Chevy Chase: Doing Community Was a "Big Mistake"
Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase says his decision to participate in Community was a "big mistake" and that he considers sitcoms to be "the lowest form of television," according to the Huffington Post's UK edition.
Though he was quick to compliment his colleagues on the NBC comedy, Chase said he was drawn to it because of the steady paycheck. But that may have been a poor decision in hindsight, he says.
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"It was a big mistake!" Chase said when asked why he made the leap from movies to television to play millionaire Pierce Hawthorne on the show. "I saw this pilot script, thought that it was funny, and I went into the room where they were casting and said, 'I would love to play this guy.' Then they mulled it over. Then they hired me and I just sort of hung around because I have three daughters and a wife, and I figured out I might as well make some bread every week. ... [But] the hours in this kind of show are not commensurate with the actual product."
Chase's disdain apparently extends beyond Community to the entire genre.
"The hours are hideous, and it's still a sitcom on television, which is probably the lowest form of television," he told the Huffington Post UK. "I think the reason I have stuck around is because I love these kids, the cast - they are very good. It's not like I am working with the great innovators of all time, but at the same time, they are my friends."
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Specifically, Chase said he's not a fan of having to stay confined to the college setting, and that he prefers episodes that take place outside, such as the paintball episodes.
"One of the things that bothers me about our show is that it is placed in that study room all the time, with the same light, the same color - that's not interesting to see," he said. "It's just joke after joke after joke around that table. It's hard to shoot it all the time in the same way, the same thing."
It's not the first time Chase has stirred up controversy on the show. His previous feud with fired showrunner Dan Harmon resulted in Harmon cursing at Chase during the show's wrap party and putting angry voicemails from the actor on public display.
What do you think of Chase's latest comments?