Inside Television with Alan Sepinwall

'Community' returning to NBC in March, 'Parks and Recreation' taking a break

NBC also announces premieres for 'Bent' and 'Best Friends Forever' and other schedule moves

By Alan Sepinwall Tuesday, Feb 21, 2012 3:30 PM

"Community" will be back in its old timeslot starring March 15.

Credit: NBC

Are you a fan of Community?

Sign up to get the latest updates instantly.

"Community" finally has a new home on NBC's schedule... and it's the old home. NBC just announced that the comedy will be returning on Thursday, March 15, at 8 p.m. — the exact timeslot it was exiled from earlier this season as part of NBC's mid-season shuffle.

That's the good news. The slightly bad news — but only very slightly — is that something's gotta give on NBC's Thursday schedule to make room for this, and for the moment, that something is "Parks and Recreation," which will take a 5-week break after its 18th episode of the season airs, returning on April 19 so that its final four episodes of the season can air after "The Office." ("Up All Night" will have finished its season by then.)

In NBC's original scheduling plans, "Parks and Rec" was going to air straight through and just be off the air a month or so before the other Thursday comedies. So we're not losing any episodes, and the show will get a better timeslot at the end of the season, and one that likely says good things about its chances of coming back for a fifth season.

( And in an ordinary season where "Parks and Rec" was intended to finish airing in May, March and April would be mostly filled with repeats, anyway.)

Also as part of the release, NBC said that the romantic comedy "Bent," with Amanda Peet and David Walton, will debut Wednesdays at 9 starting March 21, and will air back to back episodes for three straight weeks (essentially getting the show on and off the air ASAP). "Whitney" and "Are You There, Chelsea?" will wrap their seasons on March 28, and the following Wednesday, April 4, "Betty White's Off Their Rockers" and the new sitcom "Best Friends Forever" (starring Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham) will begin airing at 8 & 8:30, respectively. "Rock Center" will move to Wednesday at 10 for five weeks beginning March 7, while "Law & Order: SVU" will take a brief break before airing new episodes at 10 starting April 11.

But obviously, the pressing news here is that "Community" is coming back, and relatively soon, creating a revised sitcom bloc of "Community" at 8, "30 Rock" at 8:30, "The Office" at 9 and "Up All Night"/"Parks and Rec" at 9:30.

Back at press tour, NBC president Robert Greenblatt had suggested that whenever "Community" returned, it wasn't likely going to lead off a night of programming again. Of course, that was before "30 Rock" took over the 8 o'clock timeslot and proceeded to produce ratings often worse than "Community" had been doing in the fall. (Though "Community" only had to deal with "X Factor," whereas "30 Rock" is going up against the stronger "American Idol.") If nothing else, the "30 Rock" ratings have demonstrated that while "Community" isn't necessarily a mass appeal show, that's also not a timeslot where NBC can expect much of anything this season.

Does the new/old timeslot mean anything in terms of the odds of a "Community" season 4? I would tend to doubt it. The ratings aren't going to be good, and as I've been saying since the hiatus was announced, it's likely going to come down to whether Sony makes enough concessions on the deal that NBC considers it worth it to do another year.

All that we know right now is that "Community" is coming back. We can worry about six seasons and a movie later.

Alan Sepinwall
Sr. Editor, What's Alan Watching

Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com

Related Searches: Community, Parks and Recreation

Next 84 Comments

Thomas

Man. MAN. I'm so happy to have Community back again. Hell yeah. Let's hope the Office is good this spring, and NBC will have two awesome hours of comedy on Thursday. This is probably the best news of the week so far. :P
February 21, 2012 at 4:34PM EST Reply to Comment
Ben

So basically I will not have one more week all year without a new Community or Parks and Rec episode? This news pleases me very much.
February 21, 2012 at 4:34PM EST Reply to Comment
Steven

That 8 o'clock time slot is also going against The Big Bang Theory, which keeps coming awful close to beating AI in the ratings. NBC Thursday at 8 might as well be Friday night at 11 on CW...

Cannot be more excited about Community returning...

THIS MOVE IS STREETS AHEAD!
February 21, 2012 at 4:34PM EST Reply to Comment
- Balaji K Awfully close? TBBT has been beating Idol every week during it's half hour. Idol only gains in the second half hour.
  February 22, 2012 at 10:39AM EST
ken scott

As somoene on my twitter feed pointed out. That is the first night of March Madness, terrible timing
February 21, 2012 at 4:38PM EST Reply to Comment
- Ben Actually it may not be terrible news. No Big Bang Theory to go against it!
  February 21, 2012 at 4:41PM EST
- Robin Yeah, I would think the cross-over audience for BBT would be higher than for March Madness, even though I happen to fall into that Venn Diagram middle of liking all 3.
  February 21, 2012 at 5:34PM EST
- Brianb Ugh. Sorry Community, I love you, but nothing in the world beats the first 2 rounds of March Madness.
  February 21, 2012 at 7:21PM EST
- MM Solution: DVR Community and enjoy the non-stop 4-day weekend of hoops and recreational-only bracket viewing.
  February 22, 2012 at 3:43PM EST
Lee Harvey

At least there is some good TV news today! I'll take what I can get.
February 21, 2012 at 4:39PM EST Reply to Comment
user

BBT will also take a long break in March, right? So that probably means 1.7-1.8 ratings for Community, right, RIGHT?
February 21, 2012 at 4:40PM EST Reply to Comment
Col Bat Guano

Can't think of a better arrangement. I was afraid of some Friday at 9:30 timeslot.
February 21, 2012 at 4:40PM EST Reply to Comment
Lisa

HURRAH! That's less than a month away! Big sigh of relief. My husband had posited that maybe NBC was trying to garner more buzz for Community. I certainly hope it returns to better ratings.
February 21, 2012 at 4:45PM EST Reply to Comment
Ben

That's wonderful news about Community, I'm very happy to hear it. And based on the talent of Dan Harmon and the ensemble, my guess is that the rest of Season 3 will work perfectly as either a bridge to a 4th season (ideal) or as a wrap-up for the series (if that's the case, so be it).
February 21, 2012 at 4:46PM EST Reply to Comment
LJA

My exhilaration at Community's return is tempered by the gnawing worry that NBC is looking at the future of Parks and Community as an "either/or" situation.
February 21, 2012 at 4:46PM EST Reply to Comment
- sanen85 It does appear that way. Let's hope they don't go that route though.
  February 21, 2012 at 4:55PM EST
- sepinwall Nah. I think Parks comes back no matter what. Community is its own decision.
  February 21, 2012 at 4:55PM EST
- War Chief Shake Zula Certainly, Parks has a better chance given that it's going to be w/in one season of syndication and NBC would profit directly from any such sale.
  
  Plus, Parks has consistently built on its lead-ins this season, for what little that's worth (something that apparently didn't happen when it aired int the same slot in 2009-2010).
  February 21, 2012 at 5:15PM EST
- mac35 At this point I'd say Parks renewal is a forgone conclusion. It's had the most stable ratings of any of the Thursday comedies and has largely held its own even during these past 3 weeks or so of ratings declines. Given that Community isn't an NBC owned show (Sony I believe) there is basically zero chance of Community being renewed while Parks is canned. The other way around, Community being scrapped while Parks returns is FAR more likely at this point.
  February 21, 2012 at 5:26PM EST
- War Chief Shake Zula Worth noting that Sony (who owns the domestic syndication rights to Community) somehow got Fox to buy and air 37 episodes of Til Death in one season a few years ago. The fact that Til Death was then sold into syndication on WGN America, Spike (briefly) and the Tribune Station Group is certainly promising as well, insofar as to Sony's willingness to repeat the Til Death experience.
  February 21, 2012 at 6:08PM EST
- War Chief Shake Zula (also, they'd only be selling one full season for free, instead of almost two)
  February 21, 2012 at 6:08PM EST
- The Noble Robot The good news about 30 Rock's ratings at 8pm is that NBC has to seriously consider whether cancelling Community and enraging Twitter just to put another show on to bomb at 8pm is worth the effort. And since NBC would never bump anything else to give Community a better timeslot (which would be the only way to test against the theory that Community would do better somewhere else), I see this as a good sign for a fourth season.
  February 21, 2012 at 9:40PM EST
- Andrew Nah - both Parks and The Office have renewals in the bag. 30 Rock and Community are dicier, but both will *probably* be renewed for syndication purposes, although 30 Rock may get a reduced (final) order, and Community's might be reduced somewhat too. I also wouldn't be shocked to see Community bumped to midseason.
  February 22, 2012 at 12:06AM EST
- todd Great news about Community. And although probably not the right place to comment on this, how much more life can be squeezed out of The Office? An uneven season that's going to become diluted further with the Dwight spinoff. Does anyone see either of these two shows faring well, even if paired together in the same hour? I also agree with the previous comments that 30Rock gets one final season following Baldwin's signing on (seven seasons for a sitcom seems reasonable) and love Shake Zula's line 'willingness to repeat the Til Death experience'. :-))
  February 22, 2012 at 3:50PM EST
rawk

i really hope that if NBC ends the series it can live on, on another network or online or something. there's enough of a fanbase to think it possible, as long as harmon owns the rights and nbc has no say.
February 21, 2012 at 4:53PM EST Reply to Comment
- Kip Mooney I've often thought if NBC passes, TBS would be a good home for a fourth and final season (or the next three seasons and the movie) as a lead-in for Conan, but what do I know?
  
  All I do know is I would follow this show wherever it goes, as long as it's not DirecTV.
  February 21, 2012 at 5:03PM EST
- dead souls If NBC cancels Community it is dead. It would take pretty big budget cuts to produce it for cable.
  February 21, 2012 at 9:07PM EST
JedyKnight

If these are the last eps we get of Community, im glad it will be on the thursday threnches, instead of depressing burn off on a Saturday or something.. Im so glad to have my favorite comedy back. Huzzah !
February 21, 2012 at 4:58PM EST Reply to Comment
Don

Troy and Abed back on TeeeeeeVee!
February 21, 2012 at 4:59PM EST Reply to Comment
EF

Wow this made my day!
February 21, 2012 at 5:05PM EST Reply to Comment
War Chief Shake Zula

Awesome! That means I don't have to revise my current mix of sitcoms. (something I was mildly afraid of when I thought it might be headed to Wednesdays) It also means I'm going to be back to perceiving every Big Bang episode as mediocre, even when they're good. (hello, Russian Rocket Reaction. In hindsight, I think I actually rather enjoyed you that night - and might even remember you but for Remedial Chaos Theory)
February 21, 2012 at 5:10PM EST Reply to Comment
misterthekid

Huzzah!

February 21, 2012 at 5:11PM EST Reply to Comment
Greg

Wow, NBC's schedule is a mess right now.

So Bent is only airing for three weeks or am I wrong?
February 21, 2012 at 5:12PM EST Reply to Comment
- Jeff Can I get the under on that?
  February 21, 2012 at 5:25PM EST
- Greg LOL. But I didn't mean like that. I asked because Bent had a very short order of episodes (if I'm not mistaken), so by airing two episodes in a row each week, the show will end very fast.
  February 21, 2012 at 5:55PM EST
mac35

I hate to play debbie downer but given that ratings across the board have declined since Community went off the air I think it's fair to say that if Community had aired episodes during the same period 30 Rock has (plus being against AI) that it likely would have had even lower ratings than 30 Rock. I wouldn't expect it to even return at the same levels it was at before the hiatus (1.4ish I think?).
February 21, 2012 at 5:23PM EST Reply to Comment
- War Chief Shake Zula 1.61 average last fall. About 87% of NBC's scripted average per Bill Gorman's Renew/Cancel Index.
  February 21, 2012 at 5:30PM EST
klg19

Well, it's good that they have quantifiable proof that the timeslot is the problem, not the content. But I am not sanguine about their powers of logic.

GREAT news that Community's coming back though!!
February 21, 2012 at 5:23PM EST Reply to Comment
Zach L

Good, now fingers crossed we get Omar Little participating in a paintball episode while whistling "A Hunting We Will Go"
February 21, 2012 at 5:33PM EST Reply to Comment
- Hudders Oh man... today I learned. "A Hunting We Will Go" makes so much more sense than "The Farmer Wants A Wife", (which is what that tune is in this part of the world)...
  February 22, 2012 at 8:00AM EST
- dsl And it makes more sense than 'The Farmer in the Dell'. I could never figure out why he chose to whistle that tune, but now I know. It's the Elmer Fudd version!
  February 22, 2012 at 1:58PM EST
alynch

"Also as part of the release, NBC said that the romantic comedy "Bent," with Amanda Peet and David Walton, will debut Wednesdays at 9 starting March 21, and will air back to back episodes for its first two weeks. "Whitney" and "Are You There, Chelsea?" will wrap their seasons on March 28, and the following Wednesday, April 4, "Betty White's Off Their Rockers" and the new sitcom "Best Friends Forever" (starring Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham) will begin airing at 8 & 8:30, respectively."

And to think in the past we laughed when NBC claimed to be a trailblazer. Now they've truly broken new ground: they've invented the Spring Burnoff.
February 21, 2012 at 5:37PM EST Reply to Comment
- marc yeah, burning off the 6 episodes in 3 one hour blocks? that's kinda harsh. too bad, because I really like Amanda Peet
  February 21, 2012 at 5:41PM EST
- Oliver To be fair to NBC, they have 3 half-hour shows. Something was always going to have to double-up or be relegated to summer burn-off.
  
  What is a surprise is that they're giving BFF a better slot than Bent. At one point, it definitely looked like NBC favored Bent. The result of audience testing, perhaps?
  February 21, 2012 at 10:52PM EST
- greendale Six episodes and a movie!
  February 22, 2012 at 3:52PM EST
Streets Ahead

Six seasons and a movie!
February 21, 2012 at 5:45PM EST Reply to Comment
Captain Hammer

FINALLY! So goddamn excited. And here's hoping for the best out of Bent and BFF as well. They can't be much worse than Whitney and Chelsea.
February 21, 2012 at 5:47PM EST Reply to Comment
leemats

Wouldn't it be great if the cast of "Community" did promotion events like "Cougar Town" did? I would attend if they did it in my town.
February 21, 2012 at 5:49PM EST Reply to Comment
marc

man, i'm so looking forward to april 19: Community->30 Rock->The Office->Parks and Recreation. That's how it's gotta be. (Plus Awake)
February 21, 2012 at 5:54PM EST Reply to Comment
- Ah yes, back to the good old days of NBC comedies. Thursday nights will finally feel right again.
  February 21, 2012 at 6:20PM EST
blingbling

Hooray for the return of "Community." But please GOD let the NBC/KableTown programming department straighten out their meds so we don't have to go through this erratic decisionmaking in the future.

Oh, and if they want to kill "Whitney" and "Chelsea," fine by me. They're a disgrace to my gender.
February 21, 2012 at 5:56PM EST Reply to Comment
- Haik Mendelovich Whitney and Chelsea are a disgrace to humans. To bipeds. To mammals. To carbon-based life...
  February 22, 2012 at 2:38PM EST
Hatfield

KF*YWDBUIPB*)&FB DW*B*&BDWB*&VFW*BFW)&*!!!!!!!!
February 21, 2012 at 6:10PM EST Reply to Comment
Sad Ron Swanson

Awesome P&R gets replaced by shitty Community .. not cool.
February 21, 2012 at 6:38PM EST Reply to Comment
- SLIM FINALLY, A COMMENT I CAN GET BEHIND.
  February 21, 2012 at 6:43PM EST
- Greg Ron would never say *cool* in a million years. You're a fake!
  February 21, 2012 at 8:44PM EST
- The Noble Robot P&R isn't being replaced, it would have ended its season early or aired reruns during that month anyway, and will return in a better timeslot when Up All Night finishes its run, so overall this is good news for P&R.
  
  Also, how dare you insult Community, you're streets behind.
  February 21, 2012 at 9:47PM EST
J

I'm confused. Is Bent airing back to back episodes for 2 weeks or 3 weeks? You said 2 weeks, but the official release says 3. That's 6 episodes, which is the entire order. So then what are they airing the next two weeks? If you're right then at least that stretches all 6 eps. over 5 weeks.
February 21, 2012 at 6:47PM EST Reply to Comment
- sepinwall 3 weeks. Fixed.
  February 21, 2012 at 7:20PM EST
- Greg They'll probably air reruns of Bent. It's kind of stupid to air an entire season for only three weeks (though I think it's stupid the way it is now).
  February 21, 2012 at 8:43PM EST
amg

Great news!!! Thanks for keeping us all in the Community mindset in the meanwhile with your weekly column Alan--which may have been a little bit of the push for NBC to find a way to make this work!
February 21, 2012 at 7:13PM EST Reply to Comment

Next 84 Comments

News From Our Partners

Follow HitFix:

Follow @HitFix

Get Instant Alerts on What's Alan Watching

Latest Posts

'The Office': A look back at a brilliant, volatile comedy mix

A show that shouldn't have worked instead became a great, popular, influential one

Thursday, May 16, 2013
Upfronts 2013: CBS tinkers with playbook with 'Hostages,' single-camera sitcoms

Some experimenting, but mostly the same old, successful CBS

Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Season finale review: 'New Girl' - 'Elaine's Big Day'

A badger gets loose at Cece's wedding, and Nick and Jess ponder their future

Tuesday, May 14, 2013
'New Girl' creator Liz Meriwether on Nick and Jess, Schmidt's choice, and the fun of season 2

Has the show solved Winston yet? What stories would she redo?

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Cannes Film Festival 2013

Inside Television with Alan Sepinwall

'Community' returning to NBC in March, 'Parks and Recreation' taking a break

Are you a fan of Community?

Sign up to get the latest updates instantly.

Never miss a post - sign up now to get an e-mail alert whenever Community is updated

Send to your friends

Direct link: http://tinyurl.com/7uqd8hn

'Community' returning to NBC in March, 'Parks and Recreation' taking a break

Share this Post on ...

Direct link: http://tinyurl.com/7uqd8hn

'Community' returning to NBC in March, 'Parks and Recreation' taking a break

Comments

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Thomas Man. MAN. I'm so happy to have Community back again. Hell yeah. Let's hope the Office is good this spring, and NBC will have two awesome hours of comedy on Thursday. This is probably the best news of the week so far. :P

Ben So basically I will not have one more week all year without a new Community or Parks and Rec episode? This news pleases me very much.

Steven That 8 o'clock time slot is also going against The Big Bang Theory, which keeps coming awful close to beating AI in the ratings. NBC Thursday at 8 might as well be Friday night at 11 on CW...Cannot be more excited about Community returning...THIS MOVE IS STREETS AHEAD!

Balaji K Awfully close? TBBT has been beating Idol every week during it's half hour. Idol only gains in the second half hour.

ken scott As somoene on my twitter feed pointed out. That is the first night of March Madness, terrible timing

Ben Actually it may not be terrible news. No Big Bang Theory to go against it!

Robin Yeah, I would think the cross-over audience for BBT would be higher than for March Madness, even though I happen to fall into that Venn Diagram middle of liking all 3.

Brianb Ugh. Sorry Community, I love you, but nothing in the world beats the first 2 rounds of March Madness.

MM Solution: DVR Community and enjoy the non-stop 4-day weekend of hoops and recreational-only bracket viewing.

Lee Harvey At least there is some good TV news today! I'll take what I can get.

user BBT will also take a long break in March, right? So that probably means 1.7-1.8 ratings for Community, right, RIGHT?

Col Bat Guano Can't think of a better arrangement. I was afraid of some Friday at 9:30 timeslot.

Lisa HURRAH! That's less than a month away! Big sigh of relief. My husband had posited that maybe NBC was trying to garner more buzz for Community. I certainly hope it returns to better ratings.

Ben That's wonderful news about Community, I'm very happy to hear it. And based on the talent of Dan Harmon and the ensemble, my guess is that the rest of Season 3 will work perfectly as either a bridge to a 4th season (ideal) or as a wrap-up for the series (if that's the case, so be it).

LJA My exhilaration at Community's return is tempered by the gnawing worry that NBC is looking at the future of Parks and Community as an "either/or" situation.

sanen85 It does appear that way. Let's hope they don't go that route though.

sepinwall Nah. I think Parks comes back no matter what. Community is its own decision.

War Chief Shake Zula (also, they'd only be selling one full season for free, instead of almost two)

rawk i really hope that if NBC ends the series it can live on, on another network or online or something. there's enough of a fanbase to think it possible, as long as harmon owns the rights and nbc has no say.

Kip Mooney I've often thought if NBC passes, TBS would be a good home for a fourth and final season (or the next three seasons and the movie) as a lead-in for Conan, but what do I know? All I do know is I would follow this show wherever it goes, as long as it's not DirecTV.

dead souls If NBC cancels Community it is dead. It would take pretty big budget cuts to produce it for cable.

JedyKnight If these are the last eps we get of Community, im glad it will be on the thursday threnches, instead of depressing burn off on a Saturday or something.. Im so glad to have my favorite comedy back. Huzzah !

Don Troy and Abed back on TeeeeeeVee!

EF Wow this made my day!

misterthekid Huzzah!

Greg Wow, NBC's schedule is a mess right now. So Bent is only airing for three weeks or am I wrong?

Jeff Can I get the under on that?

Greg LOL. But I didn't mean like that. I asked because Bent had a very short order of episodes (if I'm not mistaken), so by airing two episodes in a row each week, the show will end very fast.

War Chief Shake Zula 1.61 average last fall. About 87% of NBC's scripted average per Bill Gorman's Renew/Cancel Index.

klg19 Well, it's good that they have quantifiable proof that the timeslot is the problem, not the content. But I am not sanguine about their powers of logic.GREAT news that Community's coming back though!!

Zach L Good, now fingers crossed we get Omar Little participating in a paintball episode while whistling "A Hunting We Will Go"

Hudders Oh man... today I learned. "A Hunting We Will Go" makes so much more sense than "The Farmer Wants A Wife", (which is what that tune is in this part of the world)...

dsl And it makes more sense than 'The Farmer in the Dell'. I could never figure out why he chose to whistle that tune, but now I know. It's the Elmer Fudd version!

marc yeah, burning off the 6 episodes in 3 one hour blocks? that's kinda harsh. too bad, because I really like Amanda Peet

greendale Six episodes and a movie!

Streets Ahead Six seasons and a movie!

Captain Hammer FINALLY! So goddamn excited. And here's hoping for the best out of Bent and BFF as well. They can't be much worse than Whitney and Chelsea.

leemats Wouldn't it be great if the cast of "Community" did promotion events like "Cougar Town" did? I would attend if they did it in my town.

marc man, i'm so looking forward to april 19: Community->30 Rock->The Office->Parks and Recreation. That's how it's gotta be. (Plus Awake)

Ah yes, back to the good old days of NBC comedies. Thursday nights will finally feel right again.

Haik Mendelovich Whitney and Chelsea are a disgrace to humans. To bipeds. To mammals. To carbon-based life...

Hatfield KF*YWDBUIPB*)&FB DW*B*&BDWB*&VFW*BFW)&*!!!!!!!!

Sad Ron Swanson Awesome P&R gets replaced by shitty Community .. not cool.

SLIM FINALLY, A COMMENT I CAN GET BEHIND.

Greg Ron would never say *cool* in a million years. You're a fake!

The Noble Robot P&R isn't being replaced, it would have ended its season early or aired reruns during that month anyway, and will return in a better timeslot when Up All Night finishes its run, so overall this is good news for P&R.Also, how dare you insult Community, you're streets behind.

J I'm confused. Is Bent airing back to back episodes for 2 weeks or 3 weeks? You said 2 weeks, but the official release says 3. That's 6 episodes, which is the entire order. So then what are they airing the next two weeks? If you're right then at least that stretches all 6 eps. over 5 weeks.

sepinwall 3 weeks. Fixed.

Greg They'll probably air reruns of Bent. It's kind of stupid to air an entire season for only three weeks (though I think it's stupid the way it is now).

amg Great news!!! Thanks for keeping us all in the Community mindset in the meanwhile with your weekly column Alan--which may have been a little bit of the push for NBC to find a way to make this work!

News From Our Partners

Never miss a post - sign up now to get an e-mail alert whenever What's Alan Watching is updated

Latest Posts

Recent Activity on Facebook

Most Popular on Facebook

About HitFix

Advertise on HitFix

Subscribe to HitFix

Popular Topics

Never miss a post - sign up now to get an e-mail alert whenever
Community is updated

Thomas

Man. MAN. I'm so happy to have Community back again. Hell yeah. Let's hope the Office is good this spring, and NBC will have two awesome hours of comedy on Thursday. This is probably the best news of the week so far. :P

Ben

So basically I will not have one more week all year without a new Community or Parks and Rec episode? This news pleases me very much.

Steven

That 8 o'clock time slot is also going against The Big Bang Theory, which keeps coming awful close to beating AI in the ratings. NBC Thursday at 8 might as well be Friday night at 11 on CW...

Cannot be more excited about Community returning...

THIS MOVE IS STREETS AHEAD!

ken scott

As somoene on my twitter feed pointed out. That is the first night of March Madness, terrible timing

Lee Harvey

At least there is some good TV news today! I'll take what I can get.

user

BBT will also take a long break in March, right? So that probably means 1.7-1.8 ratings for Community, right, RIGHT?

Col Bat Guano

Can't think of a better arrangement. I was afraid of some Friday at 9:30 timeslot.

Lisa

HURRAH! That's less than a month away! Big sigh of relief. My husband had posited that maybe NBC was trying to garner more buzz for Community. I certainly hope it returns to better ratings.

Ben

That's wonderful news about Community, I'm very happy to hear it. And based on the talent of Dan Harmon and the ensemble, my guess is that the rest of Season 3 will work perfectly as either a bridge to a 4th season (ideal) or as a wrap-up for the series (if that's the case, so be it).

LJA

My exhilaration at Community's return is tempered by the gnawing worry that NBC is looking at the future of Parks and Community as an "either/or" situation.

rawk

i really hope that if NBC ends the series it can live on, on another network or online or something. there's enough of a fanbase to think it possible, as long as harmon owns the rights and nbc has no say.

Kip Mooney I've often thought if NBC passes, TBS would be a good home for a fourth and final season (or the next three seasons and the movie) as a lead-in for Conan, but what do I know?

All I do know is I would follow this show wherever it goes, as long as it's not DirecTV.

JedyKnight

If these are the last eps we get of Community, im glad it will be on the thursday threnches, instead of depressing burn off on a Saturday or something.. Im so glad to have my favorite comedy back. Huzzah !

Don

Troy and Abed back on TeeeeeeVee!

EF

Wow this made my day!

misterthekid

Huzzah!

Greg

Wow, NBC's schedule is a mess right now.

So Bent is only airing for three weeks or am I wrong?

klg19

Well, it's good that they have quantifiable proof that the timeslot is the problem, not the content. But I am not sanguine about their powers of logic.

GREAT news that Community's coming back though!!

Zach L

Good, now fingers crossed we get Omar Little participating in a paintball episode while whistling "A Hunting We Will Go"

Streets Ahead

Six seasons and a movie!

Captain Hammer

FINALLY! So goddamn excited. And here's hoping for the best out of Bent and BFF as well. They can't be much worse than Whitney and Chelsea.

leemats

Wouldn't it be great if the cast of "Community" did promotion events like "Cougar Town" did? I would attend if they did it in my town.

marc

man, i'm so looking forward to april 19: Community->30 Rock->The Office->Parks and Recreation. That's how it's gotta be. (Plus Awake)

Hatfield

KFYWDBUIPB)&FB DWB&BDWB&VFWBFW)&*!!!!!!!!

Sad Ron Swanson

Awesome P&R gets replaced by shitty Community .. not cool.

Greg Ron would never say cool in a million years. You're a fake!

The Noble Robot P&R isn't being replaced, it would have ended its season early or aired reruns during that month anyway, and will return in a better timeslot when Up All Night finishes its run, so overall this is good news for P&R.

Also, how dare you insult Community, you're streets behind.

J

I'm confused. Is Bent airing back to back episodes for 2 weeks or 3 weeks? You said 2 weeks, but the official release says 3. That's 6 episodes, which is the entire order. So then what are they airing the next two weeks? If you're right then at least that stretches all 6 eps. over 5 weeks.

amg

Great news!!! Thanks for keeping us all in the Community mindset in the meanwhile with your weekly column Alan--which may have been a little bit of the push for NBC to find a way to make this work!

Never miss a post - sign up now to get an e-mail alert whenever
What's Alan Watching is updated