Ever heard the saying “a good TV show never really dies?” We all know that a beloved show can forever live on in the heart of its fans. Well it turns out, cult classic Community has found a new life itself, this time a part of Yahoo! Screen’s new channel. You heard me correct, Yahoo! is making original TV shows now.
See back in the fall of 2011 Yahoo! rebranded their online video service and since then they’ve even produced an Emmy nominated series, “Burning Love.”
Community revolves around “Talk Soup” Host Joel McHale who plays “Jeff Winger,” former lawyer who returns to community college after being exposed for never really getting his law degree. He befriends a group of random misfits and together they brave the perils and joys of their school Greendale.
Known for its quirk and pop culture nostalgia Community slowly gained a cult following for several years until it was cancelled due to low ratings.
Since then the former NBC comedy has found itself un-cancelled and a part of building the burgeoning Yahoo! Screens division. Its sixth season comeback however has been met with mixed reviews. While some praise it as fundamentally staying true to its essence, many find it hard to get past all the recent cast changes. Losing heavy comedic hitters like Pierce (Chevy Chase), Troy (Donald Glover) & Shirley (Yvette Brown) has definitely weakened the shows unique chemistry, one they try and make up for by constantly acknowledging it. Another problem is, after six years, how are these people still in community college? But at this point in its evolution the show has drifted far beyond the realism of its roots and purely floats on sci-fi like imagination and pop culture nostalgia alone.
Whether Community’s second chance at life should be hailed or flogged still remains to be seen.
By definition it is a reboot which means it primarily has the tricky task of reestablishing its storyline, regaining the trust of its original fanbase, plus appeal to a new audience who may or may not decide to give it a try. I am unconvinced that Community will rise to its former glory but in the end the fan in me believes it’s still worth giving a college try.