Six seasons and a movie!
For a show as meta as Community, the transition from network TV to the Internet was sure to be rife with in-jokes, pop culture references, and a heck of a lot of winks and nods at the show’s behind-the-scenes drama.
At long last that transition from NBC to Yahoo! Screen is here, with the series’ first two episodes premiering online on March 17. It was no short road to get the cult comedy, about a group of unlikely community college study buddies, to its fabled sixth season — and the move from broadcast to broadband has brought with it several changes. Have no fear, though: Jeff (Joel McHale), Annie (Alison Brie), Abed (Danny Pudi), Britta (Gillian Jacobs), Dean Pelton (Jim Rash), and Chang (Ken Jeong) are all back and just as you remember them.
Outside of the few characters we’ve lost (we miss you but we love your spin-off, Shirley!), the self-referential show by and large feels like the Dan Harmon cuckoo-comedy we’ve grown to love throughout its first five seasons. But there are more than a few obvious differences now that the show’s not bound to network constraints — of both the time and the standards and practices varieties — that become clear in the first two episodes.
This is no network comedy anymore, folks (but let’s be real, was it ever?), and here are the ways in which that is evident:
It’s Slightly More NSFW
Although more than a few lyrics in some of the songs that play throughout the episode may force you to double-think watching it in the office without headphones (but your boss probably wouldn’t like that anyway!), the language is only slightly less safe for work than before. Except for the swears Abed and Annie sling back and forth with abandon. Those are definitely NSFW.
It’s Even More Absurd
Community season 6 gets pretty weird. But isn’t that exactly why we all love Community? You want a post-credit sequence that’ll leave you scratching your head? Just wait for Portuguese Gremlins. What about a montage-a-palooza? Well there’s no fewer than three in the 25-minute premiere itself. And the show-within-a-show joke, HardDrive & WingMan, is pitch-perfect.
It’s Even More Daring
Yahoo! isn’t beholden to the same rules as a network behemoth like NBC, which means the new Community can play in the frays of controversy — and makes for great punchlines like “Jimmy Fallon Syndrome” and other slightly mocking jokes. They’re even able to lightly mock religion, having the Dean repeatedly yelling “Jesus Wept!” while pretending to be an egomaniacal god in a virtual reality. That probably wouldn’t have gone over quite as easily on a major network.
It Introduces New Characters
Yes, we miss Troy and Shirley (and maybe even Pierce), but by the time “Ladders” and “Lawnmower Maintenance & Postnatal Care” are over, we’ve been introduced to Francesca “Frankie” Dart (Criminal Minds‘ Paget Brewster) and Elroy Patashnik (Enlisted‘s Keith David).
It Pulls Some Major Guest Stars
Okay, so this isn’t actually any different than Community‘s run on NBC, but it’s still something to get excited about. In the first two episodes, the Greendale gang is visited by Castle‘s Nathan Fillion, Chasing Life‘s Steven Weber, Dads‘ Martin Mull, and In Plain Sight‘s Leslie Ann Warren. And be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the likes of Steve Guttenberg, Billy Zane, and Jason Mantzoukas to come.
Will Community‘s transition from TV to the Internet land them on the big screen to complete their dream (#sixseasonsandamovie)? In Harmon’s world, clearly anything is possible.
Tell Us: Are you looking forward to the new season of Community?
