One of the best shows on TV just got better: Michael Kenneth Williams, who plays Chalky White on “Boardwalk Empire” but will always be known as Omar from “The Wire,” will join the cast of “Community” as the show’s biology professor for at least three episodes next season. Showrunner Dan Harmon described the reasoning at the “Community” Comic-Con panel:
“It is what it seems like,” he said. “I want to add a layer of intensity to ‘Community.’ If the show’s ever been too weird to attract new viewers, you can add water to have less flavor and hope it threatens less people, or you can threaten the hell out of everyone with the kind of intensity and flavor that people will get tired of pretending isn’t awesome… If we’re too cartoonish sometimes, then let’s add the opposite of cartoonish. Let’s add a little element of ‘The Wire’ to ‘Community.'”
Granted, adding a badass from “The Wire” isn’t always a recipe for sitcom success — Idris Elba (Stringer Bell) didn’t add much to “The Office” — but there’s just no way I can’t be excited by this. It’s one of my favorite actors on one of my favorite shows. It would be like if Alison Brie joined “Justifed” for some reason. Who cares if it makes sense? Just let me enjoy the idea.
