At long last, it has been confirmed! NBC’s shelved comedy, Community, will return from its three month mid-season hiatus on March 15th at 8:00 PM. Dan Harmon, the show’s creator, posted on his Twitter that the show would be returning “home” to its original timeslot, causing the fans to rejoice.
For those that aren’t in the know, the cast is comprised of misfits that are all in the same community college study group, and revolves around the way each group member interacts with one another. Each individual character’s personality acts as a vessel for different varieties of jokes, keeping the show’s range wide enough for comedy fans of any kind. The seven person ensemble keeps collaboration between the group interesting, and the conflicts they face are made that much more hilarious because of it.
Many people think that the break was good for the show and its potential success, giving it the “Family Guy Effect”. When FOX’s Family Guy went on a three year hiatus, it returned due to a very vocal fanbase and excellent DVD sales. When the show came back, it received the best rating and view count (totaling at about 11.8 million) since the pilot.
Community’s pilot totaled at about 7.89 million, and the show has yet to reach that number. Fans speculate that it is mostly due to the terrible timeslot (which the show will frustratingly be sticking with) as well as lack of advertising and support from the network. Regardless, the comedy’s hardcore fanbase has kept the show’s traction going, and hopefully will allow it to achieve better ratings.
The best thing about Community is how much it can do in such a small amount of time. The show itself has a lot of heart, and sentimental moments between the characters make you genuinely care about what’s happening to them. When you tie up great storytelling with great actors, you can only expect success, and Community delivers. They all develop and are written in a very meticulous way, to insure that none of them will suddenly become completely altered in order to make different jokes. With consistent excellence, fantastic writing, and hysterical execution, Community is easily my favorite television series. Not only that, but they pull it all off without using a laugh track as a crutch for every joke (I’m looking at you, Big Bang Theory).
Remember: Thursday March 15th, on NBC. Get excited!