Call it the show that wouldn’t die.
Since its premiere in 2009, Dan Harmon’s oddball ensemble piece Community has faced more hurdles than an Olympic field. From executives who just didn’t get it, to falling viewership numbers, to Harmon’s firing, to losing a huge portion if its cast, Community has weathered it all. And throughout their hardships, they’ve always had the support of their most vocal fans, Human Beings, to sing their praises and keep the love alive for just one more season.
For a brief moment last summer, however, it looked to Human Beings as though we were living in the Darkest Timeline. NBC had unceremoniously given the axe to the series, ostensibly marking the end of the most beloved cult show in recent history. In true Human Being fashion, however, a movement was born and, subsequently, they accomplished a feat that no Browncoat has ever managed to pull.
From the ashes of NBC’s Community comes Yahoo Screen’s Community. The fabled sixth season arrives on screens in just two weeks, March 17, and we’ve finally gotten a look at what Harmon and company have been working on.
The preview satirizes the tone of summer blockbuster trailers and is billed as Community: Age of Yahoo (a clear dig at the upcoming Avengers sequel, Age of Ultron). New cast members are introduced, old cast members return, and madcap meta-hijinks, as ever, ensue. Not much is given away regarding the overall plot of the sixth season, but everything we’ve come to love about Community is here in droves.
Bow before endless dean and Chang puns; witness in horror as Jeff Winger makes smug and snarky comments; tremble before Abed’s mighty powers of genre savvy intuition.
Added to the mix are Paget Brewster, who seems to be playing an adversarial role this season, and accomplished character actor Keith David, taking the role of the crotchety old man (following the departure of Jonathan Banks, who replaced Chevy Chase).
There’s no telling where this season will take us or what the move to Yahoo Screen might mean in terms of content limitations. How will the brilliant writing team behind Community play with their new format and what genius will be found? Will those Chevy Chase returns rumors come true? Will they find a way to bring back paintball? Who’s to say? The only thing we know for certain is that Community simply will not go quietly into the night. You can’t stop the will of Human Beings.
Season six of Community premieres Tuesday March 17 on Yahoo Screen. No word yet on any movie.
