Dan Harmon Wants You to Let 'Community' Go

It's no secret that Community has always had a small but dedicated fan base. The show may have always had lackluster ratings, but it's a cult favorite, with fans that have never been afraid to rally behind their war cry of #sixseasonsandamovie when it looked like the little show that could was in danger of derailing. When NBC cancelled Community after only five seasons and no movie, fans didn't know how to handle it. Although the word on the street is that there's a plan in place to shop Community around to other networks, things aren't looking good. Especially considering creator Dan Harmon is lukewarm on reviving Community .

If your thoughts just screeched to a stop at the very idea, you're not alone. However, Harmon has always done his best to be as honest and candid with the fans as possible — which is exactly why he tweeted this essay in the middle of the night because he feels "like I’ve made [fans] anxious with my silence". Although Harmon wanted to be clear on the fact that he doesn't outright hate the idea of Community continuing, he did admit that he's not enthusiastic about it. Or, at the very least, that he wasn't enthusiastic about it when Sony spoke with him:

I will confess, however, that when Sony called me on Friday with the news, there was brief discussion at the end of the call about the concept of the show living elsewhere, and I was definitely in the “eh” column... It doesn’t matter right now WHY I’d be lukewarm or if my reasons would be valid, what matters is, I won’t be lukewarm. I’ll heat up. I said “eh” on a Friday afternoon, I will change it to a “sure, let’s talk” on Monday morning and Sony can do their thing. I’m not going to be the guy that recancels cancelled Community.

It's a diplomatic answer that almost seems at odds with the outcry from Community fans right now, even at odds with the now-series finale of the show in which Abed said, "We'll definitely be back next year. If not, it'll be because an asteroid has destroyed all human civilization." Was the asteroid a metaphor for Harmon's indifference? Are we truly supposed to just say goodbye to Greendale or is Sony going to have to give everyone a season six and a movie that, like the gas leak year that was season four, has no input from Harmon at all?

As it turns out, part of Harmon's lack of enthusiasm comes on behalf of the fans.

What do we, the fans, do? How can we help? Whose dog can we kidnap? ...If you want to know the God’s honest truth, part of my “eh” was coming from the unsettling thought of your passion for campaigns being once again exploited by this rather unfair, somewhat backward system, one that now treats you like it’s your responsibility to keep a show alive, like a corporation is doing you a favor by feeding you low grade opiate through a regulated tube... You deserve better.

According to Harmon, there are astronauts in space stations who are aware of how much we all love Community and he is, essentially, giving us the green light to relax. We have protested, we have petitioned, we have campaigned, we have tweeted, we have made our love for the show very, very clear... and it was still cancelled anyway. Harmon is telling everyone that it is not the fans who have failed the show but the networks who have failed the fans. He might also be ready to move on to other projects, but I personally can't think of a greater blessing from a show creator than to tell me that I've done all I could for a show that I loved and will always love.

That doesn't mean that I, like Harmon, wouldn't be pleasantly surprised if the #SaveCommunity campaign actually manages to get that sixth season if not that movie. However, if Harmon is asking us to let Community go, then we owe it to him to listen. (And, having listened, to still show up at the NBC studios and get ready to rumble. Or not.)

Image: NBC; Tumblr