Against all odds, Dan Harmon’s cult comedy series Community managed to live for an entire season without him before he returned for its final two. After NBC cancelled Community, Yahoo Screen rescued the series and produced the sixth season online. But now it seems as though that’s as far as it’ll go—maybe?
Community star and The Soup host Joel McHale was recently asked if another season on Yahoo Screen was possible. McHale’s response seemed to be a definitive “no.”
“They wanted to [order more episodes],” said McHale. “But all of our contracts were up after six years. All the actors on the show, almost without exception—their stock has risen significantly and it’s out of the pay rate that is affordable to make the show. So you’re not going to be able to get Alison Brie or Gillian Jacobs at a normal television salary anymore. There is just not enough money to be able to pay for the show.”
In response to McHale’s interview, however, Yahoo released a statement that said, “We’ve seen tremendous value in our partnership with Sony and are continuing to discuss future opportunities for Community.”
So Yahoo Screen may want more Community, but it’s going to be a tall order to get everyone back, if McHale is correct and everyone’s contracts are up. Outside of that, Ken Jeong already has his own sitcom—Dr. Ken coming this fall to ABC—and the careers of Gillian Jacobs, Alison Brie, Danny Pudi, and Jim Rash are all on the upswing. Theoretically, Yahoo could give the remaining stars a big raise to resign for another season of Community, but they would have to want to come back, perhaps at the expense of other opportunities. Even Harmon seems like he’s ready to move on.
McHale already has his next acting gig lined up. He’ll be playing a conservative talk show host and conspiracy theorist named Tad O’Malley in the six-episode revival of The X-Files.
Community fans, do you want another season on Yahoo? Or are you holding out for the fabled #6seasonsandamovie?! Let us know in the comment section Dean-low!
HT: Metro Weekly & Deadline
