We’ve all known Community has been on its last legs for awhile. Between Dan Harmon’s firing, Dan Harmon’s re-hiring and less than stellar ratings, even the most hardcore fans have been willing to admit the expiration date isn’t too far away. Alas, however, the battle cry of six seasons and a movie lived on for most! If only it could get there, everyone would be happy. Sadly, it looks like the show will fall short on at least one of those accounts. Community was reportedly cancelled by NBC today.
Details are next to none at this point. TV Line notes that this news hasn't come from NBC directly and there's no official word from the Peacock yet, but it sounds like fans need to brace themselves for the worst at this point. NBC’s upfront presentations are coming up on Monday, and that means a lot of big decisions needed to be made. At one point in time, Community’s less than stellar ratings could be tolerated because of the excellent geek buzz and the show’s fitting partnership with other forward-thinking comedies like 30 Rock, The Office and Parks And Recreation. Now, the only one of those that remains is Parks And Recreation and it too is on its last leg, though it is set to return for what may very well be its final season.
Meanwhile, NBC hasn't had much success with new comedies in recent years, which remains an issue for their struggling Thursday night block. The 2013-2014 season included The Michael J. Fox Show, Sean Saves the World and Welcome to the Family, all of which have since been cancelled. We'll have to wait and see what half-hour projects NBC decides to move forward with for the 2014-2015 season and whether any of them can help the network get better ratings traction against CBS and the other networks on Thursday night.
As for Community’s future, I’m not sure it would shock anyone to see Dan Harmon put it up on Kickstarter within the next six months or a year. Or maybe it'll get shopped around elsewhere and picked up on cable like Cougar Town was. Or maybe Netflix would be up for giving Community their sixth season and a movie? The cast would likely jump at the chance to give their characters a send off via a movie, and Lord knows the hardcore fans are certainly dedicated enough. Just don’t expect to see Pierce. I think that bridge is probably burned for good.
