Watch Nick Offerman make Laurie Metcalf’s kitchen nightmares come true on The Conners

Nick Offerman is guesting on The Conners as… Gordon Ramsay?

Well, not exactly, but that’s certainly the vibe we’re getting from the first footage of the Parks and Recreation actor storming into the Lunch Box in the show’s season 6 premiere. Hot off of his Emmy win for his work on The Last of Us, Offerman is playing Adam Chestnut, a brutal celebrity chef who arrives to crush the dreams of one of his biggest fans: Jackie (Laurie Metcalf).

The show’s executive producers Dave Caplan and Bruce Helford didn’t have a specific actor in mind when they created Adam Chestnut, but knew Offerman would be a perfect fit as soon as they thought of him. “When we conceived of the celebrity chef character, we knew we needed somebody who could stand their ground with Laurie, but could also get a laugh with a withering look,” Caplan tells EW. “That's a short list. When somebody mentioned Nick, we all agreed he'd be the perfect get.”

“Nick and I go way back,” Helford explains. “He was a recurring character on the original George Lopez show as George’s mother’s boyfriend. I think it was one of his early TV gigs.  I’ve always wanted to have him on The Conners and this seemed like a great match.”

The showrunners also teased big changes for the Conners in the new season. “Season 6 is full of major developments for the Conner family — Becky’s serious new boyfriend, Sean Astin; Darlene is getting her son Mark into college, but she’ll be the lunch lady at his school, which brings up lots of interesting issues; Jackie is finally in a great relationship, but it’s at odds with her time-consuming job at the Lunch Box; Dan is getting closer to actually paying off his mortgage, which he never thought he would; Bev returns for some big surprises,” Helford says. “It’s going to be a busy season.”

The producers also shared their dream guest stars for the series:  “Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore, and Steve Buscemi for a Big Lebowski reunion with John [Goodman],” Caplan says. “We’re always talking about Johnny Galecki and George Clooney,” Helford adds. “But there’s so many people we’d love to see interact with the Conner family.”

In the exclusive clip from Wednesday’s episode, above, Jackie is immediately starstruck as Adam enters the Lunch Box. “Oh my God, I love Restaurant 911!” she says. “The way he goes off on those clueless restaurant owners and they don't see it coming. What's he doing here?”

John Goodman’s Dan seems to understand the bleak context of Adam’s arrival a little better than his sister-in-law. “I think he's here to do something you don't see coming,” he says.

Jackie is stunned when Adam acknowledges her by name, but their conversation is quickly interrupted by an even bigger fan. “Just before you get too busy, Chef Chestnut — could you sign this, please? Name's Ben,” says Jay R. Ferguson’s character, thrusting a book into Adam’s hands. “Always nice to meet a fan,” the chef responds.

It’s here that we finally get a taste of Adam’s Gordon-Ramsay-esque incisive wit. “Oh, I would have preferred ‘Ben’ instead of ‘The Interrupting Wolf-Face,’” Ben says after reading the chef’s note. “But, hey, best wishes are best wishes.”

Season 6 of The Conners premieres Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. Watch the exclusive clip above.

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