The show-on-show love going on between NBC's "Community" and ABC's "Cougar Town" is totally random, mostly unprecedented and entirely awesome.
Much like a recent clever crossover between "The Colbert Report" and "Late Show with David Letterman," characters from each sitcom have appeared in the other's universe. The shows air on rival networks and aren't produced by the same company — a la Stephen Colbert's in-character appearance on "Letterman."
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The crossover began with the the March 24 episode of "Community," which was a send-up of the movie "My Dinner with Andre."
Over a high-priced meal, Abed revealed to Joel McHale's Jeff Winger that he had recently been invited to the set of "Cougar Town" because its producers wanted to thank him for starting a popular Facebook fan page of the show.
Abed further told Jeff that he had also been allowed to appear in a scene as an extra — a surprise gift that caused him to overanalyze the situation to a ridiculous degree, in true Abed fashion.
Making a cameo on a show of which he was also a massive fan so freaked him out, Abed admitted, that he had soiled his pants after the director had called "cut."
Part one: Abed discusses "Cougar Town" on "Community"
The crossover continued on the May 12 season finale of "Community," when "Cougar Town" actors Busy Phillipps and Dan Byrd appeared in a quick crowd-reaction shot. It was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo that, naturally, few fans of both shows missed.
Part two: "Cougar Town" characters makes brief cameo on "Community"
And then, on the season finale of "Cougar Town" this Wednesday, the crossover concluded when Danny Pudi appeared in the background of a scene starring Phillipps and Byrd.
Now, in reality, what Abed described in the "My Dinner with Andre" scene of "Community" didn't quite match up with what occurred in the "Cougar Town" episode; after all, Abed explicitly mentioned that Courteney Cox had appeared in his scene.
But both shows get big creative points for the crossover — especially "Cougar Town," which even went so far as to show Abed running off at the end. Presumably this was because he'd — yay, Hollywood! — crapped his pants.
Part three: Abed appears on "Cougar Town"