Huzzah! Fans of NBC’s beloved comedy Community are finally getting the long-rumored film. Deadline reports Community: The Movie is coming to Peacock with the original series stars set to return. Series creator Dan Harmon will executive produce along with Andrew Guest (30 Rock, Hope & Faith).
The topic began to trend on Twitter after Joel McHale (The Soup, Crime Scene Kitchen) the star of the series, confirmed the film in a post tagging some of his costars, producing studio Sony Pictures Television, and the Community handle.
“Community was light years ahead of its time when it premiered on NBC in 2009 and we are thrilled to once again visit the brilliant minds of Dan Harmon, Andrew Guest and this impeccable cast,” Jason Clodfelter, Co-President, Sony Pictures Television Studios said according to Deadline. “We are grateful to Peacock, our partners at UTV and to all the zealous fans who have cherished this iconic show.”
According to Deadline, a final film to conclude the story had been a wish from fans who saw the comedy fade away without a proper sendoff. Premiering in 2009, Community aired for five seasons on NBC before shifting to Yahoo! Screen for its sixth season. It was one of the earliest series to transition from linear to a streaming platform. Now, 100+ episodes and six years later, a proper conclusion is only a year away as it’s set to release in 2023.
“‘Six seasons and a movie’ started out as a cheeky line from Community’s early seasons and quickly ignited a passionate fan movement for this iconic, hilarious and cool NBC comedy,” Susan Rovner, Chairman, Entertainment Content, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming said via Deadline. “We’re incredibly grateful that 15 years later, we are able to deliver fans this promised movie and can’t wait to get to work with Dan Harmon, Andrew Guest, Joel McHale, Sony and our partners at UTV to continue this epic comedy for Peacock audiences.”
Deadline has confirmed that McHale, who starred as Jeff Winger, will be joined by most of the cast who worked at the fictitious community college in Colorado. Danny Pudi (Avatar: The Last Airbender, DuckTales) will return as Abed Nadir; Ken Jeong (The Masked Singer, The Hangover) as Ben Chang; Gillian Jacobs (Invincible, Love) will play Britta Perry; Jim Rash (The Way Way Back, Mike Tyson Mysteries) will return as Craig Pelton; and, Alison Brie (GLOW, Spin Me Round) will be Annie Edison.
It appears cast members Chevy Chase (Saturday Night Live, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation), Donald Glover (Atlanta, Awaken, My Love), and Yvette Nicole Brown (Disenchanted, Drake & Josh) – who all exited the series before the show’s conclusion – will not be returning for the film.
Deadline reports executive producers Harmon and Guest are joined by Russ Krasnoff (Denial, The Soloist) and Gary Foster (Daredevil, Loverboy). Universal Television will share production with Sony.
Community is currently available to stream on Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. All six seasons will also be coming to Peacock.