‘Community’ Renewed By NBC For Fifth Season

Community has been renewed by NBC for its fifth season, a boost for the embattled cult favorite that once seemed destined for the chopping block.

NBC announced on Friday that Community would come back for a fifth season, just one day after the comedy ended its fourth season on a high note. The season finale drew 3.1 million viewers and a 1.3 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic.

Though Community continues, it will do so without Chevy Chase, who left the show in November after growing frustrations on set and some public spats with the show’s director. Chase was reportedly upset with the direction his character, Pierce Hawthorne, was being taken.

In October Chase had an outburst on set, using the N-word when questioning his character’s dialogue, though he says he immediately apologized to the case.

The renewal is a boost to the show’s devoted fans, especially after it entered the fourth season on the bubble. Creator and original showrunner Dan Harmon left the show after last year, leaving it to executive producers David Guarascio and Moses Port, and NBC kept pushing back the start date until Community finally premiered in February.

Community will now enter its fifth season on much stronger footing. It makes its syndicated debut on the fall on Comedy Central, which could give the show a boost with an expanded audience. Reruns of The Big Bang Theory on TBS are said to have helped the show reach its record-setting ratings this year.

The show also appears to have survived NBC’s reinvention of its comedy brand. The series about Greendale Community College joins Parks and Recreation as the only remaining half-hour shows, as all other freshmen comedies will not be coming back for a second season.

Now that Community has been renewed by NBC, the show’s fans may get the “six seasons and a movie” they’ve been hoping for.