In 2009, one of the greatest television sitcoms to ever grace the small screen was born. The show was called “Community,” and it was about a group of students who attend a community college in Colorado. But, it was also much more than that. The show featured an ensemble cast that included Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs and even Donald Glover, who you may also know as Childish Gambino.
“Community” heavily employed meta-humor and often made parodies and references to various aspects of pop culture in a way that is unlike any other show I have ever seen. Dan Harmon, the show’s creator, is an absolute genius and the show provided something new with every single episode.
We may currently be living in the golden age of television, but not the golden age of sitcoms because the majority of sitcoms these days are not very funny, with a few exceptions of course. “Community” was one of those exceptions, and it offered something incredibly unique to the television comedy world.
Unfortunately, “Community” suffered from low ratings throughout much of its time on the air, and it would even struggle to get renewed from season to season, which finally led NBC to cancel the show after five seasons. Luckily, it was then picked up by Yahoo! Screen, which led to a season 6 in 2015, but that was it. Now, it looks like “Community” may have sadly come to an end after six seasons. However, the mantra “six seasons and a movie” has now become associated with the program based on something one of the characters, Abed, said. We have the six seasons, now we just need the movie, and let’s continue to hope that it eventually happens.
“Community” developed a devoted cult following during its time on the air, and many fans are still passionate about it today. However, it was too unique for mainstream audiences so some found it strange, and thus it never really caught on in terms of popularity. Thus, it is one of the most underrated shows of all time. Appreciating “Community” requires an ironic sense of humor and at least a basic idea of pop culture tropes. It’s not like most of the brainless sitcoms we see on network TV these days, “Community” had a lot going on under the surface as well.
Still, it pains me to know that a show this amazing had to struggle each year just to get another season when something completely average like “The Big Bang Theory” or “How I Met Your Mother” never has any problems achieving high ratings. So sad.
“Community” may no longer air new episodes, but it is most certainly not too late to discover all the joy that this show offers. If just one person reads this article and then watches an episode of “Community” when they have never seen it before, then I will consider this an enormous success.
The show’s quirky cast of characters, use of pop culture references and ironic plot lines are nothing short of brilliant. I really do miss “Community,” and now all I can do is wait and hope that someday, the “Community” movie will arrive.
