Last week, a flurry of Facebook statuses, Tweets, Tumblr posts and an array of other social media and internet portals were buzzing over the same topic: Community. After releasing their winter schedule, NBC revealed that the television show, Community, would not be included on the roster; this caused some pretty serious contention.
Community, starring Chevy Chase, Joel McHale, and Donald Glover (as well as some other very funny people), is currently on its third season and has gained over 5 million viewers. Needless to say, because of the show’s popularity, the fact that it has been “benched” has sparked a pretty large backlash. Almost immediately, a social movement was established. Fans of the show created, joined, and promoted various groups and petitions to save the show. There were also rumors spreading that the show had been cancelled for good, thus resulting in a flood of outrage on social networking sites.
What is important to note, however, is that Community has NOT been cancelled. New episodes of the show are still in production—we just might have to wait a little while longer until we’ll be able to watch them. However, the ratings for the show aren’t phenomenal, which could, from a business standpoint, potentially result in a cancellation.
But, why the “bench” at all? If the show is popular, why did NBC decide to remove it completely from the schedule? Why is the NBC show Whitney (widely perceived as a comedic abomination with a laugh-track) still left on the roster? Apparently, NBC is attempting to make the show Up All Night a bigger hit, even if it means sacrificing Community to provide it with a better time-slot. Whitney, which has been moved to Wednesday, has actually been doing better ratings-wise than Community; this clearly is was an important factor.
In the extreme case that Community does not return on NBC, fans shouldn’t fret. These days, television shows are provided with various platforms for exhibition or resurrection. Websites like Hulu and Netflix allow for viewing of complete seasons, as well as new episodes. However, in the case that the show is cancelled, syndication is a likely possibility.
Amidst all this chaos, it seems that there could be a light at the end of this complex tunnel. Fans, keep your fingers crossed and be sure to find a way to successfully curb your Community appetite.
http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/64404744.html#cutid1
http://watching-tv.ew.com/2011/11/15/nbc-is-a-big-mess-community-chelsea-handler-grisham/
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/14/nbc-overhauls-prime-time-benching-community-and-prime-suspect/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_%28TV_series%29#Ratings