Brow Beat

Community Is Officially Canceled. Its Demise, at Long Last, Is Bittersweet.

The original Greendale study group (and Chang).

Photo courtesy of NBC/IMDb

After several season finale fake-outs, NBC has finally delivered the news Community fans have long come to expect: Greendale Community College will not live to see another day. At least not on NBC. TV Line reports that the network has officially canceled the series, leaving it just shy of reaching its semi-serious, hoped-for legacy of “six seasons and a movie.”

That the show even made it to Season 5 seems borderline miraculous: Its low ratings, behind-the-scenes drama, and recurring spot on the scheduling chopping block are well documented. But while it’s sad to say goodbye to the Greendale study group and their wacky assortment of adversaries/acquaintances/frenemies—Leonard, Magnitude, Dean Pelton & co., you will all be dearly missed—there is something comforting about seeing Community leave now. (And yes, it is possible that the show will be revived somewhere else, but I’m not holding my breath.)

As I’ve written before, the Season 5 finale as it aired last month was pitch perfect in its delivery, a great mix of reasonable optimism and wise acceptance of what could be the inevitable: the end. And now that we know for sure that it’s the end, we can be thankful that the series went out with its creator in place, its wonderful original ensemble cast (mostly) intact, and its signature meta humor in full force.

Having Harmon back for this final season was the best gift NBC could have given to the series’ dedicated fans—because it would have been devastating if the show never made it out alive from that awful gas leak.