Community Heads Towards 6 Seasons (And A Movie)
The news is in, and it's cool. Cool cool cool.
On June 30th, mere hours before the cast's contracts were up, fans all but assumed that the show would officially end at the cusp of its much proclaimed #SixSeasonsandaMovie goal. The goal, which began as a joke in Season 2's episode Paradigms of Human Memory and grew into a social media staple, became more and more tangible as the series moved through its third, fourth, and fifth season. After years of narrow ratings, however, NBC formally ended the show, clearing it from its fall programming. Through the rise in online streaming sites such as Netflix and Hulu, fans had hoped for an online revival akin to Netflix's licensing of Arrested Development. Sadly, Hulu, which had previously streamed episodes of Community, declined the offer to produce future episodes. With the deadline approaching and fewer outlets emerging in discussion, Community was all but finished in the darkest timeline. Until Yahoo. (cue screaming) What could only be described among fans and sources as the most unlikely of places, Yahoo officially announced Community as part of its new online programming stream YahooScreen, picking up the series for thirteen more episodes. Yahoo Screen, which began less than a year ago, initially began as a screen app for clips and other programs in order to compete with other growing networks. Following the path of Hulu before it, Yahoo eventually announced its plan to release original programming shown exclusively on the app. With the online support of the show's fanbase, the site likely follows this purchase of Community with the hopes of greater promotion for its lesser known database. Dan Harmon, the show's returning creator, commented on the move saying "I am very pleased that Community will be returning for its predestined sixth season on Yahoo. I look forward to bringing our beloved NBC sitcom to a larger audience by moving it online. I vow to dominate our new competition. Rest easy, Big Bang Theory. Look out, BangBus!" Also returning to the show is writer/producer Chris McKenna, producers Russ Krasnoff and Gary Foster, and cast members Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Yvette Nicole Brown, Jim Rash, and Ken Jeong. No word yet on the return of Donald Glover or the more recent guest appearances of John Oliver and Jonathan Banks, but Harmon remains confident in the show's success. In the past five years of Community, the show has experienced various ups and downs. Behind the scenes, Community has suffered setbacks in the conflict between Harmon and former cast member Chevy Chase and the replacement of Harmon as showrunner in the disappointing Season 4. Still, the show remarkably overcame these issues through Harmon's return and a satisfying fifth season. Even within these breaks, this pickup from Yahoo is probably the most amazing event to occur so far, especially coming so close to extinction. With the growth of online support and Harmon's optimism, even the Community movie seems likely to occur. While Yahoo will not comment on the status of a movie, this chain of events seem to prove that anything can happen with regards to Community. #SixSeasonsAndAMovie