NBC’s ‘Community’ season 5 spoilers: Danny Pudi on Troy’s departure, Abed’s progression

There is little doubt that “Community” season 5 is going to feel like a different show for so many reasons come Thursday night. Chevy Chase is going to be gone as Pierce Hawthorne, and this is an absence that will need to be dealt with. Not only that, but there is also the fact that Donald Glover is only going to be around for a good five episodes into this season before leaving himself.

Troy’s exit is something that is going to be set up pretty early in the season, and it is not going to be a situation where he just leaves out of nowhere without any sort of set-up to it. While we’ll be sad to see Donald go, there is something very important that he will leave behind that needs to be addressed: Abed. How is this character going to function and thrive without one of his best friends? Speaking to IGN, Danny Pudi had the following to say about some of what Dan Harmon and the writers have done with the character, and how new addition Jonathan Banks (of “Breaking Bad” fame) is going to be integral in helping Abed move forward and find what could be his voice the rest of the way:

“The first week after Donald had left, there’s a little bit of ‘What are we going to do next?’ kind of thing. Then being in that study room scene, it was just a good feeling, like, ‘We’re going to be okay. It’s just going to be different.’ It was a very cool, very interesting scene, and some of the funniest stuff I’ve heard, as a spectator, from Dan. It was cool, because it forces you to look at the study group differently, forces you to look at your character differently, because suddenly you are bumping into different viewpoints. So that was exciting for me, because now there is a little bit of, like, ‘Okay, part of me is gone. Some of my goofy side with Troy is gone. Abed has to stand alone a little bit more,’ and that’s what we’ve been going through for the last couple of episodes. It’s been exciting. It’s been fun. There’s a little bit of testing boundaries again, re-testing boundaries, seeing whether or not other people are going to accept me. Jonathan Banks and I just had these great scenes, where someone new is challenging me. I think by this point in the series, five years in, the study group is already very aware of Abed’s marathon movie sessions and love of Kickpuncher and pillow forts and dressing in pajamas. But Jonathan Banks… [Laughs] It’s all new to him. It’s fun to look at all that stuff again and try to explain to somebody why it’s worth it. It’s been good. It’s been really good.”

Banks is practically a series regular with all of the time that he is going to clocking in this season, and we’re personally more than grateful that the show was able to grab someone who is as accomplished as him. We already know that he can be terrifying on “Breaking Bad,” and this is a chance for him to show off an interesting new dimension, as well.