Ken Jeong Ready for 'Community' Movie: 'I Will Do Anything for Them'

Ken Jeong has revealed he's ready to sign up for a film version of the hit comedy Community, after years of demands from fans for the cast to reunite.

Actor and comedian Jeong played Ben Chang in the critically acclaimed comedy, which ran between 2009 and 2015, and starred Joel McHale, Alison Brie, Donald Glover, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Chevy Chase, among others.

And when asked by Newsweek if there were plans in the pipeline for a film version of Community, Jeong said: "Everybody knows I will do anything with those guys... As it comes from me, Ken Jeong, Ben Chang, I will do anything for them. It's never work with them and we're really close."

"If anything, it was my acting conservatory," he continued. "If The Hangover made me famous, Community made me a better actor, and I really think I cut my teeth on that show. Working with people like Donald Glover and Academy Award winner Jim Rash, and even tolerating Joel McHale! All those things really came into play."

"Community is, for lack of a better word, my family," he went on, adding: "We have a text chain just with the cast, and we're always just joking around. Sometimes we're doing in-jokes from the show. It's almost like a nice escape... It kind of gets us through the day."

Jeong calls McHale "one of my best friends," having appeared with him on his show Crime Scene Kitchen and their podcast, The Darkest Timeline with Ken Jeong & Joel McHale, which they worked on at the height of the pandemic.

"We talked to friends of ours from Community, as well as other celebrity guests," said Jeong. "But for the first half hour, we would talk about all things COVID. It's something I'm proud of, because we just did that as a way to kind of keep people informed. And I did the podcast out of pocket—it wasn't with a studio... It was not for profit and it was only out of love."

In the meantime, Jeong has enjoying popularity away from his Community family as a panelist on The Masked Singer and the presenter of I Can See Your Voice—two shows he's passionate about.

He said: "What I like about being on both shows is The Masked Singer I'm a panelist and I have so much fun. I'm able to use my comedy and my improv skills, just to have a laugh. And then [on] I Can See Your Voice, it's really more of me as a person. I'm not a panelist, I'm the host and I'm setting the tone of the show."

And to all celebrities flirting with the idea of donning a bizarre costume to perform on The Masked Singer, Jeong is urging them to take a leaf out of Kelly Osbourne's book.

"In many ways, my favorite contestants are the ones who have the most sophisticated gameplay," he told Newsweek. "Kelly Osbourne, for example, on the second season of The Masked Singer. She has a British accent, but when she was talking in her disguised voice, she had a U.S. Southern accent. And that threw everybody off the scent.

"And I thought that she played the game the best. It was really, really smart, and still one of my all-time favorite moments. In terms of who I want too see, I basically want to see people who enjoy the game and play the game the best."

With so many notches on his entertainment belt, what does he want to do next? If a faction of Jeopardy! fans have any say, Jeong should be the next host to fill the very large shoes of late beloved presenter Alex Trebek.

On being informed of the online discussions, a shocked Jeong said: "Really? Oh no, goodness... Alex Trebek truly is an icon and a legend... So for me to be mentioned in any breath is an honor that, quite frankly, no one is qualified to follow."

Jeong and Trebek worked together on a 2014 episode of the sitcom Hot in Cleveland—an experience which Jeong recalls with great fondness.

"There was a lot of downtime, so I really got to talk to Alex and hang out with him a lot," Jeong said. "And we just joked around so much. I didn't realize how amazingly funny he is."

That hilarity continued before rolling cameras. "He got the longest ovation," said Jeong. "I think he stole not only the scene, but the episode. I remember telling him afterwards, 'How dare you pounce on my property as a comedian and then like steal it? I'm supposed to be the scene stealer here! That's my job! You pulled the rug from under us!'"

"I get a little chocked up thinking about him," added Jeong of Trebek, who passed away in November 2020 after a battle with cancer. "Everyone loves him, and for good reason."