Community Service

Welcome back, Community.

The beautiful, hilarious creation of executive producer Dan Harmon returns tonight (NBC, 8 pm EST) after a three month hiatus. And while nothing is certain yet, there are encouraging signs (including the completion of a syndication deal with Comedy Central) that these next twelve episodes won't be the last hurrah for Jeff (Joel McHale), Britta (Gillian Jacobs), Troy (Donald Glover), Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown), Annie (Alison Brie...delish), Abed (Danny Pudi), Pierce (Chevy Chase), and Chang (Ken Jeong). The agent working against Community, of course, is the series' often-underwhelming performance in the ratings. America's minds—much like our guts—have always preferred fat, easily-within-reach comfort food when it comes to sitcoms. Shows that dare to make you train your eyes and ears by forgoing base, unsophisticated jokes appeal to a more savvy, well-toned-mental-physique. And, sadly, they simply don't hold as many people in front of a television for 30 minutes. Harmon packs more comedy and thought into the background of a scene than most sitcom producers put into the full half hour. The show, quite simply, is the Jay-Z to other TV shows' Soulja Boys.





Yet Community, with its dazzling dialogue and repartee between characters, and its fondness for parodying cinematic genres by expertly hitting each note of each cliched trope, has amassed a strong legion of fans around the world. If you want proof of that, just search on Twitter for "#SixSeasonsAndAMovie", the war cry of my fellow Community supporters. With a little luck, the Greendale gang will add numbers to this legion—as well as gain a significant boost in the ratings—tonight and in the weeks to come. It would be well-deserved. Shows that pack as much solid and creative talent in all three of the major areas (writing, production, and acting) only come around once in a lifetime. Letting this one die would be a Chang.