There are plenty of comedy series that have attempted a revival and fallen completely on their face. Or premiered with dismal interest from its audiences. Strangely “Community” is not one of them. After an extremely successful run from 2006 to 2015, fans often posted the hashtag #sixseasonsandamovie, urging the showrunners to keep the series going in some way past its finale. Once the community college comedy found its way onto Peacock, ratings for the series surged as though it had been its first run. The success of “Community“‘s second life drew Sony’s attention, and eagerly offered a movie deal to series creator and producer Dan Harmon. Now that the movie is FINALLY underway, Harmon reveals his hopes, concerns, and perhaps a few regrets regarding the world of Greendale College.
Worried about undertaking such a huge project alone, Harmon brought back early series co-writer Andrew Guest, who understands Harmon’s need for him. “I think Dan, as part of his evolution of understanding himself and his creative process, knows that he needs a partner,” Guest said, alluding to both “Rick and Morty” and new series, “Krapopolis,” being co-run by others. Once Guest was on board, brainstorming for the film could begin. Though there were significant bumps in the road.
One of which being the debacle with Chevy Chase, who will not be returning for the film. That aside, every other actor is willing. Now it’s all down to scheduling conflicts. And Harmon says that filming the actors separately is a complete no go.
“Because the thing that’s going to matter most to me as an audience member or to anybody who loved that show is seeing those people see each other,” Harmon said. “They still love each other, and it’s not going to feel the same if you’re shooting them separately at different months in different locations.” Just when everything seemed to be aligning perfectly — even shooting in Atlanta so that breakout star Donald Glover was fully available for shooting — the strikes occurred. Which now has Harmon sweating about how easily the cast can all come back together. “By the time we can re-coordinate, what are the odds that everyone’s schedule is going to once again align?”
Disappointing The Fans Is More Terrifying Than Anything
To say that Harmon’s worried about how well the film will come together is an understatement. To be frank, he’s terrified. Terrified that it will all blow up in his face and it’ll be a disastrous end to an otherwise extremely successful series. Especially since the “Community” fanbase has been extremely supportive of the project. Something else that weighs heavily on Harmon’s mind. Disappointing them would be his biggest failure.
“I hate to say how terrified I am to do it wrong, because there’s a part of me that knows that that fear cannot possibly result in a good thing,” Harmon said. “You’re not going to get anywhere doing an impression of what you think you should do or what you think they want, but I really don’t want to do it wrong, and it is truly terrifying. But then I’m holding on to the hope that being honest with myself about how scared I am is at least a way to break the cycle.” Creatives are almost always going to be their biggest critics, but when admiration is garnered, it becomes tenfold. Hopefully Harmon can get a moment to sit back, take a breath, and keep going with some cautious optimism.
