Cool, cool, cool cool cool. What started as a throwaway gag about NBC’s short-lived superhero series The Cape became a rallying cry to fans of Community. The series followed a group of oddball friends attending community college. Never a ratings hit, the Dan Harmon series developed a devoted fan base. Those fans now celebrate the fruition of #6seasonsandamovie.
It has been a long time coming. The series left the NBC airwaves after 5 seasons in 2014. It returned for a season 6 for Yahoo Screen, the web service’s ill-fated attempt to produce scripted content in 2015. Now, seven years later, Dan Harmon and the bulk of the show’s cast return to class. The Community movie will be produced for NBC’s streaming partner Peacock. Peacock reportedly outbid several other streamers for the project.
Of the original cast, Peacock announced that six of the series stars are returning for the project. Joel McHale (Jeff Winger), Alison Brie (Annie Edison), Danny Pudi (Abed Nadir), Gillian Jacobs (Britta Perry), Jim Rash (Dean Craig Pelton), and Ken Jeong (Ben Chang) all return.
The status series’ other three stars is uncertain. So who knows if Donald Glover (Troy Barnes), Chevy Chase (Pierce Hawthorne), and Yvette Nicole Brown (Shirley Bennett) will be involved. Reps for Peacock declined to comment on their status. All three of the stars left the series before it ended. Glover left after a handful of episodes in the 5th season to pursue other interests, including writing and performing music. (Under the stage name of Childish Gambino.) He went on to create and star in Atlanta on Hulu. Brown left after Season 5 ended. She opted not to return to the grueling schedule of the single-camera series. Instead, she focused on taking care of her ailing father. Chase’s departure from the series was less amicable. He famously clashed with his co-stars and the show’s producers over his character and perceived importance.
Harmon and Guest will script the movie. Guest wrote several episodes in the first 2 seasons. Many of the episodes from those early days were directed by the team of Joe and Anthony Russo, who would go on to direct several Marvel movies (which feature cameos from several Community cast members).
