Good News for Dan Harmon, Bad News for Community

It looks Dan Harmon, who just a couple of months ago was fired as the showrunner of Community, has signed a deal to create a brand new show for CBS. There are no plot details yet, but we can be sure it won’t be like Community. NBC’s underdog may have strong critic approval and a loyal fan base (of which I am a proud member), but Community doesn’t come anywhere close to the widespread success of the CBS sitcoms, which include The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother. And it seems that’s what Dan Harmon is going after now, but not without some bitterness.

On G4’s Attach of the Show, Dan sat down for an interview with Marc Maron. They discussed Dan’s firing, the state of television, and what Dan has in mind for the future. He offers a rather cynical look or maybe just a harshly realistic look at TV in general:

Dan Harmon: TV is a populist derivative democratic medium. You’re supposed to make a hamburger that everyone wants in their mouth.”

Marc Maron: Did you think that Community was that hamburger?

Dan Harmon: Sadly enough, yes. […] I think you can see in the third season me start to go “Nevermind. Just give me good review in the Times.”

Later he states:

With television, you’re engaged in the pacification of the masses, but I think the masses need to be pacified. If you pacify them well you can clap yourself on the back.

And as for his ideas for his next show:

The idea is not the important thing. My idea is to have less ideas because I want to be successful in television.

You can watch the interview in full below:


I don’t know if this is a good or bad sign for his next show. Maybe he’ll be able to create something beloved by the masses, but what makes show like Community great is that they’re not as broad as the more popular shows. They take chances, they’re inventive. Not everyone can stomach that kind of burger, but those who do tend to love it above all other foods.

Still, I think Dan is creative enough that even if he tries to go broader, he won’t be able to keep his wacky sense of humor and unique story ideas out of the show. So I’ll definitely give his next project a shot, but will a small part of me be hoping that it fails and that Sony comes to its senses and brings him back to Community? You bet.

And just to give Dan some more kudos, let me point out that he is also currently working on a stop-motion movie with Dino Stamatopoulos and Charlie Kaufman! Now that I hope is a raging success.

 

Sources: Vulture.com, Slashfilm.com, Dan Harmon on Twitter

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Leave a Reply