The One Community Season We Can All Agree Crossed The Line
In some ways, Community was a comedy series like no other.
What started as a story of a community college study group became a world of infinite possibilities where anything could happen.
However, season 3 of the series began to diverge from the show's winning format, and arguably it never recovered afterwards, according to many of its fans. Here are all the reasons why Community's third season really went off the rails.
The show's format changed strategy
In its first season, Community attempted to introduce the stranger aspects of Greendale and its students gradually. Although there may have been a few zany moments (the episode Modern Warfare comes to mind). It also included more overarching storylines, particularly from Jeff's perspective. Who is still pining for his days as a lawyer, as well as navigating his romantic interests in Britta. There were also story arcs including Abed's difficulty with social cues and Troy's journey of self-discovery.
However, as the seasons moved on, many of the continuing storylines were dropped for more of an adventure-of-the-week style format. Although some of the show's best episodes came from this, by season 3 it had pretty much given up all commitment to continuity for the show. And it feels like each episode is simply another attempt to include some outlandish plot instead of focusing on the overall story development.
Dan Harmon's downfall
At the end of season 3, Community was quickly renewed for a fourth season without the series' creator Dan Harmon, who had been writing the show from the start. The exact reason for Harmon's forced exit is unknown, yet the network cited it was due to his erratic behavior on set.
What's more, rumors supposedly leaked that Harmon's attitude had changed. He no longer seemed as focused on the show; there were alleged reports of him arriving late and sleeping on the job.
Harmon was eventually brought back after the fourth season with different writers when the fans and cast (unhappy with the direction the show had taken) rallied for his return. However, it has to be questioned whether Harmon's lack of interest in the series was what drove season 3 so off course. And possibly why the same level of quality never returned to the show afterwards.
Losing its cast
Although much of the cast continued on the show throughout its 6 seasons, it was after seasons 3 and 4 some of the main cast members decided to exit. Chevy Chase was the first to leave after supposedly becoming difficult on set due to being angry with the story's direction.
Donald Glover soon followed, and although he went on to start a very successful music career, he claimed at the time his leaving was merely for personal issues. Yvette Nicole Brown also left after season 5, but her reasons for doing so were never stated. Much of the cast is set to return for a Community movie on Peacock, likely due for release in 2024.