Community Is Bringing Back A Key Character For The Finale

For its largely pretty good Season 6, Community has gone through arguably as many changes as it has in any of its past few seasons, which have seen cast members come and go. But it looks like one of the former cast members will be returning for the Season 6 finale, as actress Yvette Nicole Brown is reportedly set to reprise her role of the optimistically devout Shirley Bennett. Let’s all have a Shirley’s Sandwich in celebration.

News of Brown’s involvement in the finale hasn’t come officially from its current home at Yahoo Screen, but rather a Reddit user who posted the episode’s guest listing, where her name popped up. This isn’t all that surprising, all things considered, as Brown’s exit from the show was an amicable one, unlike that of Chevy Chase, and it was to allow her to deal with family issues. She’d even previously said a recurring role would have worked for her.

Fans know that this won’t even be the first time that Shirley has popped up in Season 6, as she was also in the season premiere “Ladders.” Seen above in svelte-mode, Shirley was playing opposite Steven Weber in a promo for a fake NBC drama called The Butcher and the Baker. And it seems like that same faux-role could possibly come into play for the finale, as the episode description sees Abed asking the other characters “to imagine pitching a TV show about what they would do in Season 7.” Would I watch an entire season of The Butcher and the Baker? You bet your wheelchair I would.

I can’t imagine how ridiculously meta the episode is going to be, and I expect nearly every TV trope imaginable to make an appearance. And for what it’s worth, that episode will also have a guest spot for Seth Green, though I hope that doesn’t mean we’re getting a Dads parody.

With Season 6 coming to a close and little to no talk of a movie on the horizon, the future of Community is entirely up in the air. Maybe it’ll be back on Yahoo! for the Season 7 that the finale is hoping for, or maybe it will head over to Hulu for a while before making its way to Crackle, after a quick Amazon Instant detour. Maybe just give the Dean a spinoff?

Nick is a Cajun Country native and an Assistant Managing Editor with a focus on TV and features. His humble origin story with CinemaBlend began all the way back in the pre-streaming era, circa 2009, as a freelancing DVD reviewer and TV recapper. Nick leapfrogged over to the small screen to cover more and more television news and interviews, eventually taking over the section for the current era and covering topics like Yellowstone, The Walking Dead and horror. Born in Louisiana and currently living in Texas — Who Dat Nation over America’s Team all day, all night — Nick spent several years in the hospitality industry, and also worked as a 911 operator. If you ever happened to hear his music or read his comics/short stories, you have his sympathy.