“You tried to destroy us. But you only made us… MORE AWESOME!” – Troy and Abed, “Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps” (Season 3, Episode 5)
It’s a truly amazing time to be a Community fan. After NBC finally swung the axe on the brilliant cult comedy after five low-rated seasons, it appeared that the underdog fan favorite might actually be on its last legs (and in a cruel twist of fate, only one season away from the six seasons fans had long lobbied for). As the clock ticked down to zero on the casts’ deals, with Netflix stepping away and talks with Hulu falling through, the situation seemed increasingly dire. The darkest timeline had set in.
Then, literally hours before the deals expired, news broke that Yahoo! had stepped in to offer Community a new home. If you’re like me (by which I mean a rabid fan of this show), news of the deal nearly succeeded in reducing you to tears of gratitude. Finally, a show that deserved to live had found its way back from the cancellation graveyard. And if news that Yahoo would be airing a sixth season this fall wasn’t incredible enough… this week just keeps getting better.
Certainly, fans owe a huge debt of gratitude to Sony Pictures Television, which worked tirelessly to find Community a new home. President of programming and production Zack Van Amburg is one of the show’s outspoken fans, and he recently spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about what’s next for Community now that its future is secure.
When asked about plans beyond a sixth season, he said:
I don’t know, let’s see how our movie does! Isn’t that our plan? There’s no way we’re not making the movie now! I think once we make the movie, let’s look up and decide how much more Community the world wants. We promised six seasons and a movie, how much more do you want?! [Laughs.] … I’d be lying if I told you that we have not had some very early and preliminary conversations that are very exciting about what a potential movie could be and who might direct it. It’s early but it’s completely in our thought process.
That’s tremendously exciting news for Community fans – #sixseasonsandamovie is finally coming true. Van Amburg couldn’t say for certain whether the movie would be on Yahoo or seeking theatrical release, but he did confirm that all the original cast members are planning to return for the sixth season.
Also in the interview, Van Amburg shed some light on how Yahoo – never even mentioned in initial discussions about saving Community – came out of nowhere to rescue the show. First, Van Amburg admits that NBC eventually turned its back on Community:
We pushed that one too much and we started to reach out to some of our other partners and networks. I saw it speculated in the press that there was decent interest from Hulu. That was true. We had a pretty advanced conversation. They have been an amazing partner; the show has done great things for them and their support has been beyond appreciated. It made sense that between Hulu and Comedy Central — who both currently carry the show — that maybe that was going to be our savior. We were in pretty advanced conversations with Hulu and we had made a half-dozen or so phone calls to other places. Then out of the blue — and this never happens — I got the best phone call in the world from Yahoo selling us on why Yahoo would be great destination [for Community]. To be honest, we were so far down the path with Hulu that, hopefully not arrogant but [we were], maybe a little bit dismissive of their overture, which made them that much more committed to explaining to us and to Joel McHale and Dan Harmon why this was going to be a cornerstone of the new Yahoo that they’re about to unveil to the world. They really want to be close to their users and viewers and wanted it to be a safe destination for creators. It was an excellent and articulate speech.
It sounds like Yahoo really loves Community creatively, which couldn’t make me happier. It’s about damn time Community found a home that understands and respects it, and I can’t wait to see where the show goes from here.