Community Movie A Step Closer To Being Made?

Community fans have been rallying behind Six Seasons and a Movie for years, and show creator Dan Harmon has a promising update.

By Nathan Kamal | Published

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Community is one of the great cult sitcoms of recent decades. While it never became a ratings giant and eventually became as known for its tumultuous behind-the-scenes production, it still has a dedicated and loyal fan base. For years now, Community fans have kept hope alive with the rallying cry of “Six seasons and a movie,” which originated in the show and fittingly became a meta-reference for the continued survival of the show. According to a recent interview with The Wrap, show creator Dan Harmon has given a promising update as to the future of the long-hoped-for Community movie. 

In the interview with The Wrap, Dan Harmon confirmed the recent reveal from Community star Alison Brie that development on the movie was indeed happening. Apparently, there is a story that has been worked out (although Harmon also made it sound like there was the possibility that it could be replaced at some point), and the Community movie is currently at the stage of being shopped around to various markets. Most likely, that means that the project is being taken around for consideration by various streaming platforms; in recent years, more and more of the major streaming outlets have begun producing their own streaming content and would probably be more apt to revive a cult comedic show for a streaming movie release than a full-blown theatrical one. The most important bit of news that Dan Harmon dropped about the Community movie was, as far as he is concerned and with his behind-the-scenes knowledge, not a question if it will be made, but when. 

Community first aired on NBC in September of 2009, inspired by Dan Harmon’s own experiences attending community college. The series was initially centered around the character of Jeff Winger (Joel McHale), a callous, emotionally stunted lawyer attempting to get a quick degree after being disbarred. The show swiftly became more of an ensemble cast, boosting the careers of a widely praised cast including Alison Brie, Donald Glover, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Ken Jeong, Chevy Chase, and Jim Rash. The show also became increasingly meta-referential, making it one of the rare comedic television programs to be widely discussed in critical circles. 


The “six seasons and a movie” campaign originated in a second season episode of Community, with Danny Pudi’s character claiming the little-remembered superhero drama show The Cape would last that long. Fans (and eventually the cast and key creative members) would adopt the phrase to refer to Community itself, which was canceled by NBC after five seasons. The show was taken up by the short-lived Yahoo! Screen for a sixth and so far last season, though various cast members have been vocal in their willingness to return to the show for either more episodes or a movie. Over the course of the show, the principle cast of Community changed wildly (most often retaining the core of Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, and Jim Rash), so it will be interesting to see who comes back when the movie finally gets made.