Has Community just been Britta-ed? Have we entered the darkest timeline?
Over the past several weeks, rumors have floated around the TV world that Community creator and showrunner Dan Harmon would be replaced when the show returns for season 4. Those rumors have now been confirmed: Dan Harmon is out.
Harmon, who has been the boss and creative leader of Community since the series began in 2009, will be replaced as showrunner for season 4 by David Guarascio and Moses Port, veterans of Happy Endings and Aliens in America (as confirmed from Sony Pictures Television by The A.V. Club and TVLine.
Dan Harmon will retain his association with Community, moving to the job of consulting producer. Not that this means much, if you believe Dan Harmon.
Check out highlights from the three-episode Community season 3 finale
Although somewhat shocking to Community fans — Dan Harmon has been credited with the bizarre and brilliant voice that characterizes the series — the move is only one of several changes as the series moves into another season. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed in early May that Harmon’s co-showrunners, Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan, would be leaving the show to pursue other projects as part of a deal with 20th Century Fox TV.
Rumors of a Dan Harmon departure began a couple of months back, when a strange, voicemail-heavy feud between Harmon and Community star Chevy Chase went public. The resulting tension brought up questions as to whether Harmon, Chase or both would have to leave the show as a result.
While the consulting producer role does seem to allow Dan Harmon some creative input, that is, in actuality, somewhat questionable. One day after Sony Pictures Television made the change, Harmon took to his extremely uncensored and unfiltered blog to address the event. The Community creator pointed out that this new job title essentially means nothing when it comes to the creative direction of the show in season 4. And he doesn’t have to go into the office at all.
Click here to check out what Dan Harmon said about the matter. Seriously, it’s hilarious and depressing and you totally should read it.
Theoretically, this might not mean much of a change. Harmon could still have some input, and the new showrunners might not deviate too much from Community‘s creative and insane path.
Twitter does not look at things that way. Shortly after the news broke, a new Twitter hashtag — #sixseasonsandweloveyoudanharmon — began trending in the United States as fans pledged their support to the man behind Greendale Community College. Even some of those more intimately involved in Community commented: Emily Cutler, a former writer and producer for Community, tweeted, “There is no #Community without @danharmon . Period.”
What will this mean for Community? Only time will tell. At least Community got a season 4 so we can find out. Is that enough?
Either way, #sixseasonsandweloveyoudanharmon!
(Images courtesy of NBC)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
Laurel grew up in Mamaroneck, NY, Grosse Pointe, MI and Bellevue WA. She then went on to live in places like Boston, Tucson, Houston, Wales, Tanzania, Prince Edward Island and New York City before heading back to Seattle. Ever since early childhood, when she became addicted to The Muppet Show, Laurel has watched far too much TV. Current favorites include Chuck, Modern Family, Supernatural, Mad Men and Community. Laurel received a BA in Astrophysics (yes, that is possible) from Colgate University and a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies and History of Science from Columbia University before she realized that television is much better than studying.
