Six seasons and a movie may not be enough for Community fans or Joel McHale!
When it comes to cult comedies, Community is in a class all by itself. Premiering on NBC in 2009, the Dan Harmon-created comedy at first looked like a simple sitcom premise. Jeff (Joel McHale) is a lawyer who loses his job when it's discovered his degree doesn't count. He thus enrolls in Greendale Community College to earn a real degree.
Joel forms a study group of quirky students, played by Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Chevy Chase, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alison Brie, and Donald Glover. Ken Jeong and Jim Rash also star.
While the show had humor from the start, it would soon evolve into one of the wilder comedies on television. Every character was made into an offbeat individual, with episodes playing as mockumentaries, parodies/homages to famous movies and TV shows, and unpredictable stories that soon amassed a following with viewers and critics.
Peacock announced a film in 2022, but progress has been stalled. Thankfully, McHale is giving us some updates on that and the show's future!
The Community movie is on and there might be more
Speaking to US Magazine, McHale confirmed that his own busy schedule had prevented the movie from going ahead. However, it sounds like it'll happen.
"We are going to make the movie and we have the money. We are funded. That is the hardest thing to get made, or get to get done, and we have got that done. It's come down to scheduling. And so, I think it'll be done by — I think it'll shoot at some point this year. Probably in the autumn. That's my prediction and that's also my hope." —Joel McHale
It's not just McHale as the other actors have likewise been busy with numerous projects on their own. However, they've all expressed they're willing to join the movie. And this may not be the last of Community either.
While the movie is a very anticipated one, fans of the show would love a full revival. Harmon has hinted he had more ideas for a seventh season he didn't get to realize and speaking to ScreenRant, McHale indicated he'd be on board for more.
"I think there are some of us that would love to keep going, and I would be like, 'Great, if you guys want to do episodes, let us know.' I think that'll probably depend on the success of a movie, but I think if there's enough of a demand to do more. I don't know what it would look like, but obviously the movie would have to inform a lot of that. I'm game, and I know a few others are game. I'm not going to tell you whom, but I would definitely do [more], they are always like, 'Oh, a limited series!' I would totally be up for it." —Joel McHale
A new Community series would be an intriguing idea. The movie is likely going to show how the characters have changed since finally leaving Greendale and what brings them back together again. It's fun to imagine who may have moved on (Jeff or Annie) and who's the same (Abed).
Harmon clearly loves this series and gave it an air unlike any comedy on TV. It'd be great to have him cut loose with it on Peacock and push the boundaries even more than on NBC. One can only imagine the material Harmon has been sitting on inspired by the last few years in culture.
Right now, fans are just eager to see the movie live up to the wait while hoping there's more Community to come.
The show had some ups and downs, with Harmon leaving after season 3. Season 4 was seen as a letdown with Harmon returning for season 5 (in true Community style, the characters would brush off season 4's strangeness as "a gas leak at school.”) The show had some behind-the-scenes drama with Harmon clashing with Chevy Chase, leading to Chase leaving after season 4.
The last two seasons kept up the fun with Keith David and Paget Brewster joining the show. It ended its run in 2015 after 110 episodes. As soon as it did, fans were pushing a movie, championing a joke Pudi's Abed had made about the short-lived NBC series The Cape of "six seasons and a movie!"
All six seasons of Community are streaming on Peacock.