Troy Barnes and Abed Nadir Portrayed by Donald Glover and Danny Pudi.
Troy and Abed are best friends whose bromance has been prominently featured on the show. The other members of the study group are both amused and disturbed at how close the two are. Their many misadventures at Greendale inevitably drag their friends (and sometimes the entire school as well) into the hijinks. Because Abed is unable to adequately express emotion, and Troy is overly emotional, this has lead to a few conflicts between them. They soon make up, however, as they understand they are better together than apart. Due to the close nature of their relationship, they have become a popular romantic pairing within certain fan spaces, though were never confirmed to be anything more than platonic on the show. (However, in 2021, the official Community YouTube account posted "Happy Valentine’s Day! On this day, may you find the Abed to your Troy.") Troy is played by Donald Glover, and Abed is played by Danny Pudi.
–Abed and Troy demonstrating their Spanish 101 oral assignment.
School year synopsis
In their first year at Greendale, Abed invited Troy along with other classmates from Spanish 101 to Jeff's study group. Even though Troy found him to be odd at first, they eventually began to hang out more. They partnered up on school assignments together including a Spanish project and a science experiment with a lab rat. They soon formed a friendship that only got stronger throughout the year until it blossomed into a full-blown bromance. Troy even conceded that Abed was the better athlete and referred to him as his "other half". Their relationship prompted Annie to get over her crush on Troy since she couldn't compete with Abed for his affections. When Abed decided to do a college cliché bucket list, Troy eagerly assisted him. The pair tried to join a campus fraternity, built a robot, got into a huge food fight in the cafeteria and teamed up for a Paintball Assassin game. At the end of the school year, Troy needed a place to stay after he was told by his father to move out. Troy asked Abed if he could move into his dorm room but was refused. Eventually Troy came to understand Abed's reluctance realizing spending too much time together at that point in their relationship could ruin their friendship. Taking Abed's advice, Troy instead accepted Pierce's offer to move into Hawthorne Manor.
In their second year together at Greendale, Troy was living with Pierce at his mansion. His friendship with Abed still remained strong as the duo had a number of misadventures on campus. This included facing off against a horde of students affected by a zombie-like contagion and building their first blanket fort. Before the Winter break, Abed had a mental breakdown and Troy, alongside the study group, helped him resolve his personal issues in a therapy session with Ian Duncan. During their Spring semester, they competed for the affections of the school librarian. She ended up choosing Troy who in turn rejected her after she said disparaging things about Abed. The pair also became good friends with a foreign student named Lukka who briefly hooked up with Britta. They made some quick cash by selling their handshake to Pierce but ended up regretting it. At the end of the school year, Troy and Abed participated in the annual paintball assassination competition. When City College invaders interjected themselves into the game, Troy and Abed rallied the remaining Greendale students to put in end to their plans.
"Mixology Certification": At the urging of Jeff and Britta, Troy and Abed along with the rest of the study group go out to a bar to celebrate Troy's 21st birthday.
"Early 21st Century Romanticism": Troy and Abed are smitten with the school librarian and engage in a friendly competition for her.
"Paradigms of Human Memory": A flashback reveals that while the study group was in an old west town, Troy and Abed dressed up as a sheriff and deputy and were shot at by a stereotypical racist old man wearing red long underwear.
In their third year at Greendale, Troy and Abed finally moved in together. Eventually, they asked Annie to join then as their roommate, which she happily accepted. Each face their own individual challenges during the 2012-2013 semester; Troy is tempted to join an elite secret society while Abed started to lose touch with reality inside his new playroom. Troy confronts Abed on his issues, particularly an unsettled debt he owed to a celebrity look-a-like company. At the same time Abed is uneasy after he noticed Troy and Britta's growing attraction to each another. Their friendship was further tested when they had a serious falling out over the construction of a pillow fort. Although it was peacefully resolved, Troy and Abed's problems continued as the study group was blamed for a riot in the cafeteria. Thanks to Chang manipulating the school board, the study group was expelled. Ultimately, the study group cleared their name and were reinstated but in the midst of this Troy was forced to make a deal with the air conditioning school. Troy had to cut off all ties to his friends and move out of his apartment into the AC school's dorms. The loss of his best friends sent Abed spiraling into a deep depression. He took on the persona of Evil Abed to cope with his loss. Meanwhile, Troy got embroiled in a murder mystery at his new school and exposed the one responsible. He was then released from his obligations to the AC annex and was reunited with Abed and the study group.
"Studies in Modern Movement": Troy and Abed help Annie move in to their apartment, but their antics start to annoy her so much that she has second thoughts.
"Contemporary Impressionists": The first rift in Troy and Abed's relationship forms when the study group has to help pay off Abed's debt to Vinnie by becoming celebrity impersonators.
"Introduction to Finality": Troy leaves the Air Conditioning Repair school and returns to the apartment moving into the room that used to have The Dreamatorium in it.
The duo entered their fourth year at Greendale with Troy in a relationship with Britta and Abed worried about the study group breaking up after Jeff graduated. Troy attempted to alleviate his best friend's anxieties about the future and also tried to make him comfortable with the fact he was now dating. To that end, they attended an Inspector Spacetime convention with Britta, Jeff and Annie. Abed tried to expand his social circle including reaching out to a Spacetime fan he met online and also befriending one of The Germans. His friendship with Troy remained solid though and along with Annie and Pierce they went to Shirley's house for Thanksgiving. However, Troy's relationship with Britta wasn't going as well. Abed was there for him and helped him with an issue he had been trying to avoid dealing with.
Sometime after graduating, an unexpected study group reunion (sans Pierce) led to Troy and Abed deciding to re-enroll at Greendale. One of the first classes they took together was a course on movie star Nicolas Cage taught by Professor Garrity. Troy worried when Abed became obsessed with the actor and later witnessed him having a nervous breakdown in class. Along with their friends, the duo joined a new group at school called the "Save Greendale Committee". Later, Troy was assaulted by the "Ass Crack Bandit" and Abed did his best to comfort his friend. They were both saddened when informed of Pierce's death and attended his funeral with the other study group members. The executor of Pierce's will informed Troy he was bequeathed the bulk of Hawthorne's fortune. The one condition was that Troy sail around the world before receiving it. Abed had trouble accepting his friend was leaving but tried to say goodbye through a campus wide game of "Hot Lava". After having one last adventure together, Troy said goodbye to Abed and the study group. He left the campus with co-captain LeVar Burton on a rig pulling the boat they would be sailing on called the "Childish Tycoon".
Originally, Abed and Troy were meant to be best friends with other members of the study group. Abed and Jeff were modelled somewhat after the dynamic of Van Wilder and Taj. Troy and Pierce were to be paired off as a Beavis and Butthead type duo. In the Season One DVD commentaries, Dan Harmon mentions seeing Danny Pudi and Donald Glover clicking during press interviews and deciding to partner them onscreen. They have since become a popular pairing on the show and have been featured in most of the episode end tags. In an interview with Studio Q, Donald Glover gives his thoughts on why Troy and Abed work so well and also his opinions on other pairings such as Troy and Pierce, Jeff and Britta and Jeff and Annie.
“Troy... The other day after Spanish, I thought he was trying to hold my hand, but he'd just mistaken me for Abed. He'll never think of me that way.”— Annie
“(as love interest) I love you, kickpuncher!”— Abed
“(as Kickpuncher) The only thing beyond the reach of my fists is humanity.”— Troy
“(normal voice) You're sure Britta couldn't do your part?”— Troy
“(normal voice) I asked her. She wasn't available.”— Abed