It's been a long winter for "Community" fans since the show went on hiatus, but spring is definitely on its way. Before the NBC comedy returns on March 15, three animated short clips will debut on Hulu starting March 7.
The shorts, titled “Abed’s Master Key” parts I, II & III, center on Abed (Danny Pudi) and his adventures when granted a Greendale Master Key. Abed abuses his newfound power and, in true "Community" fashion, hijinks follow.
Pudi talked to Entertainment Weekly at PaleyFest in Los Angeles Saturday about the animated shorts.
“The show fits into the web world very well,” he told EW. “[They are] almost like the tags we do at the end of an episode."
It seems NBC agrees and is eager to reach out to the show's fans, who were less than pleased when the network released its mid-season schedule, and mysteriously left "Community" without a return date. NBC announced in February that the show would return in March.
“The ‘Community’ actors and team were eager to lend their voices and support to an effort intended to engage their loyal fan base that has rabidly kept the show thriving via flash mobs, fan art, viral videos, dedicated fan sites and on Facebook and Twitter," Sony Pictures Television's Chris Van Amburg said in a statement regarding the animated shorts.
Community returns to NBC on March 15 at 8 p.m.