‘Community’ Film Is Finally Real As Peacock Orders Closing Feature With Original Stars
Six seasons and a movie is finally real after NBCUniversal’s Peacock ordered a feature film closure for Community.
It’s a long time coming for the fan-favorite series, which ran for more than 100 episodes between 2009 and 2015.
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The streaming service has ordered Community: The Movie from creator Dan Harmon. It will feature original series stars Joel McHale, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Gillian Jacobs, Jim Rash and Ken Jeong. The NBCU digital platform won the rights in a competitive situation.
It comes a month after Harmon gave his most concrete answer to the question about when the movie is coming, revealing that it was a “matter of when.” It seems when is now.
Community, which was set in a community college in Colorado, originally launched on NBC, airing alongside series such as The Office, 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation. It ran for five seasons on the linear network before moving to Yahoo! Screen for its final season – one of the first shows to move to a digital platform after a linear launch.
McHale returns as Jeff Winger, Jacobs plays Britta Perry, Pudi is Abed Nadir, Brie as Annie Edison, Rash as Craig Pelton, and Jeong as Ben Chang.
There’s no sign of Chevy Chase, who starred in the first four seasons but left after frequent conflicts with Harmon following a Season 5 cameo, Donald Glover, who starred in the first five seasons, and Yvette Nicole Brown, who also starred in the first five seasons, are also not returning, but that’s not a surprise given their exits.
Harmon and Andrew Guest will write and exec produce while McHale, Russ Krasnoff and Gary Foster will executive produce the movie, which comes from Sony Pictures Television and Universal Television.
Peacock is also acquiring the full series library on a non-exclusive basis.
“‘Six seasons and a movie’ started out as a cheeky line from Community’s early seasons and quickly ignited a passionate fan movement for this iconic, hilarious and cool NBC comedy,” said Susan Rovner, Chairman, Entertainment Content, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “We’re incredibly grateful that 15 years later, we are able to deliver fans this promised movie and can’t wait to get to work with Dan Harmon, Andrew Guest, Joel McHale, Sony and our partners at UTV to continue this epic comedy for Peacock audiences.”
“Community was light years ahead of its time when it premiered on NBC in 2009 and we are thrilled to once again visit the brilliant minds of Dan Harmon, Andrew Guest and this impeccable cast. We are grateful to Peacock, our partners at UTV and to all the zealous fans who have cherished this iconic show,” said Jason Clodfelter, Co-President, Sony Pictures Television Studios.
“This franchise is the very definition of community,” added Erin Underhill, President, Universal Television. “We’re excited to bring the band back together and continue the journey of these beloved characters.”
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