For seven years, fans of the cult favorite NBC comedy Community have united around the following rallying cry: “Six seasons and a movie.” That was the show’s pledge itself, a promise made on screen during its series finale back in 2015. But that sixth season was hard-won in the first place—it aired on the long-gone streaming service Yahoo Screen, which saved the show from cancellation—and a movie seemed nigh impossible.
But the trifecta of fandom, the internet, and nostalgia has a special power. Thanks to the continued fist-pounding of fans, creator Dan Harmon, and the series’ cast alike, the hope for that movie never died. And now, Peacock has announced that Community will finally get that movie, to stream exclusively on the platform.
A press release from the streamer reminds viewers of the true origin of the pledge: a Season 2 episode in which Abed (Danny Pudi) conveys his ideal run for a TV show. Community’s entire schtick was referential comedy, both to the media that inspired it and the show itself. So for the comedy’s resident TV nerd to put forth the idea of “six seasons a movie,” it meant that there was no other option for Community’s run.
But the community college sitcom/weird meta playground of a comedy series never matched the ratings or awards success of the NBC comedies with which it shared a primetime block—The Office, Parks and Recreation, and 30 Rock. Combined with off-camera strife, cast departures, scheduling weirdness, and the whole crapshoot that is the TV industry in the first place, Community struggled to gain mainstream momentum during its broadcast run.
The fans endured, however, aided and abetted by the show’s availability on streaming platforms. When Community came to Netflix in April 2020, it felt like a win. That the cast themselves maintained their love for the show years after it was over only helped matters; even Donald Glover, aka the award-winning creator of Atlanta, aka Childish Gambino, aka Troy on Community, returned for a virtual script reading that aired as a charity effort during the early days of the pandemic.
Oh, and another helpful touch: Dan Harmon went on to co-create Rick and Morty. Ever heard of it? Yeah.
It was Harmon who initially revealed that the movie was a go, back in August. But it was always his word against the studio’s. Thank goodness for Peacock’s announcement, then. While we don’t know when the movie will premiere, we do know that stars McHale, Pudi, Alison Brie, Gillian Jacobs, Jim Rash, and Ken Jeong will all return for it. (Both Yvette Nicole Brown and Donald Glover are conspicuously absent, but Community fans are nothing if not a hopeful bunch.)
Funny final point there: Brie was a recent guest on The Daily Beast’s comedy podcast The Last Laugh. When asked about the Community movie, she played coy. “The wheels are turning,” she told host Matt Wilstein. “With Community stuff, I’m still just like, I feel very optimistic, but also, I’ll believe it when I see it.”
We can’t wait to see it, either.
For more, listen to Alison Brie on The Last Laugh podcast.
