One of the biggest crimes in TV history is that Troy and Abed in the Morning never became an actual morning talk show (though it inspired a great coffee mug). Thankfully, the next best thing is possible, in that each of Community's six seasons are currently available to binge on Netflix. The pop culture-driven ensemble comedy was far more of a critical darling than a ratings monster when it aired on NBC (and then Yahoo Screen), but the tides of popularity are now turning quite quickly for Community.
Similar to how modern classic TV series like Friends, The Office, and Breaking Bad reached previously untapped swarms of binge-happy viewers, Community is once again being quoted by both viewers who have been down with Jeff Winger's law advice for years, and those who are only now becoming familiar with how Britta fares in each of the multiple timelines. Twitter has seen a constant stream of Community-centered love since the show popped up in Netflix's library on April 1, such as the following shower of appreciation.
And Jesus wept! There are definitely episodes from the Dan Harmon-less fourth season that I could go most of my life without seeing again, but the majority of Community's episodes belong in the upper echelon of scripted comedy. As much credit goes to the writing and BTS crew as it does to cast members such as Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Allison Brie, Chevy Chase, Donald Glover, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Jim Rash and Ken Jeong. (Not to mention the efforts made by short-term stars such as Paget Brewster and Keith David.)
Even though Community's cast became untethered after its first three seasons, everyone who stuck around managed to keep things interesting through all the paintball fights and pillow forts. (Not to mention all the unexpected cameos, such as those from Breaking Bad's Vince Gillian and Lisa Loeb.) That said, even Dan Harmon admitted that the show faced its biggest blow whenever Donald Glover exited. It's unclear how this fan feels about it, but the love for Greendale is more than evident.
New viewers have been pretty celebratory about finally hunkering down and watching Community, too, for one reason or another. Such as finally grasping the meaning behind one of the show's most iconic and bizarre moments...
For many comedy fans whose Netflix appreciation has waxed and waned depending on what licensed shows were available, Community's arrival on the service has been Dean-omite. It's a show that rewards rewatches, thanks to the abundance of movie/TV references, callback jokes and Jim Rash's Dean, obviously. The tweet below definitely wasn't the only one that shared the central claim.
As of this writing, Community is #7 in TV for Netflix's daily Top 10, behind some of the company's more insanely popular original programming such as the WTF docu-series Tiger King and the Jason Bateman-led crime drama Ozark. Pretty great news for a show that is more niche comedically than The Office or something like the current #3 offering, The Big Show Show, fronted by WWE superstar The Big Show. In any case, its Top 10 presence has been visibly available to everyone accessing Netflix's interface, so fans know what that means.
It means the return of the in-universe tag "#SixSeasonsAndAMovie" to call for the long-awaited movie. Netflix already got targeted with that campaign in previous years, given its big budgets, its willingness to resurrect dead shows, and the company's working relationship with various cast members. With his streaming talk show not quite working out, Joel McHale (Santa Clarita Diet) very recently returned to the service for Tiger King's follow-up reunion installment, and Netflix also has solid relationships with Gillian Jacobs (Love, Ibiza), Allison Brie (GLOW, Horse Girl), Danny Pudi (Harvey Girls Forever), and Jim Rash (Beyond Stranger Things, Girlboss). Plus, both Yvette Nicole Brown and Ken Jeong appeared in BoJack Horseman, among other projects.
While most of the Community enthusiasm has been one-sided in favor of Greendale's glory, there are more than a few who are reacting to the uptick in chatter by pointing out that all the new fans have had ample chances in the past to get behind the show. Not just during the struggle-filled original run on NBC and the single season with Yahoo, but also Community's streaming past on Hulu and Amazon. Here's a more insightful and less biting take on that viewpoint.
At the end of the day, we should all be able to agree that the more places there are to currently stream Community, the better.
Personally, I go for Netflix for Community binges and Hulu for episodes to fall asleep to. But while we're agreeing about how great Community is, can we also agree that the following should automatically be included as an alarm in all mobile devices, and also ovens timers and doorbells.
In case it wasn't already beyond obvious, all six seasons of Community are available to stream on Netflix and Hulu.
