The show even poked fun at Jeffs frequent soliloquizing in an episode last season.
Alan offers Jeff an ultimatum: Throw the case, or never get his old job back.
Watch the speech below, and then learn more about how the speech came together.
(Hint: Prep time was at a minimum.)
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How long did you have to memorize the speech?
JOEL MCHALE:The final words werent really ready until that morning.
So I tapedThe Soup, and I had to do this monster speech.
I actually did Morgan SpurlocksA Day in the Life, and they happened to get me on that day.
When you learn something, its not necessarily good yet.
You have to know what youre saying.
you gotta say it correctly.
you gotta say it well.
Theres a sense watching that episode that it was written as a potential series finale.
Did that add extra pressure to that speech?
The speech was such a well-written speech, and it did wrap up a lot of stuff.
This is the last episode ofGunsmoke.
That was the longest-running show in history.
Could you imagine the last day of shooting on that show?
And I have not smart-levels of confidence about the show.
Iknowits a good show, even if that doesnt necessarily guarantee its going to be on the air.
Im unapologetic about it.
Was it common to get scripts like that?
Thats true of a lot of shows.
Theres rewrites and rewrites, and streamlining due to time constrictions.
You only have 22 minutes.
Used to be 29 you lose so much!
I think [that speech] came right out of Dans brain.
He writes those speeches, and its not an effort for him.
For someone like me, youd have to put me on a desert island… You mentioned that the speech came right out of Dan Harmons brain.
Is it weird to think about returning to the show without him?
Its a bizarre time.
I did not see that coming.
But I know the new showrunners.
I worked with them on a thing calledTheIT Crowd.
And they did retain a lot of writers.
And they have the cast back.
Do you think it will be a markedly different kind of show?
It will look very much like the showGrimm.
And were on right beforeGrimm, so you will not feel a difference.
A lot of the same makeup and prosthetics.
No, nobody wants to mess with what the show is.
That would be foolhardy, because one of the allures of the show is its uniqueness.
Is it difficult for you to jump between ofThe Soupmode and intoCommunity?
Its a different muscle.
In one night they made that transition, did you know that?
They say it actually worked.
Well, theyre Swedish.
They have a hive mind.
The sun never comes out.
This speech really does give you the sense that Jeff has evolved considerably over the course of the show.
Has it been interesting playing that evolution?
You know, people always say People cant change.
And its more like peoplecanchange, but its usually gradual.
Jeff has made sacrifices and discoveries in little bits.
Much like a frog, if you throw it into boiling water, it jumps out.
If you put it in cold water and then heat it up, it will slowly boil to death.
Thats what happened to Jeff.
A lot of the stuff Im saying in this speech, theres not a ton of jokes.
But everything around me is funny.
Im looking over at Abed standing there with a bonesaw.
And the Dean dressed up as Blind Justice; I cant wait until you see the outtakes of that.
And then you have Rob Corddry, freaking nailing it on every single take.
All these huge comedic guns helping me out through a speech that can sound pretty serious.
It couldnt be a goofy speech.
You were the gravitas delivery system.
It was a buffered aspirin.
Were gonna give you what you need, but were gonna disguise it.
Like an Advil with sugar coating.
Its an Advil ad!
Hi, Im Joel McHale!
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