208 replies to this topic

[Ryan H.]

Dan Harmon is no longer the showrunner of COMMUNITY.

[Tyler]

Six seasons and a movie?

Edited by Tyler, 19 May 2012 - 12:28 AM.

[Thom Wade]

Yeah...I just missed this last night and saw a blog post from Dan Harmon. Thanks, Sony. Now I actually fear the next season could be a show I do not recognize.

[Ryan H.]

It probably will be a show you don't recognize. That season 3 finale just became a series finale, as far as I'm concerned.

Edited by Ryan H., 19 May 2012 - 08:51 AM.

[Josh Hurst]

My hope is that, since NBC has already, seemingly, given up hope on the show ever becoming a hit-- it's airing on Friday nights from here on out-- the network won't feel it necessary to dictate major changes to the show. Of course it will be a different show-- it was always Harmon's baby-- but maybe it can still be a special show, and a show that's true to the spirit of what Community has been for these first three seasons.

[Ryan H.]

If some of the original writers/creative team were left participating, I might have some faith, but Chris McKenna just walked, and he was the last remaining writer who had been around since season one.

[Tyler]

Harmon's blog post:

Quote

Why’d Sony want me gone? I can’t answer that because I’ve been in as much contact with them as you have. They literally haven’t called me since the season four pickup, so their reasons for replacing me are clearly none of my business.

[J. Henry Waugh]

Tyler, on 11 May 2012 - 10:35 AM, said:

Last night's episode caught me off guard. At first, it seemed like it was just a retread of "Paradigms of Human Memory," but with John Hodgman instead of the monkey (Annie's Boobs). But then it switched at the end of act two and became something different. I thought the episode worked really well.

I've been on the road lately and saw the final three episodes without realizing I'd missed this one along the way. While it is definitely not the best episode for someone watching the show for the first time, I think it is my favorite episode because it is the most Community-y of episodes I can remember while still packing in the jokes. (Community much? Say Community much, much?)

At its best, Community reminds me of those late 90s Simpsons episodes that felt like they were so much longer than 23 minutes because how can you pack so many jokes into such a small time frame?

Edited by J. Henry Waugh, 23 May 2012 - 12:38 PM.

[Tyler]

Hollywood Reporter has obtained a leaked memo outlining how cast members should talk about Harmon leaving.

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I wanted to forward some messaging we hope our cast will find helpful as they navigate questions that will undoubtedly come up.
...

Why did Dan get let go from the show?
We're not made aware of why staffing changes take place but I will always be grateful to Dan for his great work on the show and wish him only the best. We're also excited that we'll be back on NBC's schedule in the fall and are looking forward to working on those episodes.

[TTD]

I hate seeing Harmon and the writers go, but the characters are established and the cast is incredibly talented. I hope the new showrunners let the actors do their thing in whatever more accessible scenarios come up next season. I just don't buy anything they do at this point actually improving either the number of viewers or the quality of the show. It's a real boneheaded move by NBC and Sony.

[Tyler]

Returning October 19. AV Club:

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But with Go On making its official debut on September 11 ("Could that date BE any more uncomfortable for a show about grieving?" Matthew Perry asked aloud, after we gave him a dollar), and then Animal Practice bowing on September 26—alongside the Jimmy Fallon-produced, indifferently titled Guys With Kids—you will definitely have had several weeks of asking why this stuff is on but Community isn't before your indignant pleas are answered. At least Oct. 19 suggestsCommunity could return in time for another Halloween episode—perhaps even an appropriately meta one where the Greendale gang finds itself suddenly replaced by less-weird pod people imposters. (Just a suggestion.)

[Tyler]

Harmon talked about what would have happened in the scene Chevy Chase walked out on.

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He refused to do the "tag" for the "Digital Estate Planning" episode (the 8 bit video game episode). In the scripted tag, Abed comes to Pierce with the thumb drive he took, and says "Pierce, I've been able to adjust some of the code for your Dad's video game and I've made a version I think you might like better." He puts the thumb drive into a laptop in front of Pierce. We cut to the laptop screen, where we see Pierce's avatar on a front lawn with the giant floating head of Cornelius. Every time Pierce presses the space bar, his avatar throws a baseball to his father's head, which gives him a thousand points and a "great job, son!" Pierce presses the space bar a few times, pauses, then leans over and embraces Abed and we fade to black.
When Adam Countee pitched that tag, tears instantly rolled down my cheeks, and in point of fact, my eyes are getting watery describing it to you. It was the most important part of the episode and possibly one of the most important moments of the season. I was very upset to hear that it wasn't shot because someone didn't feel like shooting it, especially since it was literally the last day of shooting, which meant we'd never be able to pick it up. I regret nothing about how upset I got. My job was to care about my show.
The answer I heard from the people on set was that he didn't think it was funny. After he realized how upset I was about it, he said things in voicemails like "there was no script" (untrue) and "I have a weird relationship with the name Cornelius" (dumb, he had no dialogue in the tag). The real answer, I believe, is that he wanted to go home because he was tired. He probably didn't realize he was permanently damaging the episode by doing so because he often walked off set and then we would just pick up his shots later in the week. But this was the final shot of the season. The sets came down after he walked away. So this was the one time in three years that his personality caused unfixable damage to something I really held valuable.

[Tyler]

Community was scheduled to premiere Oct 19, and now it's not. (Whitney too, but no one cares about that.)

No word on where/when it will come back now.

[Gavin Breeden]

Tyler, on 09 October 2012 - 08:20 AM, said:

Community was scheduled to premiere Oct 19, and now it's not. (Whitney too, but no one cares about that.)

No word on where/when it will come back now.

Lot of folks are interpreting this as a good sign, some even speculating that Community will end up back on the Thursday night line up. I'm glad they won't be stuck on Friday night.

[Justin Hanvey]

*sighs* RIP Community. Well, the Community loved.

[opus]

Troy and Abed airing someday...

[Tyler]

Turns out October 19th is really February 7th.

[Thom Wade]

I really feel bad for the way NBC is jerking the cast and crew of the show around like this. It tells you how they really see the show...cannot tell the show runner he is no longer the show runner...just let him find out in the press. Move the premier around a few times...it just blows.

[Peter T Chattaway]

The Canadian network that handles this show actually announced on its website that the show would be returning in January... but then the American network revealed the February date, and the Canadian network quickly revised the date on its website. That all happened on the same day, I think, which suggests some confusion even among the higher-ups.

[Tyler]

Chevy Chase is officially done with the show.

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Either way, it has always seemed one foot was out the door already, and now it's fully closed behind him. Most of the 13 episode season has been shot, so Chase will be appearing except for the last one or two shows.

This also continues the Community tradition of making major announcements when they'll get as little press as possible.