Darkest timeline begone! Not even two months after NBC cancelled cult-comedy Community an online suitor–namely, Yahoo–stepped up to the plate to revive it for a 13-episode sixth season. That’s right, Human Beings; we are one step closer to fulfilling our #sixseasonsandamovie destiny.
Everyone is on board for the new season that will debut online at Yahoo Screen this fall; that includes show creator Dan Harmon and executive producers Chris McKenna, Russ Krasnoff, and Gary Foster as well as the cast: Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Yvette Nicole Brown, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Ken Jeong, and the Dean himself Jim Rash. Chevy Chase exited the show prior to season 5, and Donald Glover set sail early last season; Harmon had publicly stated that if a season 6 were to get greenlit he would pursue Glover for a Troy Barnes comeback.
What makes this special announcement even more exciting is that it truly did come down to the wire. After the Peacock network axed it, backing studio Sony Pictures TV almost immediately started shopping it around to various suiters, network, cable and otherwise. Shortly after talks broke down with Hulu last week, hope really began to wane since Sony had until June 30 (today!) to get the series picked up somewhere before cast’s contracts expired. So, in a truly 11th hour decision, Sony sold a sixth season to Yahoo and now you can breath a heavy sigh of relief and allow anticipation to ramp up.
Dan Harmon released the following statement today: 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, Bang Bus!”
“The fans spoke and we listened. Thanks to Yahoo, and the amazing team that makes Community great, we’ve avoided the Darkest Timeline yet again and plan to deliver a fantastic season,” said Zack Van Amburg, president of programming and production at Sony Pictures TV. Added Jamie Erlicht, president of programming and production: “You can’t get to six seasons and a movie without a 6th season. Yahoo is the perfect home for the continuation of this journey.”
And frontman Joel McHale reminds Community fans that an online-exclusive season might bring a very interesting twist to the sitcom. “The reports of our cancelation have been greatly exaggerated.’ —Mark Twain (The other version of this quote has been wrong for years). # SixSeasonsAndaMovie is real. Thank you Sony. Thank you Yahoo. Thank you Dan Harmon. And thank you to the greatest f%$#ing fans in the history of the human race. It’s the Internet. We can swear now.”