NBC’s ‘Community’ Renewed For Fourth Season With 13-Episode Order

Community fans won’t have to stage an uprising. (Well, maybe just a small mutiny over the size of the order.) The cult NBC/Sony Pictures TV comedy series has been renewed for next season with a 13-episode order. The short pickup is not a surprising. As we reported, NBC had been eying abbreviated orders for most or all of its returning comedies, which freed up money to pick up more freshmen. With the renewal secured, the question Community faces heading into its fourth season is whether it will return with both creator/showrunner Dan Harmon and co-star Chevy Chase on board. There has been a well documented feud between the two, raising speculation whether they could continue to work together or one would step down. I hear it is unclear as of now if Harmon will continue as showrunner. That is a possibility, with other scenarios also explored. Leaving Community are longtime executive producers Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan who just signed an overall deal with 20th Century Fox TV.

Comments (59)

  • Thank Goodness they brought Bob Greenblatt in
    He is bringing all those skills that made him so successful

    Comment by Sam — Thursday May 10, 2012 @ 5:43pm PDT  Reply to this post
  • Everyone realizes this probably means Community won’t even be looked at for more seasons after this. NBC is essentially cancelling the show and throwing the fans cheap meaningless hope to cling to. They’re stringing us along and frankly I’m not gonna take it. If people think the campaign for community is over, they are dead wrong.

    Oh, and I’d take Dan Harmon over Chevy Chase any day. Chase has been unprofessional and awful for years. And if, evidenced by his Huffington Post and Vulture interviews, he thinks the show is so God awful without his bland form of physical humor than he can GTFO. Good riddance.

    Comment by Tori Randall — Thursday May 10, 2012 @ 5:46pm PDT  Reply to this post
  • I hate this show and I’m proud to say I’ve never been able to watch more than one minute of it. I prefer Big Bang Theory. Community is obnoxious and annoying it’s painful to watch.

    Comment by Anonymous — Thursday May 10, 2012 @ 5:51pm PDT  Reply to this post
    • Lol, so you prefer mediocrity.

      Comment by Casey — Thursday May 10, 2012 @ 8:42pm PDT  Reply to this post
    • Funny, that’s exactly what I think of TBBT. Hate broad comedies.

      Comment by Roy — Thursday May 10, 2012 @ 10:46pm PDT  Reply to this post
    • The masses usually do go with the lowest common denominator. And TBBT certainly fits THAT bill.

      Comment by Philip — Friday May 11, 2012 @ 1:20am PDT  Reply to this post
    • “Obnoxious” = my brain hurts when I use it

      Comment by Anonymous — Friday May 11, 2012 @ 4:43pm PDT  Reply to this post
    • This coming from the expert who hasn’t been able to watch a more than a minute of it. At least your well informed. :-/

      Comment by josh — Saturday May 12, 2012 @ 7:13pm PDT  Reply to this post
  • This is amazing news. Community is streets ahead, the best comedy on TV (alongside Parks and Rec).

    I’m a bit disappointed by the reduced order though. The show has been sold in syndication to Comedy Central, which means it would be better for everyone (Sony, NBC and Comedy Central) if the show got at least 88 episodes. By ordering only 13 episodes, that brings Community’s total to 84 episodes. Not enough.

    If many new NBC sitcoms fail, I think NBC will extend Community’s order to 22-24 episodes. I will be rooting for that, because if next season (the Senior Year) is the final one (it would make sense, creatively speaking), I want it to have a regular amount of episodes. I’m talking 22 to 25 episodes, not 13.

    And I hope both Chevy and Dan Harmon can put their differences aside and work together again on this wonderfully creative and funny series.

    Comment by Annie's Boobs — Thursday May 10, 2012 @ 6:13pm PDT  Reply to this post
    • Not likely. Harmon just called Chevy a prick on his twitter page.

      Comment by Eli — Friday May 11, 2012 @ 5:04am PDT  Reply to this post
  • F*ck yes!

    Oh, my God, does this mean there really is some justice in the world? I’ll have to adjust my entire world view.

    Comment by Book Guy — Thursday May 10, 2012 @ 6:20pm PDT  Reply to this post
  • Hopefully along with the shorter order will come the continued freedom to be the most innovative sitcom on network TV.

    Comment by Michael Heister — Thursday May 10, 2012 @ 6:24pm PDT  Reply to this post
  • 13 more eps gets them to 84. If they need 4 or so more, Sony will make them as DVD bonus if need be to get to syndication. More likely, NBC will give an extension to 17 if it’s not doing well and to 22 if it is.

    Comment by Trw — Thursday May 10, 2012 @ 7:00pm PDT  Reply to this post
    • Comedy Central already bought the syndication rights and will start broadcasting episodes in the fall of 2013. So there is no need to worry about how many more episodes there are!

      Comment by Victor — Saturday May 12, 2012 @ 4:52am PDT  Reply to this post
  • YEAH! There’s hope for you yet, NBC.
    Now give “Parks & Recreation” another season (@ least), “Awake” & “Harry’s Law” decent time slots, “Beautiful People” @ least 13 eps & you might get someone to watch.

    Comment by seriously! — Thursday May 10, 2012 @ 7:04pm PDT  Reply to this post
  • Troy and Abed in the faaaaaaaaal!

    Comment by E — Thursday May 10, 2012 @ 7:11pm PDT  Reply to this post
  • Dan Harmon isn’t going anywhere. At least, not according to his interviews– he cares more about this show than food and sleep. IMO the Chase-Harmon feud has gotten blown past proportion. They had a very very public and dramatic argument but nobody threatened to leave. Plus, a voicemail surfaced from a year ago with Chase saying the same things and everything worked out fine then.

    Comment by Potato — Thursday May 10, 2012 @ 7:15pm PDT  Reply to this post

Post a Comment

Comments On Deadline Hollywood are monitored. So don't go off topic, don't impersonate anyone, don't get your facts wrong, and don't bore me.