Now that it’s been a decade since the show finished, Community has cemented its legacy as one of the most experimental and creative sitcoms of all time. The series has so many excellent concept episodes, whether it be those that pay homage to movies and other television shows, or those that play around with classic sitcom tropes like bottle episodes or clip shows. Still, though, the heart of Community has always been the extremely close study group at its center, also known as the Greendale Seven: Jeff Winger (Joel McHale), Britta Perry (Gillian Jacobs), Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi), Troy Barnes (Donald Glover), Annie Edison (Alison Brie), Shirley Bennett (Yvette Nicole Brown), and Pierce Hawthorne (Chevy Chase).
The first three seasons of Community are lauded among fans as the show’s very best, and for good reason. These seasons show the study group attending Greendale together as undergraduate students, and dealing with typical academic and personal issues, as well as Greendale-specific ones. The later seasons of Community definitely had a dip in quality, particularly after Troy left to sail around the world in Season 5. While the show definitely struggled without Troy, Season 6 is actually an underrated gem of a season, and it almost feels like a successful Community spin-off.
Season 5 of Community struggled after Troy left, partly because the show was suddenly much heavier in tone, and partly because it was still trying to be the same show. By Season 6, though, Community had shifted track and was more comfortable becoming something different. The final season of the show had to account for the absence of three original study group members: Pierce, Troy, and Shirley. As such, Season 6 has a clear narrative, and it works really well. The Save Greendale Committee, made up of both students and teachers, is content with having fixed the school, until the roof suddenly collapses due to an oversight. Now, they have to deal with the new administrative head, Frankie Dart (Paget Brewster), who encourages everyone to stay in line and follow the rules.
The framing around Frankie’s goals for Greendale works well for the season, as everyone matures a little bit when challenged by an outsider. Jeff and Annie step up in their leadership roles and start thinking about what they want from their futures, while Abed finally accepts that Troy is gone, and allows himself to be more grounded in reality when necessary. Britta, meanwhile, takes a job as a bartender at Greendale’s new bar, which starts out as a secret speakeasy. The additional location of the bar allows the characters to balance between the study room and another place outside of Greendale, shifting the season into feeling like more of a hybrid between a hangout comedy and a college show.
Frankie often plays the role of the straight man, but she is still a quirky character who is perfect for Community. In just her first episode, Frankie gives an intense speech that feels normal for the show. When she gives the same speech in an outside job interview, though, the interviewer points out just how odd this is. She fits in perfectly with the group, alongside Season 6’s other new addition, Elroy Patashnik (Keith David). Frankie and Elroy are both independent characters who are less attached to the study group and less used to their dynamics, which makes them a fun shake-up for the season. They both bounce very well off of the other characters, but rather than chasing Community‘s old dynamics, the series allows the additions of Frankie and Elroy to lead to the creation of new dynamics.
‘Community’ Season 6 Has Its Own Brand of Humor and Chaos
Like the early seasons of Community, Season 6 has many Greendale-centric storylines, but these storylines embrace the administrative side more than the student side. In “Basic Crisis Room Decorum,” Abed gets word of an as that City College will be posting the following morning, in which they will expose Greendale for giving a degree to a dog. Because the former study group are now a committee dedicated to helping the school, they spend the entire night working to figure out if Greendale really did give a degree to a dog, as well as whether this can be proven. It’s a hilarious episode that sees everybody sleep-deprived and stressed out as they learn about a dog who really did attend classes at Greendale, and it is specifically the heightened stakes of most of the group now working for the school that makes this work so well. The episode also gets weird and over-the-top with its humor in classic Community style, with highlights like an entire music video that takes place in Britta’s head, and a texting conversation between the Dean (Jim Rash) and some random teenagers all the way across the world.
Season 6 of Community also embraces its role as the show’s final season, and it expertly balances the line between honoring past seasons and delivering something entirely new. The season brings back Rick (Travis Schudlt), formerly known as Subway, to once again date Britta and go undercover while now working for Honda. It doesn’t feel like a simple sequel to his previous story arc, though, as Rick relationship with Britta is more serious in Season 6, and his Honda storyline is a hilarious twist that leads to a fantastic monologue where Frankie criticizes the Dean for falling for Rick’s scheme. Similarly, Season 6 does another paintball episode for the first time since Season 2, but there’s a twist: the entire tournament is a secret because Frankie’s banned paintball, and there’s an unknown villain who’s taking everyone out with silver paint. Season 6 of Community has so many clever one-liners that utilize the series’ same sharp humor, but that also mine from new scenarios and characters. The result is a really fun and silly season that embraces all of the best parts of Community, but that doesn’t try to be something it isn’t.
Community is available to stream on Peacock.
Community
- Release Date
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2009 – 2015-00-00
- Network
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NBC, Yahoo! Screen
- Showrunner
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Dan Harmon
