The story
Disbarred lawyer Jeff Winger enrols at Greendale, a gloriously shabby community college in Colorado, and sets up a bogus Spanish study group to impress a classmate. The misfits who join him, among them a pop-culture-obsessed film fan, a driven former overachiever, a churchgoing mother, an ex-high-school jock and an ageing tycoon, become an unlikely family whose campus adventures keep tipping into full-blown genre parodies.
Why it matters
Community's sixth season was a milestone for online TV: a cancelled NBC sitcom was continued by a web portal rather than another channel, partly fulfilling fans' famous "six seasons and a movie" rallying cry. Yahoo closed Yahoo Screen the following January after a $42 million write-down, a sobering note for early streamers.
How it was rescued
NBC aired five seasons and cancelled Community in May 2014; bids to continue it were turned down by Netflix and Hulu. On 30 June 2014, the day the cast's contracts were due to expire, Yahoo ordered a 13-episode sixth season for its Yahoo Screen service, which premiered on 17 March 2015.
Filed under: Cancelled, then revived online
Notable facts
- Dan Harmon said he looked forward to "bringing our beloved NBC sitcom to a larger audience by moving it online". (source)
- The show reached its 100th episode milestone on 8 December 2014, while the Yahoo season was being filmed. (source)
- Yahoo shut down Yahoo Screen in January 2016 after a $42 million write-down. (source)
- Peacock ordered a feature-length Community film in September 2022 after a bidding war for the rights. (source)