I didn't realize we were really good friends. I figured we were more like Chandler and Phoebe; they never really had stories together. Sure, I'll do it, Chandler.
Annie Edison and Abed Nadir portrayed by Alison Brie and Danny Pudi.
Abed and Annie share a mostly platonic friendship marked by occasional forays into role-playing. Abed will at times adopt personalities that Annie is attracted to and the two shared a kiss during the second paintball tournament. For now, the attraction is mostly played up as a running gag and whether it's indicative of any deeper feelings between them is unclear. As they are both control freaks they have a tendency to clash on that front as well. Regardless, the two still enjoy a solid friendship and even have a secret handshake. Abed is portrayed by Danny Pudi and Annie is portrayed by Alison Brie.
Because you asked me to stay and you said we were friends.''
”
–Abed explains to Annie why he stayed for the Psych experiment, "Social Psychology".
School year synopsis
In his freshmen year at Greendale, Abed invites a number of his Spanish 101 classmates, including Annie, to a study group. When Annie joins a Psychology lab experiment she asks Abed to participate. He is reluctant at first having planned to see an "Indiana Jones" movie marathon. Annie convinced him after she told told him she considers him a good friend. However, his participation causes the experiment to fail. Annie is upset with Abed until she realized that the outcome came about because he valued their friendship. As a way of apologizing she gives him a DVD set of the "Indiana Jones" movies minus the fourth one which he hated. The following Spring semester, Annie and the study group try to help Abed romance another student named Jenny Adams. While helping him prepare to woo her, Annie briefly becomes attracted to Abed when he role plays as Don Draper from the TV show "Mad Men". Later, Annie and Abed join Jeff for a pottery class. They become worried after he becomes obsessed with proving another student a fraud. When Abed's cable goes out, he amuses himself by accompanying Annie and Shirley when they become volunteer campus security guards. At the end of the semester, Abed and the study group say goodbye to Annie for the summer when she decided to go with her boyfriend Vaughn to visit his new school in Delaware.
"English as a Second Language": Abed begins to feel sorry for Annie when he sees her "Disney Face" until Jeff tells him to imagine she is the Ark of the Covenant.
"Pascal's Triangle Revisited": Abed says goodbye to Annie who was leaving for the summer with Vaughn by doing their secret handshake.
The sophomore year at Greendale sees Annie and Abed walking to school together and arriving at the study room for the first meeting of the study group that year. Annie suspects an old Law firm buddy of Jeff's named Alan Conner was the one who had him disbarred. Annie, Abed and Troy broke into Alan's office to find evidence to back up her claims and present it to Jeff. When Annie, Britta and Shirley take a women's studies course, Abed invites himself and helps then deal with a trio of "Mean Girls" they meet there. During Christmas time, Annie and the study group help Abed after he apparently has a nervous breakdown. She and the others help him deal with his issues by pretending to be in a claymation reality on a world called "Planet Abed". The study group attempted to help a fellow student named Neil deal with his depression by playing a game of Dungeons & Dragons. Abed acts as Dungeon Master while Annie plays the role of "Hector the Well-Endowed" ( a character Abed created with Troy in mind ). The two role play a very descriptive sex scene with Abed as an Elf Maiden that Annie as "Hector" seduces. At the end of the year, another paintball competition is being held at school. Once the competition starts the study group is separated. Abed finds Annie and recruits her to join him and Jeff. Eventually they reunite with their friends only for them to have to deal with a betrayal from Pierce who quits the study group. It's later discovered that City College had infiltrated the game in order to destroy Greendale. Annie and Abed join a group of the remaining Greendale students to form an alliance to stop the rival schools plans. Abed decides to role play as Han Solo throughout the game, whilst Annie fits the Princess Leia role. After completing a mission that eliminated a number of City College invaders they lose themselves in the role play and share a kiss in the library as paint rains down on them. Afterwards they meet up with their friends in the study room and Abed responds to Annie's flirting by insisting the role play is over which disappointed her. The meeting is crashed by Pierce who refuses to rejoin the group despite Annie, Abed and the others inviting him to return.
"Anthropology 101": Annie and Abed arrive to school together for their second semester at Greendale while laughing at Troy's twitter account inspired by Pierce's rants called "Old White Man Says".
"Aerodynamics of Gender": Annie, along with Britta and Shirley, enjoy Abed's ability to talk smack about other girls on campus until he turns his talent on them.
"Cooperative Calligraphy": Abed keeps offering Annie chocolates to placate her as he has been charting all the study group women's menstrual cycles and it is Annie's time.
"Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas": In abed's Christmas fantasy, Annie as Ballerannie accompanies Abed to "Pine Tree Station" and boards the train with him to the North Pole. When the Christmas Wizard tries to stop Abed, Annie detaches the train engine from the cars so that Abed and Teddy Pierce can escape.
"Asian Population Studies": Abed (who wants Chang) votes against Annie (who wants Rich) for a potential new group member.
"For A Few Paintballs More": Abed and Annie assume the roles of Han Solo and Princess Leia (respectively) and share a passionate kiss as orange paint pours down on them.
''Your simulations are nothing more than anxieties, you're afraid you don't fit in, you're afraid you'll be alone. Great news! You share that with all of us so you'll never be alone and you'll always fit in.
In their third year at Greendale together, Annie accepted Abed's invitation to move in with him and Troy eager to move out of the bad neighborhood she lived in at that time. When Abed and Troy helped Annie pack up her things at her old apartment she became annoyed at their childish antics. Annie lost her cool when she discovered her room was meant to be a blanket fort; the apartment's spare bedroom was turned into a a playroom. When Abed and Troy saw how upset she was they offered her their room instead while they took the pillow fort. Before the Winter holiday break, Abed started recruiting the study group to replace the incapacitated Glee Club in a Christmas pageant performance. With Troy and Glee Club director Mr. Rad's help, Abed successfully got Annie to join the show. Over the semester, Annie and Abed noticed Troy and Britta's budding romance. Annie encouraged the pairing and arranged for Troy and Britta to go on a lunch date. While this happened, Abed and Annie spent time in the Dreamatorium where he criticized her matchmaking. The two got into an argument which culminated in Abed having a mental breakdown and Annie trying to awaken him from his stupor. Annie discovered Abed objection to Troy and Britta dating was due to his fear of ending up alone. Annie told him he'll never be alone because feeling that way connects him to others who share his fear. When Ben Chang staged a coup of the school, Annie, Abed and the rest of the group are expelled through Chang's machinations. Together with their friends they manage to oust Chang and be reinstated. However, as a result Annie and Abed had to say goodbye to Troy who was forced to join the Greendale Air Conditioning Repair School.
"Contemporary Impressionists": Annie is the first one to express concern about Abed's fixation with renting celebrity impressionists. She mentions he spent New Year's locked in the bathroom with a bad Tom Hanks from "Castaway".
"Urban Matrimony and the Sandwich Arts": At Shirley's wedding rehearsal, Annie asks Abed (and Troy) what is up with them to which they reply that they "de-whimsified" themselves.
What about wanting to grow or is that just a lie so you can do another world-famous Abed TV adventure. These are real people! Kat's over there hula hooping by herself!
In the study group's fourth year at Greendale, Abed is worried that their senior year means the end of the groups friendship. He retreats to the happy place in his mind to deal with his anxieties which has Annie and the study group in a television sitcom version of his life. On Halloween, the study group go to Hawthorne Manor to rescue Pierce from his panic room. Annie and Abed search the library for the code to unlock the panic room's door. They get separated when Abed discovers an entrance to a secret surveillance room while Annie is distracted reading Pierce's journal. Later Annie and Abed along with Britta, Troy and Jeff, go to the Inspector Spacetime convention. On Thanksgiving, Annie, Abed, Troy and Pierce head to Shirley's house for dinner. When a Sadie Hawkins Dance is announced, Annie and Shirley compete to find a date for Abed. Annie's choice is a student named Kat but she later encourages Abed to go after another girl he was interested in named Rachel. Abed discovers a connection between him and Annie after examining the intersecting history of the study group's members before they came to Greendale. It turns out he was the one who ratted Annie out when she stole a prescription pad from a doctor's office in order to get more Adderall. Annie, Abed and the rest of the group later attended Jeff's early graduation ceremony.
"Paranormal Parentage": Annie and Abed watch "Cougartown" together now as they both speak about the show's "Hallo-wine" episode. When Pierce needs help escaping from his mansion's panic room, Annie and Abed pair up to look for codes to unlock the door.
After they all graduated, the study group is unexpectedly reunited months later and Annie and Abed re-enroll at Greendale with their friends. They also join a "Save Greendale Committee" whose purpose is to improve campus life. Not long afterwards Pierce passes away. An inquest into Pierce's death led by a Mr. Stone revealed some secrets Annie and Abed kept from each other. After Troy moves out, Annie and Abed struggle to make rent for the apartment. Annie proposes her brother Anthony move in while Abed nominates his girlfriend Rachel. They decide to settle the dispute with a game called "Pile of Bullets". However, neither one wins due to the confusing rules and they are forced to confront the void Troy's absence left in their lives. Annie, Abed and their friends play another game of Dungeons & Dragons in order to help Professor Hickey reconnect with his son. After the committee succeeds in its efforts, the school board decides to sell Greendale to the Subway corporation. Annie and Abed are helping Dean Pelton pack up his office when they discover a scroll with clues to a possible hidden fortune on campus. Annie, Abed and the rest of the committee undertake one last assignment to save the school from the sale.
"Repilot": After graduating from Greendale, Annie and Abed found modest employment that was far from the careers they hoped to have. Annie was pharmaceutical rep who handed out pens for Futurza while Abed wrote computer programs in between directing gigs. When Abed learned Jeff was back at Greendale he contacted everyone in the study group and they had a reunion. Upon learning that everyone's life after graduation was poor Annie, Abed and the rest were convinced by Jeff to sue the school. Abed also suggested they destroy the study table as he believed no one else deserved it. Jeff had a change of heart about a lawsuit and instead encouraged everyone to re-enroll at Greendale. Annie decides to pursue a career in Forensic Science while Abed hopes to become better at understanding people.
"Cooperative Polygraphy": Annie and Abed take a polygraph test and discover a few secrets they kept from each other. Annie had been overcharging Abed and Troy for their share of the rent and put the extra money into a savings account for them. She slow dosed Abed and the study group with some amphetamines in order for them to keep studying years ago. It was revealed that Abed "catfished" Annie by pretending to be her online Facebook boyfriend "Brent Underjaw" in order girl her to make pancakes for him and Troy. Abed also somehow implanted Geo trackers in Annie and the other study group members.
"Advanced Advanced Dungeons & Dragons": In a second game of D&D, Annie reprises her character of "Hector the Well Endowed" while Abed reassues the role of Dungeon Master.
"Basic Story": In Dean Pelton's office, Annie and Abed uncover a hidden scroll with clues to a possible fortune on campus.
"Basic Sandwich": Annie, Abed and the rest of the Save Greendale Committee make a last ditch attempt to stop the sale of the school to Subway.
In the second year of Annie and Abed’s return to Greendale, the Save Greendale Committee loses Shirley as a member and gains Frankie Dart and Elroy Patashnik. Frankie is brought in as a consultant after the cafeteria roof collapses. She gets along with Abed but Annie (and others) see her as a threat. When Jeff, Britta and Annie form a secret committee to oppose Frankie and set up a speak-easy beneath Shirley's Sandwiches, Abed refuses to join the committee. Once he sees the speak-easy, he joins and makes up with Annie and the others. Annie and Abed welcome Britta as a roommate in their apartment. However, when Britta discovers a new pull-out couch for her with a delivery slip bearing her name, she finds that Abed, Annie (and others) have a good relationship and been accepting money from Britta's parents for years to support Britta. Britta's fractured relationship with her parents is eventually healed with Annie and Abed’s help. When City College plans to air an attack ad on Greendale for giving a degree to a dog, Abed initially created a counter-attack ad which he modifies due to Annie wanting a honest ad. When a hacker steals and leaks the committee’s emails, Annie is angry that Abed emailed his girlfriend that Annie doesn't understand "Donny Darko". Annie and Abed become better friends with Elroy by playing "The Ears Have It" with him and find a rare CD of a band that Elroy likes, "Natalie Is Freezing". They are thrilled when Jeff gets the band to appear at a school dance. Annie stars as Scorpio 9 in Abed’s movie "Chief Starr and the Raiders of the Galaxy". Annie and Abed take a grifting class together but are grifted by the teacher and need Jeff’s help. They team up in the last paintball fight but both are gunned down.Annie and Abed both leave Greendale. Annie gets an internship with the FBI in Virginia and Abed is going to Hollywood.
"Ladders": When Jeff, Britta and Annie form a secret committee to oppose Frankie Dart and set up a speak-easy beneath Shirley's Sandwiches, Abed refuses to join the committee. Once he sees the speak-easy, he joins and makes up with Annie and the others.
"Basic Crisis Room Decorum": When City College plans to air an attack ad on Greendale for giving a degree to a dog, Abed initially created a counter-attack ad which he modifies due to Annie wanting a honest ad.
"Laws of Robotics & Party Rights": When Britta wants a party in the apartment but Annie is opposed, Britta pretends the party is staged so Abed can film it.
"Basic Email Security": When a hacker steals and leaks the committee’s emails, Annie is angry that Abed emailed his girlfriend that Annie doesn’t understand “Donny Darko”.
"Advanced Safety Features": Abed and Annie go to great lengths to make Elroy their friend. They also show Jeff a new handshake they are trying out.
In real life the actors portraying Annie and Abed, Alison Brie and Danny Pudi, are good friends and have even been referred to as the real Troy and Abed on set ([1]). The chemistry of the two cast members was also noted in a few interviews they did together ([2]) and when they guest hosted the G4 network's talk show "Attack of the Show" together ([3]). The pairing of Annie and Abed is not only a nod to this friendship but also to Community creator Dan Harmon's intentions regarding relationships on the show.
He had stated in several interviews ([1], [2]) any pairing on the show was a romantic possibility. In one interview with the online entertainment news site Vulture , he discussed specifically the Annie/Abed kiss they shared in the Season Two finale "For A Few Paintballs More". He admitted the difficulty of an actual romance between the two characters and that the role playing between the two is a way for the writers to provide fan service. The fans of the duo get their moment while allowing a return to the status quo and keeping other romantic pairings viable. Although Alison Brie has stated that she is open to all romantic possibilities for Annie on the show in an interview with the Huffington Post she was unsure a one with Abed would actually work as she sees them more as siblings.