Joel McHale was on a plane when word broke that Community creator Dan Harmon might not be staying on as showrunner for Season 4. As such, when he disembarked, “My Twitter feed had about 500 ‘at’ (@) mentions” from followers curious about the unexpected wrinkle, he shares with TVLine. “I was like, ‘Oh, something must have happened.’ And it was that whole thing.”

Asked for a status report on Harmon’s possible exit — which the show boss has said has nothing to do with last month’s Chevy Chase brouhaha — McHale had nothing to report, but echoed the sentiment of many, deeming Harmon’s singular voice an impossible one to replace.

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“Dan’s the creator of the show, so to lose his voice would be pretty crazy,” McHale said. “He gave me the role of a lifetime, so it would be a very weird scenario [to continue] without him.” (On Sunday afternoon, NBC boss Robert Greenblatt told TVLine of the situation, “I think [Harmon] will be involved in the show to some degree.”)

“I pray that it works out well,” McHale said, looking to the future. “That sounds weird and vague, but I really do. I literally am praying.”