Pop, champagne pop: This probably isn’t the darkest timeline ever, as “six seasons and a movie” is finally a reality. Peacock ordered a movie based on Dan Harmon Comedy “,” to bring back the original stars Joel McHaleDanny Buddy, Alison Brie, Jillian Jacobs, Jim Rush and Ken Jeong To check out what the gang has been up to from Greendale since the show ended in 2015.
Without sharing details, Peacock and Sony Pictures TV, which jointly announced the green light on Friday, described Peacock’s negotiations to secure the film as “very competitive.” As part of the deal, Peacock also acquired non-exclusive rights to the entire six-season “Community” library, which can also be found on Netflix and Hulu.
“Community” creator Harmon is behind the film as producer and executive writer, along with Andrew Guest. McHale also works as an EP, as do Russ Krasnoff and Gary Foster. The show’s studios are Sony Pictures TV and Universal Studio Group’s Universal Television. (“Society” has been shown on NBC for five out of six seasons, and Universal TV was one of the show’s production companies, with lead studio Sony.)
“Six Seasons and a Movie” started as a simple streak of “the first seasons of the community,” said Susan Rovner, CEO of Entertainment Content, and quickly ignited an enthusiastic fan movement for this popular, hilarious, and groovy (fabulous and wonderful) comedy on NBC. NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “We are so grateful that after 15 years we have been able to deliver this promised movie to fans and we can’t wait to work with Dan Harmon, Andrew Guest, Joel McHale, Sony and our UTV partners to continue this epic comedy to peacock fans.”
More details — including the director and estimated premiere date — haven’t yet been shared. Also unanswered is whether other key cast members of “The Society,” including Yvette Nicole Brown and Donald Glover, might still make an appearance – or at least a cameo. (It’s probably safe to say that Chevy Chase, who fell out with the show and eventually died as his character, won’t be back.)
The Community experienced a roller coaster ride during its original 2009-2015 tour. The show premiered in the fall of 2009 on NBC, where it always seemed to live in the bubble. Presented as a comedy about strangers associated with a community and college study group, the show quickly became an experiment in deconstructing sitcom form, gaining critical acclaim and a loyal fan base for its descriptive jokes, and taking on television tropes and its unique characters.
Washed-up attorney Jeff Winger (as played by McHale), was the de facto leader of the group, along with Abd Nader (Body), Britta Berry (Jacobs), Annie Edison (Brie), Shirley Bennett (Brown), Troy Barnes (Glover), Pierce Hawthorne (Chase), as well as teacher turned student Ben Chang (Jeong) and Grendel Dean Craig Pelton (Rush). Other actors who have played major roles on the show are John Oliver, Jonathan Banks, Paget Brewster, and Keith David.
After the third season, NBC and Sony, concerned that “Society” was not attracting enough mainstream audiences, fired Harmon and brought in new executive producers. But after Season 4 (dubbed “Gas Leak Season”), Harmon – thanks to intense pressure from McHale and the rest of the cast – was re-enacted.
However, after years of dancing around cancellation, NBC finally pulled “Community” at the end of its fifth season. But that wasn’t the end of the line. Sony introduced the sixth season to Crackle, which was supported by ads at the time, as well as Hulu, which held the rights to broadcast the show. But none of these outlets can make it work financially. Then came Yahoo! Screen, who pledged 13 episodes on the previous show’s $2 million as an episode.
It was good for “the community” – but not so much for Yahoo!, which realized its investment far outpaced any revenue from the show. By the end of Season 6 (and after a total of 110 episodes), “Community” was wrapped up for good — as did Yahoo! Monitor.
But this deal made the first half of the show’s “six seasons and a movie” prophecy come true. This line was first pronounced by Abed (Body) in The sEzone 2 episode “Models of Human Memory”.
“The Society was light years ahead of its time when it premiered on NBC in 2009, and we are thrilled to once again visit the brilliant minds of Dan Harmon, Andrew Guest and this wonderful actor,” said Jason Cloudfelter, Sony co-chairman. Photo studios. “We are grateful to Peacock, our UTV partners, and all the ardent fans who cherished this iconic show.”
Universal TV President Erin Underhill added: “This franchise is what defines the community. We are excited to bring the band back together and continue the journey of these beloved characters.”
“Community” won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation during its run, and generated a massive fan base that even includes an informal fan-led conference. Of course, since the show ended, the members of the “Community” cast have all moved on to other critically acclaimed projects.
Talk of a movie has been spreading for years – even before the conclusion of “Society”. In 2014, the sixth season of the show premiered on Yahoo! “Community,” said Zach Van Amburgh, head of programming for Screen, and then Sony Pictures Television, was probably directed by Justin Lin or Anthony Russo and Joe Russo (all of whom led the series’ episodes). “I’ve had these conversations personally,” he said at the time.
In 2020, the cast (with everyone, including Glover, except Chase) Collected for a table reading and questions and answers To support Frontline Foods and José Andrés’s World Central Kitchen, he’s on tip-toe about the movie’s question, but they hinted that they were all a game if the script had been written. (Even Glover made it sound like he was ready for it.)
Harmon said at the time. “But second… the entire cast is like a machine on a basketball court that automatically dumps everything you put on the court. We’ve all had enough success on an individual level that we all know it’s not getting any better.”
But the speculation about the movie actually happening remained just speculation. Until last month. That’s when Harmon told Newsweek that a movie was planned. “There is a blueprint,” Harmon told Newsweek. “There is a product that has been assembled and showcased in the world. I think that is how true it is.”
However, Harmon was reluctant to continue to anger the fans, adding, “Maybe that’s enough to piss people off when [there’s nothing] year from now. Still, that doesn’t mean there will be a movie tomorrow. This means that there will definitely be one.”
And now it’s official, humans.
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