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There’s only one sporting event that almost all Americans look forward to, even if they aren’t a fan of, well, any sports – the Super Bowl. We’re only days away from Super Bowl LVI, and while, sure, you might be rooting for the Cincinnati Bengals or the Los Angeles Rams, the real winners are the commercials. Showbiz Cheat Sheet recently talked to actor Joel McHale who’s teaming up with Planters and Ken Jeong for an ad that will air during the big game. 

Joel McHale and Ken Jeong smiles behind a can of Planters Mixed Nuts in a production still from their upcoming Super Bowl LVI commercial
Joel McHale and Ken Jeong | Planters

Why did Joel McHale team up with Planters and Ken Jeong?

Did you realize there’s a proper way to eat mixed nuts? According to McHale, there is. The 50-year-old actor stars in Planters’ Super Bowl ad this year aside from Jeong, and the two argue the entire time. Of course, that’s par for the course with McHale and Jeong.

We asked McHale what drew him to the Super Bowl ad for Planters. “Sometimes I’ve done stuff for products where I’m like, ‘Sure, that sounds great.’ But then it came along and I was like, ‘Well, I actually eat a lot of those.’ And then they said, ‘Do you want to do this with Ken?’ We apparently were separated at birth,” he said.

Jeong and McHale are practically attached at the hip these days after working together on the set of Community starting back in 2009. Since then, the pair has worked on everything from The Masked Singer to hosting Fox’s New Year’s Eve special.

McHale told us more about his relationship with Jeong, “We are each other’s shadows. I’m not kidding when I say what I’m about to say, I talk on the phone with him and my wife will know it’s Ken and she’ll just be like, ‘You talking to your boyfriend?’ We had a lot of improvising on this set and it was really fun and it was great.”

Are there plans for Joel McHale and the Greendale gang to revive ‘Community’?

The mantra for fans of McHale’s show Community has always been, “Six seasons and a movie.” Over the years, the chances of viewers getting a revival seemed to fade. Now, McHale says there’s a real chance audiences could see the cast return for a movie.

When we asked McHale his thoughts on getting the gang back together, he said, “A year ago if you would have asked me that I would have just given you lip service and said, ‘Sure, maybe.’ But now, streaming services gave the show a whole new life. I’m not going to say we have a shoot date or a script or a cast. No, but I would say that it is way more likely than it was, and in a real way. I would do it in a New York minute if we can get everybody together. There’s real talk of it.”

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Who is Joel McHale rooting for in Super Bowl LVI?

Sixty-six percent of NFL fans want to see the Cincinnati Bengals take home the Super Bowl win. However, McHale plans to root for the Los Angeles Rams in the big game.

“I think people love taking shots at L.A., but really the city is way more united than people think. So, I’ve lived here for 21 years and I love it. I also love Cincinnati. But look, I’m a huge fan of football, but I’m loyal and my people reside in L.A.”

Super Bowl LVI airs on Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022, on NBC. The teams kick off at 6:30 p.m. EST.

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