Fans of NBC's ratings-challenged-but-zealously-beloved sitcom Community simply can't catch a break. Just 11 days before the comedy was scheduled to air its fourth season premiere on Friday, Oct. 19, NBC has delayed the show's return — along with the premiere of fellow sitcom Whitney — indefinitely. (Watch a commercial for Community's season premiere below.) The news is just the latest setback for Community, which drew heaps of negative headlines when the series' showrunner, Dan Harmon, was fired shortly after the third season ended — leading many fans to worry that Community's fourth season would feel like a different show altogether. Is this indefinite delay the final nail in Community's coffin?
Community is on its way out: After years of flagging ratings, NBC "has done better than the network could ever have expected" this fall, says Mack Rawden at CinemaBlend, and will be eager to drop some dead weight. New sitcoms Go On and The New Normal have earned solid ratings, and sci-fi drama Revolution is a certified hit. Clearly, NBC has decided "to focus all of its attention on continuing the current positive momentum" brought on by its new shows, not on propping up old ones.
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