‘Community’ Unlikely To Live On Elsewhere, Dan Harmon Reacts To Cancellation

UPDATE: Community creator Dan Harmon took to his blog after briefly reacting to the show’s cancellation during his Harmontown podcast, acknowledging that the idea of resurrecting the NBC comedy elsewhere had been discussed. Harmon, who has new animated show Rick and Morty on Cartoon Network, says he wasn’t that jazzed about the idea but his enthusiasm could change:

I will confess, however, that when Sony called me on Friday with the news, there was brief discussion at the end of the call about the concept of the show living elsewhere, and I was definitely in the “eh” column. For a million reasons, some selfish, some creative, one logistic, five sexual, three racist (in a good way) and, oddly, nine isometric… I said “eh” on a Friday afternoon, I will change it to a “sure, let’s talk” on Monday morning and Sony can do their thing. I’m not going to be the guy that recancels cancelled Community.

I’m scared to tell you how little a difference I think my enthusiasm will make. I know fandom, when it gets this deep for this long, becomes almost religious, including the urge to stone the less than faithful. But there are lots of reasons a Community resurrection could be difficult. So be prepared for that. Which brings us to the other thing, the first thing, that most of the anxious tweets are about…

If you want to know the God’s honest truth, part of my “eh” was coming from the unsettling thought of your passion for campaigns being once again exploited by this rather unfair, somewhat backward system, one that now treats you like it’s your responsibility to keep a show alive, like a corporation is doing you a favor by feeding you low grade opiate through a regulated tube. Like you owe them an apology when they can’t measure or monetize you to their satisfaction. You deserve better.

PREVIOUS, SUNDAY PM: School is likely out for good in Greendale. While other comedies are being actively shopped around, I hear there are no such plans for cult NBC series Community, which was cancelled on Friday after five seasons. I hear there has been incoming interest in reviving the Sony TV-produced show from a suitor but a deal is not likely. I hear creator Dan Harmon, who returned as showrunner for Season 5 after a season-long dismissal, is ready to move on to other things, prepping Season 2 of his Adult Swim animated comedy Rick & Morty and figuring out his next project. Still, he is not parting with the show lightly. “We all know what happened yesterday, we all got drunk,” Harmon said on his live podcast at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival taped the day after the Community cancellation. “I was in a place of grief…It’ll take weeks to sink in.” The day Community was axed, Harmon was flying to Portland for the fest.

Related: NBC Cancels ‘Community’ After Five Seasons

“I was on my way to LAX and somebody from Sony called me,” Harmon said. “The fans of that show have more reason to be upset than I do. I can try to make another show and also I got paid for every minute I cared about that show. The people that are most devastated are people who put unpaid labor into the show [aka fans]. They didn’t get compensated for it. They loved the show.”

Heading into Season 5 after an eleventh-hour renewal, the presumption was that it would be Community‘s last — a fitting final chapter with Harmon back at the helm to guide the series into the sunset. But as NBC’s comedy woes began last fall, the end game plan was shelved. Still, I hear the producers felt this was probably Community‘s best season creatively, so the thought of going out strong has helped alleviate some of the sting from the cancellation. Community also bowed out on a positive ratings note, growing its viewership from 3.5 million last season to 3.7 million. It outrated NBC’s other veteran NBC Thursday comedy, Parks And Recreation, which was renewed, despite facing much stiffer competition from CBS’ The Big Bang Theory. It also has a passionate following, which explains why there would be interest from other places in picking up the show. Harmon had hinted in March that he’d heard “whispers from dark corners” about a possible future for Community on a VOD service like Netflix or Hulu if NBC cancels it.