I spent the last several weeks preparing to write a eulogy for my favorite show on television. It would have contained my thoughts on the series and what it has meant to its loyal fans. I would have finished out the article with what I believed to be a simple but fitting way to capture my love for the show and pay tribute to all that it has been from the beginning: at least it was here.
But this all changed last Thursday with the announcement that NBC has renewed Community for a 13-episode fourth season, a surprising announcement given that the show’s post-hiatus ratings quickly dropped to all time lows.
Shortly after came the (now confirmed) rumors that Dan Harmon – the truest repairman – will not be returning for the fourth season. According to a post on Harmon's tumblr, the show's creator was fired by Sony Pictures Television for reasons unknown and will remain on the show only as a "consulting producer." As if that weren’t enough, it was announced that Community has been moved to the 9:30 slot Fridays, paired with the notoriously awful Whitney.
This is the knowledge with which we came to the season finale. So Thursday’s three-episode block (an interesting decision on the part of NBC considering that it meant giving an hour and a half of primetime May sweeps programming to a failing show) nicely wrapped up many season three arcs while still being mindful enough of the series as a whole to serve as both a cliffhanger and a series finale.
Had this been the permanent end of Community, I would have been completely satisfied. The conclusion of “Introduction to Finality” was sweetly sentimental, but if you think this is uncharacteristic of Community, take a second listen to a particular piece of Ludwig Goransson’s score, mawkishly titled “Greendale Is Where I Belong.”
Through its meta usage of droves of film and television tropes, Community has had the power to make its audience see the grandeur in the smallest of things. For example, Troy’s triumphant return from air conditioning repair school felt highly anticipated despite that fact that he had really only been away from his friends for one episode.
Once you commit, it’s hard not to get sucked in. That’s the magic of the study room table. In the offensive but strangely fitting words of Jeff’s rival, Alan Connor, “This place has made you so gay.” Greendale has made us soft and willing to accept the decidedly cheesy friendship of our seven protagonists. So much has changed for them, but in reality, nothing has changed (or Chang-ed).
Perhaps another one of Community’s greatest strengths is its insistence on undercutting even the most sweet and dramatic moments with a joke. In that spirit, our last contact with Community for the season (and possibly the year, depending on whether or not NBC decides to air the next 13 episodes mid-season) came in the form of a new food review from Leonard. What better way to say goodbye.
In one of my Community reviews, I hazarded to assert that the show was skirting around larger questions of the responsibilities of low-performing television shows. Do you continue to cater to the loyal viewer and forgo attempts to appeal to a broader audience? Or do you make a compromise in an attempt to survive?
It’s hard to say where the season finale falls on that spectrum, but due to what I can only believe is divine intervention, Community lives on to continue exploring that question, despite its dwindling viewer support.
So where do we go from here? Given the departure of Harmon and show producers Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan, it seems more staff changes might be forthcoming. David Guarascio and Moses Port will be taking over as co-showrunners. Guarascio and Port are best known for their roles as consulting producers on the mediocre-reviewed Happy Endings.
For some, this might be cause for pessimism, but I have faith in the actors and remaining writers to hold this show to the high standard to which it has so far attained.
As for the fourth season plot, it seems as though a war will erupt between City College and Greendale. This is a conflict that has been present since “Debate 109” in season one, a conflict that has the potential to provide a fitting end for the series. Though season four has not officially been slated as the final season, given the dwindling ratings, it seems inevitable, despite the lower expectations placed upon Friday night shows.
Perhaps a fourth season finale – and not the rally cry of #sixseasonsandamovie – is what the series needs. After all, Harmon made season three dark with the express purpose of having it be the toughest chapter for the study group. And from that difficult chapter hopefully will come the resolution.
I am excited for season four. There is no question about that. And yet I was ready and prepared for the show to be over. But this isn’t a time to say goodbye. For now, I’ll keep “at least it was here” in my pocket. Now is a time to prepare for the next installment and to welcome more. So I’ll conclude with a different – slightly paraphrased – quote from The 88: Community, despite your often excessive self-indulgence and tendency to rely on the well-worn tropes, "I can’t count the reasons you should stay."