mean it literally ran out of other shows to run, since NBC’s ratings have plummeted to the point where Community’s numbers are looking good.

But enough negativity. It’s time to to get excited for the return of Annie‘s Boobs and Alison Brie‘s breasts. See what I did there? Pretty “meta,” am I right? OK, fine, I don’t know what “meta” means. Piss off. (THR)

This afternoon in New York City, Community fans will descend upon Rockefeller Center to show NBC network brass (who are probably already on holiday vacation) just what’s what by forming a flash mob. At 1pm today, a group will form together by the giant tree and sing a Christmas song FOR TWO MINUTES. Consider yourself occupied, NBC. We are the 99% of the 1% of people actually watch the show. And we’re mad enough to sing for exactly two minutes.

Standby for reports of the show’s renewal. (NY Daily News)

Directed by Nicholas Stoller, The Five-Year Engagement also has an impressive 60% Must See TV supporting cast, which features Chris Pratt, Alison Brie, Mindy Kaling, Chris Parnell, and Jacki Weaver.

7 photosAlison Brie

Annie became a fan favorite character on Community. When she kissed Jeff (Joel McHale) in the first season finale, she had Jeff/Annie shippers rooting for her. She’s gotten dramatic when Troy (Donald Glover) walked her home and turned full on action babe in the paintball episodes.

Brie was wearing a leggy white skirt and black heels for the NBC party, with her hair done up all cute. Even with costars like Chevy Chase coming over to give her a kiss, she gave me her complete attention.

Q: I get such a happy feeling when I watch you on Community because I feel like you are just going all out to make us happy, whether it’s playing Annie as her nervous self or sexing it up as the gunfighting paintballer.

Alison Brie: Thank you for saying that. I think Annie as a character is someone who throws herself into whatever she’s doing and that’s why she’s fun to play. I gues I am that way as well, so whatever they throw at me on the show, I really want to do it 100% and go all the way. That’s kind of what’s great about our show, that we’re not locked into one thing and our character doesn’t stay the same all the time. You get these different outlets to play a sexier version of the character or a more neurotic version of the character.

Q: Well, original Annie is no less sexy.

AB: [Laugh] Thank you. Well, good. It’s just a lot of fun. I find it more fun to go all out with it so I’m glad that you enjoy watching that as well.

The Donald Glover Meltdown Supercut

AB: Well, we just started so it’s early on. I think we’re going to see a little bit more of the badass side of Annie. We might get some darker sides of her, some bits of her drug-addled past and how that is affecting her still. She may have some darker Adderall moments maybe surface.

Q: Is this all in the first episode?

AB: No, no, it’s not. I’m giving you secrets. I’m giving you scoop. There’s some good stuff for shippers, shippers of any kind. We’re two episodes in and I already feel like Annie’s having moments with a number of characters. So that’s good.

Q: Do you feel like you get two characters since they named the monkey Annie’s Boobs?

AB: No, I don’t take any ownership in Annie’s Boobs. She is her own character. She’s an amazing actor.

Q: What do the throngs of adoring male fans do for your ego?

AB: [Laughs] They’re great. They make me feel awesome. I love them. I will never begrudge loving fans.

Q: Do you get it a lot more constantly now that you’re on Twitter?

AB: Twitter is great because it is a direct throughline to fans. I would assume it’s what it would be like when people would get fan mail. It’s sort of like instant fan mail, or weird creepy things. You never know what you’re going to get.

Q: Was there a weird creepy one that’s funny enough to repeat?

AB: I mean, requests for like my underwear are always interesting.

Q: Who thinks they’re actually going to get a pair?

AB: I don’t know! More often I think that they think that I probably just don’t read it. What I would say to those people is I read almost all of people’s responses. I just don’t have time to respond to them usually.

Q: How many @mentions do you get a day?

AB: It depends. If there’s something of note that day like a GQ spread is issued, it might be hundreds. If I haven’t tweeted in a while, it might be 15. You never know.

Q: Your tweets are very provocative. Do you come up with them off the cuff or are they well planned?

AB: Usually they come right off the top of my head but then I will sit and agonize over grammar, because there’s nothing worse than a grammatical error in a tweet. You will never hear the end of it.

“Well, I think Annie starts out kind of dressed but then she just loses her clothing,” Brie said. “I think she’s a girl who’s been through a lot. When we catch up with Annie pretty much at the beginning of the episode, she’s already been through quite a bit and the clothes were just slowin’ her down. So she had to just let ‘em go. Somehow I don’t think the male viewers are going to have a problem with the costume, even if they’re hardcore western fans.”

(Check out our “Community” Gif recap here!)

The first round of paintball was very Die Hard inspired, with a little John Woo thrown in. The “Community” writers know their genres, so their western follows the western genre rules.

“It’s different,” Brie said. “The stunts were a bit different. First of all the costumes are extremely different and I think also just because of the types of movies we’re spoofing, our whole attitude and demeanor is much different. You know when you watch a western, things move a bit more slowly and there’s that swagger that you kind of take on. I certainly was wearing a lot less clothing than I usually wear but still sort of taking on that cowboy attitude so that was really fun and interesting, and sort of a different pace.

There’s a lot more I think moments of standstill where it’s just the eyes and fingers tickling your gun as opposed to action action action. Even though there is a lot of action as well, chase scenes as well. It’s a bit of a Tarantino-y type western nod as well so I think you have some of that cool badassery mixed in with the old style western.”

Annie was eliminated early in last season’s “Modern Warfare” so she’ taken measures to hang in there well into the second part of the twofer. “When we catch up with Annie at the beginning of the episode, it’s midway through the paintball wars. She’s been at it now for a little while and she’s been surviving on her own. She’s set up in the science lab her own little secret area with coke cans and strings. She’s got a whole setup there so that she’ll know which direction people are coming from. It’s her little lair. That’ll give you an idea of what Annie’s been up to in the few hours that they’ve been playing paintball. She’s holed up on her own and she’s been trying to do it by herself. I think she was ready. I think maybe she trained a little bit before this next paintball extravaganza. She really wanted to be prepared.”

“Community” airs Thursday nights on NBC.

Mireille Enos (AMC’s “The Killing“) has snagged a role in Paramount‘s World War Z, based on the Max Brooks bestseller about zombies. This is the first movie Hollywood has made about zombies in a long time. She’ll play wife Karin Lane to star Brad Pitt. Though Enos has starred in TV shows like “Big Love,” this is the first time her face will be stretched to movie theater proportions in a major role. (Deadline)

Meanwhile, the Judd Apatow produced comedy Five Year Engagement is importing a new lady from NBC Thursdays to join the cast. Mindy Kaling “The Office“) will join Alison Brie (“Community”), as well as Jason Segal, Emily Blunt, Rhys Ifans and Chris Pratt “Parks and Recreation“). With all that NBC talent on board, they’d better hope a film opening opposite them doesn’t feature stars from CBS, or they will be crushed at the box office. (Variety)

Anyway, the photos definitely look like shots from a Scream movie, since they have that clean Scream look that you’re familiar with if you’ve seen the movie. Also, Alison Brie is in one of them. Check ‘em out and try not to jump if the phone rings. (via Collider)

Brie also stars in Scream 4, hitting theaters April 15. Her schedule is busy enough that she is perhaps the only person in entertainment not worried sick over the inability of “Mad Men” producers to get a production schedule together for season 5. (Variety)

A word from Alison: “When I was in college and growing up I was like, ‘It’s comedy for me! I’m so funny!’”

I’m hoping Kristen Bell gets the axe first. Fact: did you know Kristen Bell is possibly the most annoying actress on the planet? If Ghostface slashed her smug face with a big knife, that’d be worth the $10 right there. Any observations about horror movie cliches would be icing on the leftover-from-the-90s cake.

Here are the scream-worthy stills. Click to embiggen. (Film School Rejects)

“We need our… personal space… thank you.”

Two blonde chicks. Home alone. What could possibly go wrong?

“Whoa there,” says the mustachioed officer.

Headset guy is too cool for this crew.

I’m betting that by the time she turns around, it won’t be too late.

“Community” presented a press conference in the afternoon, so I followed up on the news of their Dungeons & Dragons episode later. I snagged Yvette Nicole Brown, Allison Brie, Donald Glover, Danny Pudi, Ken Jeong and series creator Dan Harmon.

Q: How long will you guys leave Chang hanging?

Ken Jeong: I hope for a long time because Dan was making a lot of Charlie Brown allusions in it. I always think of this as like Lucy taking the football away from Charlie Brown in these episodes where Chang wants to be part of the study group.

Q: What class of characters do you get to play in D&D?

Allison Brie: Oh, well, geez. My character’s named Hector the Well Endowed. I think that pretty much speaks for itself.

Q: She chose a male?

AB: Well, they sort of end up choosing at random. I think that Annie is not as into the Dungeons & Dragons as some people are. So she’s going along with it and being a good sport but she doesn’t really know that much about it.

Yvette Nicole Brown: Shirley does not pick. There’s a few of us that don’t pick. Our characters are given to us by Abed. So Shirley does not pick. I don’t want to say any more than that. They’re really cute characters.

Q: Did any of you play?

Donald Glover: No, but I like that Choose Your Own Adventure shit. I really liked Oregon Trail and the Choose Your Own Adventure books.

Q: I remember Oregon Trail. That was educational.

DG: Yeah, but I loved it. I loved all that stuff.

Dan Harmon: That’s how I learned to write, how to socialize or rather avoided socializing. Yeah, that was my first refuge from a cruel, cruel world. Thank God for stuff like that that gathers nerds in clusters so that you can stay safe.

Q: Were you a DM or player?

DH: I was a player for all the fun times and I tried to be a DM when there was nobody to play with and nobody to DM, I loved it so much I tried to DM and I sucked at it.

Danny Pudi: I play a little bit. It’s funny that it’s actually kind of happening. I never really got into it. I did play maybe once or twice when I was in high school with a couple buddies, but this past summer I did a movie, a live action role playing movie called Knights of Badassdom with Steve Zahn, Peter Dinklage and Ryan Kwanten. So I feel like it’s calling me. That genre is definitely calling me. Now I wish I played it more because it’s this whole role playing thing. You get to act and play all these people with wizards and mystical powers. I don’t know how I missed it.

YNB: I don’t think Shirley really fully gets the whole thing and I don’t fully get Dungeons & Dragons. I want to understand it but I flipped through one of the books, it was so intricate. I was like, you need a PhD to play Dungeons & Dragons or at least to play it well. So I don’t know if Shirley quite understand.

Q: What other cool stuff is coming up?

AB: We sort of touched on Annie living in a bad neighborhood and we walked down the hallway of her place and it’s kind of sketchy. I can just say that we’re going to go further in that direction and you do sort of learn about Annie’s struggles and things that she’s going through.

DG: Troy and Abed fight over the same girl, Malcolm Jamal Warner, Levar Burton. That’s all the stuff I can say without getting in trouble.

YNB: Aside from Malcolm Jamal Warner? I can’t think of anything else better than that. It’s hard to go wrong. His first episode airs the 20^th and we got two more. He’s doing three. I just finished my second episode with him today.

Q: What does he play?

YNB: He’s Shirley’s ex-husband and they’re reconciling maybe. I don’t want to say too much.

Q: But he’s only in 3 so that doesn’t bode well.

YNB: He’s only in three episodes so far. That’s his minimum. It could go on for forever. Our show always brings people back. Even when you don’t have a deal to do three, you end up doing three.

Q: Shirley’s mentioned her ex before. Did you always imagine Malcolm Jamal Warner in that part?

YNB: I always dreamed that it was. From the first season, I told Dan Harmon that that was my dream. I told every writer that would come to set, if Shirley’s ex-husband is ever seen and they reconcile, because that was my point, if they reconcile, I would love for it to be Malcolm Jamal Warner. I always say Isaiah Mustafa for her love interest but Malcolm for her husband.

Q: Would Troy and Abed have a unique perspective on Malcolm Jamal Warner and Levar Burton because of the roles they’ve played on TV?

DG: I think unconsciously yes just because it’s a TV show about TV shows. So yes, but other than that, not really. I can’t really go into it but I think the only comment really on them is that it’s a TV show about TV shows.

Q: How does the new girl challenge the bromance of Troy and Abed?

DG: In a very cool way. I’m very happy with how that turned out. It’s really interesting but we really do realize we’re kind of a pair which is really beautiful. Bros before hos.

Q: It must be a special kind of woman who’d appeal to both of them.

DG: I think so.

Q: Is that a famous guest star playing the role?

DG: Can’t say.

Q: Does that episode happen to coincide with Valentine’s Day?

DG: Yes.

DH: We’re shooting one on Monday that I’m really excited about, if only because Richard Ayoade is directing. He’s Moss on “IT Crowd” and Dean Lerner on “Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place.” Big big fan of his work on camera and off. He’s directing next week’s episode. He’s shooting the episode we’re shooting next week. It’s exciting to be around him.

Q: Dan are you still hands on writing every episode?

DH: Yeah, I was more Howard Hughesy about first season, I think to the show’s detriment. I would not go into work. I would stay at home for two days and work in my pajamas and then come in. People wouldn’t have time to do what they’re doing. This season what’s making the show great is just what all TV writers do which is punch stuff up. Have different brains bringing in weird random stuff. They can be funny too, give us the ball.

Q: Ken, for Hangover 2, is there a good reason Mr. Chow is in Thailand?

KJ: Yes, yes. It’s much like here on “Community,” in their second season, I see a lot of parallels. When you’re doing Hangover 2 and you’re reunited with that old crew again, I think the script is better than the first one.

Q: Allison, how close together might you shoot a “Mad Men” and a “Community?”

AB: Oh, we’ve done it in the same day.

Q: That’s awesome. What are those days like?

AB: Amazing. I love them. Those are the days when I’m like, “I’m an actor! I’m working!” Also it makes me marvel at the differences between the shows because it’s surprisingly not that difficult to go form one set to the other and from one character to the other. I think I’ve done “Mad Men” in the morning and gone over to “Community” in the evening and started with “Community” in the morning and then finished up with “Mad Men.” It’s such a funny and interesting transformation, putting on the jewelry and getting your hair done and then sort of stripping down and wiping it away. It’s very cool.

Q: You sound more like Trudy than Annie. Is that closer to your real voice?

AB: I’m glad that you commented on my voice because I do make an effort to differentiate them vocally and physically and all of that. I got my degree in theater from California Institute of the Arts so we do all sorts of physical and vocal training there, down to the minute exploring different parts of your tongue and teeth and sounds that you can make. I found it invaluable, just totally useful.

“Community” returns tonight at 8PM on NBC.

“The episode is ‘Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas,’” Pudi said in a conference call with the media. “The episode starts off like a typical community episode. Cold open, we’re in the cafeteria, Dean Pelton is over the speaker. The only difference is it’s stop motion. Abed notices and he thinks it’s a very special Christmas because we’ve gone to a new medium, stop motion. Abed believes the only reason he’s in stop motion is to find the meaning of Christmas. They go on a journey with the aid of Professor Duncan who believes he needs to help figure out what’s in Abed’s mind. He even says at one time, ‘What emotional crisis did you have to have this delusion?’ Abed says it’s not a delusion. We have a magical journey including through Gumdrop Road which is a place I’ve always wanted to go.”

Like all holiday classics, Abed and the “Community” gang learn something by the end. “It starts in this place where something has triggered this new perspective from Abed because every year he has a special thing with his family on Christmas but something’s a little different this year. Through it all, with the study group’s help, of course at the end we all come together and discover the meaning of Christmas individually and as a group. There are moments of absurdity but it’s grounded in logic and reality. It goes to these places where with stop motion I think we’re able to go a little further with the emotional depth and sadness of some of the characters. I think it will rival ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’ for our generation.”

“Community” already got deep this year with an episode on religion, where Abed becomes a messiah to Greendale. “Uncontrollable Christmas” is profound in a more secular way.

“I think that one was a little bit more about the life of Jesus and the bible. It was a little bit more Christianity based and I think there was a little bit more about religion in that one. The last Christmas episode we talked about different religions, and we talk a little bit, but in this one it’s not as much about religious differences as it is about our characters and the meaning of Christmas for all of us. We even talk about ‘seasons greetings’ vs. ‘merry Christmas.’ There is a little bit more of Abed’s journey to figuring out the meaning of Chrsitmas and the study group coming together at the end. I would say definitely less religious but still very full of meaning, not only Christmas. Abed needs to figure out the meaning of Christmas. The study group comes together on a mini mission in one day, probably in one hour. It’s more focused, also because a lot of it’s coming from one character’s point of view. It’s less about the meta and more about crap, how do we get out of here?’”

Pudi hasn’t seen the finished animation yet, but he did get to visit the studio where eight animators were manipulated his stop motion likeness. “It’s very bizarre because you’re looking at a version of yourself. In my case, it’s definitely an enhanced and better looking version. The eyebrows are fuller, the forehead is smaller. I think I’m more handsome. I’ve got a nicer jaw line. I have actually the same sized legs which I don’t know if that’s a good thing, but it’s very weird and bizarre. It’s just really fun. The first time I met one of the animators, I saw her away from set and she was like, ‘I recognize you because I’ve been working on your doll.’ That’s definitely another first. That’s the first time someone’s recognized me from a doll they made of me.”

Puppetry plays a role in this week’s episode too. Going out to celebrate Troy’s 21^st birthday, Abed gets into a “Farscape” debate. “I do have a conversation with someone regarding ‘Farscape’ and the differences between season one and season three. I think Abed is very excited to discuss ‘Farscape’ with someone because there’s not many people in Abed’s life that he can. Tomorrow night’s episode is a really sweet episode, Troy’s 21^st birthday party, so the gang goes to celebrate his 21^st birthday party. I don’t think we’ve done that very often where you see our group interacting with people outside of Greendale while we’re still together. That’s always interesting, how would Abed and Troy interact with a regular customer at a bar. How would an outsider perceive this group of knuckleheads. That’s another episode where Abed learns a lesson. A lot of people learn a lesson. I think ‘Farscape’ is just the means to the end.”

For research, Pudi put on a few “Farscape” episodes. “It freaked me out right away with some of the aliens. They’re very alien looking with human qualities but there is a fantasy element I like because as a kid I thought okay, if it is possible for me to make out with an alien woman, that would be an exciting thing. Watching ‘Farscape’ definitely rekindled some of those memories I am human though. I just want everybody to be clear of that, and married so don’t tell my wife.”

That takes “Community” through the end of 2010. Pudi’s already at work on next year’s batch. “We just did an episode where we get to put on a drug play. Anti-drug play, let’s be clear about that. Every script I get I’m just really, really excited to see what’s next and where we’re going. I feel like I’m turning back into a 5 – 10-year-old. The fact I get to do that as an adult with a bank account makes me really excited. My mom can’t get mad at me. When you get to play in a blanket fort, put on an anti-drug play… these are things an adult can’t get away with, or at least you’d be monitoring his behavior.”

“Community” airs Thursdays at 8/7c on NBC.

This morning I have for you a preview of the upcoming Halloween episode of "Community." Zombies have taken over Greendale. The producers have also managed to make all the characters’ costumes funny again, as well as indicative of their unique personalities. Jeff is so vain that he always goes as something effortlessly attractive. This year he’s David Beckham. Brilliant. And wait until you see Senor Chang.

"Community" is without a doubt one of the best shows on television, and it’s perplexing to me that no one watches it. You and I might watch it, but everyone else is tuning into "The Big Bang Theory" and not DVRing the little college sitcom on NBC at the same time. Some affiliates across the country are even dropping it from their lineup due to the fact that no one in their city gives a crap. That is not a good sign, folks. Once affiliates start dropping programs it’s not long before it gets yanked from the schedule altogether. Let’s watch this Halloween episode and save this show from going the way of "Arrested Development."

Check out the preview after the jump…

(WarmingGlow)

"Community" creator Dan Harmon‘s Christmas wish just came true. No, not a third season, stupid. He gets to live his dream of creating an entirely animated episode of his sitcom. This season’s Christmas episode of "Community" will be created in the pain-staking stop motion style of the Rankin/Bass animated specials we all grew up on. Harmon recounts how this opportunity presented itself.

“It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do but, I never anticipated having the ability to do it,” he admits. But “Jeff Gaspin at NBC woke up one morning and thought "Community" should do an animated episode. I was like, ‘Well, that’s weird, because that’s the kind of stuff I’m usually suggesting and guys like him veto.’”

Sounds awesome. Early buzz already has this (and the Halloween episode) topping last season’s Paintball Episode. Sure, it will strain a few animators’ eyes and backs, but I feel like it’s worth it. Dibs on the Gillian Jacobs doll! (EW)

Scream 4‘s mission to make me take my pants off in a movie theater continues. Previous casting choices have included Hayden Panettiere, Marley Shelton, and Marielle Jaffe. Not to mention the near miss with Ashley Greene. Just this morning, "Mad Men" and "Community" actress Alison Brie has signed on to play the assistant to Neve Campbell‘s Sidney, who is described as both ambitious and jealous of her boss’s fame.

It’s also likely she’ll appear in a risque Entertainment Weekly photospread with her female co-stars, beneath the heading "Scream Queens." No word yet on if any of the girls will be kissing a little bit. (The Wrap)