Of the various recurring characters that fans of Dan Harmon’s cult comedy hit would call a fan favorite, Greendale’s Psychology Department head Ian Duncan might just barely make the cut.
However, when he was not taking a leave of absence to care for his ill mother, John Oliver’s character played a pivotal role in some of Community’s most defining episodes, such as the 2009 pilot, in which friend and former attorney Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) asked to help him cheat his way to early graduation, or when he attempted to cure Abed (Danny Pudi) of his stop-motion animation delusion in the Season 2 Christmas special.