There are plenty of crazy characters on Community, but none is as genuinely certifiable as Ken Jeong’s Benjamin Chang. He began season one as a madcap, authoritarian Spanish professor, but by season two had devolved into an occasionally Gollum-like creature, a man who boasted of eating his twin in utero (no, really) and was also a lonely outsider longing to be let into the study-group clique. So what does Community creator Dan Harmon have in store for Chang come season three? We caught up with Harmon last week for the scoop, which you can find below — along with an exclusive Vulture preview of a new NBC.com video montage compiling some of Chang’s most memorable moments.
Harmon tells us that after drifting around a bit last season without a clear mission, “This season I hope to tell a more structured story about Chang.†Specifically, Jeong’s character will be a security guard when classes resume September 22. “We have a story line that will detail his rise to power,†he says. “I wanted to tell a story of acquiring power and what it does to you. It’s a little Macbeth or Scarface. Or maybe something from The Wire.†Will Chang be a corrupt fake cop? “He’s corrupt in the sense that the campus is less secure than if he wasn’t a security guard. But he’s mostly insane,†Harmon explains.
One other tidbit: An early story about Chang in his new role will be told noir-style. Meanwhile, despite a bit of redemption for Chang at the end of last season — Shirley named her new son after him — Harmon says viewers should keep their sympathies somewhat in check. “He is genuinely insane,†he says. In case you need proof, the video below should do the trick.
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