So it finally happened. After five turbulent seasons and one hiatus, Community has finally been cancelled. It’s been a constant threat to the show and many of us thought it was the end when Dan Harmon was fired at the end of Season 3 because of friction between him and Chevy Chase.
After one diabolically poor season, NBC brought him back at the expense of Chase, this coupled with Donald Glover’s departure would prove to be the final nail in Community‘s coffin, as many believed the show now lacked the magic spark it had in the first three seasons. Despite being almost as good, the turmoil backstage and the departure of Chase and Glover appeared to have dulled the humour somewhat.
Community has never had a large audience, but what it does have is a small but fiercely loyal fanbase who, having already persuaded NBC to bring the show back after the hiatus by singing A Christmas Troy outside their offices, were outraged by the announcement on May 9th.
Often citing the show’s most famous line “six seasons and a movie” the fans are on the war path to getting a revival but it seems unlikely: Dan Harmon himself has implored them not to take it too hard and that a revival is probably off the cards.
While this is a disappointment to all those who enjoyed the show, I’d like to point out that is far from the darkest timeline and everyone can stop complaining because you at least got more seasons than Firefly did.
The “six seasons and a movie” line comes from Arrested Development, before that too was prematurely cancelled. And Harmon was fired because the show wasn’t popular enough – it wasn’t Chase’s influence. They’ve actually remained mates throughout this, according to Harmon’s blog.