Now that Community has two new producers, David Guarascio and Moses Port, I feel akin to a protective father. I want to like them, but really, I want to know what their intentions are with my baby.
After Hypable live-blogged the panel while I salivated from home at the thought of seeing the cast of my favorite quirky comedy in one room, I decided the announcements required some analysis. A.k.a., what will all these crazy changes, from the firing of creator Dan Harmon to the announcement that the entire cast will return to the Friday move, mean for Community‘s future?
According to our live blog the producers made a tall promise:
The only thing the producers care about is keeping this strange wonderful gem that it is.
Okay, that’s what every proverbial father wants to hear, that you want to cultivate what’s good in Community, but is this just talk? I did a little research on these two new producers who fill big shoes this fall, and was shocked by how little I could dig up on the duo. Isn’t this the digital age where I should be able to know too much about strangers without having to exert excessive effort?? Google, for once, you have failed me.
Here’s what I could find according to IMDB: The two co-produced Just Shoot Me! – a show that starred David Spade, George Segal and Laura San Giacomo in the late 90s to the early 2000s – and then produced Aliens in America starring Adhir Kalyan and Dan Byrd from 2007 to 2008, and most recently, Happy Endings, starring Eliza Coupe, Elisha Cuthbert and Damon Wayans Jr. from 2011 to present.
Here’s the good that I gathered from this info: Just Shoot Me lasted for seven seasons, getting us closer to our goal of #sixseasonsandamovie, and Happy Endings was just renewed for a third season. Neither seems to have any bashing media stories about fighting with cast members (a la Harmon and Chevy Chase). And they are relatively unknown, so they aren’t going to come in with huge egos (or so we hope).
Here’s the bad that I gathered: though I have not seen any of these shows personally, from what I read (plus I remember seeing previews for Aliens in America) the duo’s shows have not turned out to be stellar comedies (yes, yes, I’m being judgmental just shoot me … see what I did there?!). Furthermore, the two seem to have no real substantive connection to Community, and by no substantive connection I mean no connection at all. If they have never written or produced a single episode, how can they take over and maintain the show’s precarious and precious integrity? What are your thoughts on the new producers? Any dish to share on the two?
There are small signs of hope, since they recently met with remaining veteran writers (though there aren’t too too many post-Harmon’s not-so-nice departure) to discuss how to maintain the show’s vision. They receive one, begrudging, gold star from this ardent fan.
Besides the producer change, there has been a lot of buzz about the fact that the entire cast will be returning to Community, considering many thought Chevy Chase may be on the way out. This is a good sign, because despite the fact that we often want to punch Pierce in the face through the television, the study group would not be the same without him.
The move to Friday seems daunting. Community barely scraped by with a shortened fourth season renewal, and the move to a less popular day seems not so good. But honestly, for many viewers who watch the show via Hulu and other online outlets, it doesn’t really affect the watching of the show. The bigger question is how will it affect the already low ratings? For now, we’ll cross our fingers for #sixseasonsandamovie, but only if done with the integrity of the show intact.
To end on a high note, the spoilers released in the panel sound amazing: Pierce’s mansion, Jeff’s father, an Inspector Spacetime convention and more animation (four gold stars for the new producers on those). Also, check out this video of the show’s season 3 gag reel that debuted at the panel and is now available for your viewing pleasure. I lol-ed and lol-ed a lot (if that means anything). Watch it then tell me your thoughts on the tons o’ Community news we received today:
We want to hear your thoughts on this topic!
Write a comment below or submit an article to Hypable.