The star-studded cast will also include Sasha Alexander (Rizzoli & Isles), Skylar Astin (Spring Awakening), Jason Biggs (The Graduate), Lizzy Caplan (Bachelorette), Ashley Fink (Glee), Justin Long (Going the Distance), Jack McBrayer (30 Rock), Lamorne Morris (New Girl), Diane Neal (Law and Order: SVU), David Oyelwo (Lincoln), Rosie Perez (The Ritz), Molly Sims (Project Accessory), Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother), Jessica Szohr (Gossip Girl), Tracie Thoms (Rent), and Lamorne Morris (New Girl).

Writers on hand to participate in the fast-paced event will be Rachel Axler (Parks and Recreation), Ben Karlin (Modern Family), Will McCormack (Celeste and Jesse Forever), Bill Wrubel (Modern Family), and Jennifer Crittenden (Arrested Development). Directors will include Peter Ellenstein (Artistic Director of the Inge Festival), Andy Fickman (Parental Guidance), Leigh Kilton Smith (acting coach), and Jonathan Levine (50/50).

theatermania.com

The beleaguered cult favorite will continue on for a fifth season, NBC announced Friday. The news comes a day after the Thursday comedy wrapped its fourth season, even year-over-year with a 1.3 rating in the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic and tying American Idol among adults 18-34.

While Community will continue, it will do so without co-star Chevy Chase, who exited the show in November following a roller-coaster relationship with the NBC series as he grew frustrated with the direction his character was taking. Most recently in October, the actor used an N-word on-set when questioning dialog in a scene, then “immediately” apologized to the cast.
The pickup also comes ahead of Community’s syndicated debut in the fall on Comedy Central, with repeats potentially helping to lift the series the way TBS’ encores have helped push CBS’ The Big Bang Theory to new heights in its sixth season.

Despite being initially left off the network’s midseason lineup for the second time, the series received a vote of confidence from NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt earlier this year when he touted that the community college comedy would have more heart under new showrunners David Guarascio and Moses Port. The duo took over from series creator Dan Harmon this season, with some critics of the Sony Pictures Television vehicle giving season four mixed results, some noting Community had lost the edge it had under Harmon.

For NBC’s part, the Community news as the network reinvents its comedy brand, with the community college series joining Parks and Recreation as its lone returning half-hours for 2013-14. All of its freshman comedies — save for Ryan Murphy’s semi-autobiographical entry The New Normal and summer effort Save Me — have failed to earn second seasons, though Save Me is not expected to return. NBC on Friday dropped Matthew Perry’s Go On, which was considered the rookie most likely to continue.

Meanwhile, NBC continues to add new comedies including The Michael J. Fox Show, Sean Saves the World, Undateable and The Family Guide, which just lost co-star Parker Posey.

hollywoodreporter.com

Community’s Gillian Jacobs is also in the movie about same-sex marriage. The story is about a woman who drunkenly promises her lesbian best friend she will not get hitched until gay marriage is legal. But when Brody’s character proposes – things get complicated.

Canadian actress Simone Bailley Tweeted this past week: “Great 1rst day filming in LA with @GillianJacobs,@itsmeleighton, Adam Brody,@JohnPForest and@DigitalActor. Thx 4 being sweet to the CDN!”

Mr. Burns may have blocked the sun on The Simpsons, but Mark Cuban is taking it one step further on American Dad: He’s planning to blow the thing up. The Shark Tank star/Dallas Mavericks owner will lend his voice to the animated Fox comedy, playing an evil genius named Mark Cuban who’s hell-bent on being the No. 1 force in the universe. The only people that can stop him are Stan, Francine, and four sexy flight attendants with a Charlie’s Angels vibe that are played by Gillian Jacobs (Community), Becki Newton (Ugly Betty), Thandie Newton (Mission: Impossible II), and Megalyn Echikunwoke (CSI: Miami).

The episode is slated to air next season, which is the show’s ninth. Season 8 of American Dad has featured such guests as Jon Hamm, Mariah Carey, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Jacobs’ Community co-star Alison Brie.

“Professional babysitter,” said Jacobs, laughing. Much like her character Britta Perry, Jacobs is a bit of a joker.

“I knew actor. That was it,” she quickly added.

But babysitting did play a very important role in the actress’ life. Beginning in elementary school, Jacobs established a reputation as a star babysitter in and around Pittsburgh, where she was born and raised.

“College is expensive, I always knew that and I wanted to make money, partially to spend a little of it here and there but primarily for a college savings fund,” said Jacobs.

She charged $10 an hour and used the time to hone her acting skills.

“Playtime was always a time to work on actor skills and pretending,” said Jacobs.

Which is why it came as no surprise that Jacobs was a constant at the Pittsburgh Public Theater.

And just like her acting, the babysitting continued through her high school and college years and beyond. “It was good money and a great chance to stay sharp,” added Jacobs. “If you can entertain kids for hours, you’re on the right track.”

Jacobs can be seen on “Community,” which is in its fourth season on NBC.

wsj.com

“We plan dinners together, and we’re always emailing and texting each other — especially after an episode airs. I’ll text Danny Pudi to tell him ‘great job in that scene,’ or ‘I loved you in that.’ It’s a very supportive group!” Jacobs says.

parade.com

What’s the first information you consume in the morning?
I go to New York magazine’s Daily Intel blog. Then The New York Times, obviously; Gawker, Jezebel and Twitter. And sometimes I look at really weird Tumblr pages.

What do you read or watch or listen to at the breakfast table?
I am a public radio addict, so KPCC or KCRW.

What occupies your mind in the car, on the subway, train or bus?
KPCC. I very rarely listen to music in my car—a lot of people make fun of me for it. But sometimes I listen to music on YouTube. I’m like a teenager.

Are you a TV junkie or on an airtime-restricted diet?
I go through spurts. I find that when I’m working a lot, I mostly DVR stuff. RuPaul’s Drag Race is a can’t-miss. Then I watch Top Chef—I was very happy about the return of Kristen—The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Portlandia. And I’ve been watching House of Cards on Netflix—my friend Beau Willimon adapted it for the U.S. I didn’t own a TV until a couple of years ago, so I used to have to watch my own show on Hulu.

Before bed, do you bite into a novel, graze on Twitter or fast until morning?
I just got a book called The Tell-Tale Brain by this neurologist named V. S. Ramachandran. It’s basically about how, in the last 15 years, they’ve made these huge leaps and bounds in learning about neurology.

Which is more nutritious: print or Web?
I love print, but when I lived in New York, it was so much more readily available because there was inevitably a newsstand or a bodega where I could buy a newspaper or magazine. In Los Angeles, sometimes it’s hard to find a magazine stand, let alone one that has the magazine that you want. So I find that the longer I live in L.A., the more digitally I consume.

Give us the skinny on your favorite app.
Right now, it’s Vine. I have taken to it like a fish to water. I don’t really know how to use iMovie or do any kind of real editing, so it’s great to have something that allows you to do it in a really easy, idiot-proof way. It’s really fun.

What’s your biggest digital indulgence?
I’m spending way too much time test running my Vine videos. I’ll go into a room and close the door and be in there for an hour workshopping a Vine video that I never even post. So that’s probably a huge time suck.

It seems like every actor on Community has side projects going on, from rap careers to other TV series. What are you up to when you’re not shooting the show?
I do a voice on the Nickelodeon cartoon version of Monsters vs. Aliens, and I’m doing a Web series for Yahoo called Tiny Commando with Ed Helms and Zach Levi. And I’m making good progress in my way around the podcast-sphere.

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