'Community' Casts John Goodman as Its Newest Vice Dean

The actor will join as the head of the school's most renowned program.

5:01 PM PDT 7/25/2011 by Jethro Nededog

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John Goodman

On the heels of the news that The Wire's Michael K. Williams will be joining NBC’s Community as its new biology professor, it looks like they’ve found someone to head its most renowned field of study, its air conditioning repair program. What did you expect? It’s community college.

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A spokesperson for Sony Pictures Television, the studio that produces the NBC show, has confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that John Goodman has joined for at least six episodes as the new vice dean of Greendale's well-known air conditioning program.

"The Greendale Community College only has one part of it that is actually nationally renowned, and it's their air conditioning repair program,” showrunner Dan Harmon tells Vulture. “And it's sort of a separate annex on the campus that puts itself above the rest of the school, and ironically has more power than the campus itself."

Goodman’s character will become a thorn in the side for Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) as well as Dean Pelton (played by newly promoted series regular, Jim Rash).

"When I heard we were going after Goodman, I got really excited about the idea of Jim Rash and Goodman on camera together," Harmon says.

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Goodman is best known for his role as Dan Connor on the long-running ABC sitcom, Roseanne. Most recently, he has appeared on HBO’s Treme and the current season of DirecTV’s Damages. His admirable film resume includes The Big Lebowski, O Brother Where Art Thou?, and Barton Fink.

Email: Jethro.Nededog@thr.com; Twitter: @TheRealJethro

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