Tuesday’s TCA panel featured the cast of “Community,” the world’s first TV show to go from a broadcast network to Yahoo. Cast members Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs and Ken Jeong were there, as was creator Dan Harmon and producer Chris McKenna. Per Harmon, the decision to move it to Yahoo happened so last minute, “It was all happening in like the last eight hours of its legality.” As to just how much more “Community” fans are likely to get, Harmon would only say “I’m not writing it as if it’s the end.” He pointed out how fans had saved the show again and again. “This show has lived by the sword of a very intimate relationship with fans, and it will die by that sword.” Harmon also talked about the freedom from the pressure of Nielsen numbers, saying “The corset loosens a bit.”
The move to being an online show made sense to the cast. “It sort of felt like we were an online show for a while, so it’s kind of good that we are online,” said Jacobs.
“It’ll be weird when we get canceled by the Internet and become a roving band of street performers,” joked Harmon.
The show will premiere March 17, with two new episodes premiering every Tuesday following that.
No one in the cast seemed overly troubled by the move away from network TV, and were just glad the show will be continuing. “We know each other so well, and we love working with each other so much. It’s just pure joy to come in every day,” said Jeong. While original cast members Donald Glover and Yvette Nicole Brown have both left, new characters will step in to take their places, played by Paget Brewster and Keith David.
“I’ll work with anybody if the money’s right,” said McHale when asked if the changes bothered him. “We laugh because that’s true,” replied Jacobs.
‘Community’ set to return March 17
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