David Cross is guesting on Community next season? Try not to blue yourself over this news, but it’s happening, and I think I speak for all of us when I say, huzzah! The Arrested Development star is Greendale Community-bound, and joins the continuously growing list of guest stars set to appear in the NBC comedy at some point in its upcoming fifth season.
Late last month, we learned that Arrested Development creator Mitchell Hurwitz had lined up a guest spot on Community for Season 5. Today, Vulture reports that Cross will also be guest starring in Season 5, appearing in the follow-up to the classic “Advanced Dungeons and Dragons” episode. His character’s name is Hank Hickey, and he’s the “bitterly estranged son” of Professor Hickey, the character Breaking Bad’s Jonathan Banks will be playing throughout the season.
David Cross is playing Jonathan Banks’ son. It’s one of those situations that I feel certain I’ve always wanted to happen, though my brain never visualized the actual scenario. That happens kind of a lot with Community though, so I shouldn’t be surprised.
In his episode, Cross’ character joins the study group for “the second most important game of Dungeons & Dragons ever.” For reference, the original D&D episode of the series was back in Season 2, when the group comes together for a game of Dungeons and Dragons in an effort to cheer up another student at Greendale Community.
In addition to playing Tobias Funke in Arrested Development — a role he reprised for the recent Netflix revival of the series — Cross’ credits include the title role in The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, as well as appearances (in voice or person) in Archer, Modern Family and Comedy Bang Bang. Given that I’m thinking there’s a lot of crossover between Arrested Development and Community — or maybe I just assume that since they’re both brilliant TV comedies with low ratings — I see him as the perfect fit for a Community guest spot.
Cross joins an amazing list of guest stars lined up for the underrated Community, including Banks and Hurwitz, along with Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, Firefly’s Nathan Fillion, Walton Goggins, Brie Larson, LeVar Burton, Ben Folds and Rob Corddry, among others.
NBC has Community set to return to Thursday nights, beginning January 2, which is less than two months away, but still feels like an eternity. While we wait, enjoy this compilation of great Tobias scenes from Arrested Development to refresh your appreciation for Cross’ comedic antics in the beloved comedy:
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