Yahoo announces plans to air sixth-season of 'Community'.
Fans of Community were devastated when NBC cancelled the cult-favorite TV show this year and seemingly shattered their long-standing #SixSeasonsAndAMovie prophecy. However, the show has officially found a new home and will be coming back for a sixth, 13-episode season on Yahoo.
The series will return on Yahoo’s video site, Yahoo Screen. Community creator Dan Harmon is on board, as are the stars of the show: Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Yvette Nicole Brown, Jim Rash, and Ken Jeong. The deal to continue the series came at the perfect time, since Sony’s contractual hold on those actors was set to expire at midnight.
“I look forward to bringing our beloved NBC sitcom to a larger audience by moving it online,” said Harmon in a statement. “I vow to dominate our new competition. Rest easy, Big Bang Theory. Look out, Bang Bus!”
“‘The reports of our cancellation have been greatly exaggerated.’ —Mark Twain. #SixSeasonsAndaMovie is real. Thank you Sony. Thank you Yahoo. Thank you Dan Harmon. And thank you to the greatest f%$#ing fans in the history of the human race. It’s the Internet. We can swear now,” wrote Joel McHale when news broke about the series returning.
Ever since Netflix successfully brought back cult-favorite Arrested Development last year, Yahoo has reportedly been hoping to invest in its own original programming.
“Yahoo is all about connecting the best creators to the audiences who love their work,” said Kathy Savitt, CMO of Yahoo. “Community has an incredibly passionate and loyal fan base who have fought hard to keep this amazing show alive. We couldn’t be more excited to work with Dan, Joel, and the entire cast, as well as Sony, to deliver a great season 6.”
Fans have already voiced concerns over whether the shift to becoming an online show will affect the production value to which they have grown accustomed, but Sony Pictures Television’s President of Programming and Production, Zach Van Amburg, told EW.com that the production will not be scaled back in any way, and the episodes will still typically cost around $2 million each.
“The budget won’t be cut one dollar,” said Van Amburg. “We didn’t want to be producing the show at any less of the quality or production value that we had been producing. Yahoo came in with finances that were undeniable.”
The show’s length may, however, change; Sony and Yahoo have not yet discussed episode length, but Van Amburg said “If anything I think we will be longer.”
Neither Sony nor Yahoo have stated whether they will appease fans and make a Community movie after the sixth season airs online.
“I would have thought that NBC cancelling the show would have been the ending,” said Van Amburg. “I’ve learned to take it one step at a time. We’re really excited about this sixth season. Beyond that, we will have to see what reveals itself.”
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