First Parks & Rec got the gang back together for a quarantine episode, now the erstwhile students of Greendale Community College are getting in on the fun. Jeff, Britta, Abed, Troy, Annie, Chang and the rest are getting together for a Zoom table read and we’ll all be able to join via Community‘s YouTube channel.
If anything, getting the Community gang together is an even bigger feat than the Parks and Rec crew. NBC’s sitcom made it six seasons, surviving the ups and downs of roller coaster behind-the-scenes drama among both cast and crew. Since it went off air in 2015, a lot of its stars have gone on to become real a-listers. Donald Glover, who you may or may not know as Childish Gambino, is one of TV’s most exciting auteurs. Allison Brie is rumored to be in talks for a Marvel TV show. And Gillian Jacobs is hard at work on Netflix’s Love.
One notable omission from this reunion: Chevy Chase, who played Pierce on the show. His character doesn’t appear in the episode that’s being read so, barring any surprises, don’t expect to see him around. But Community creator Dan Harmon will be there as will Jim Rash’s Dean Pelton.
Community was an interestingly daring sitcom. It started off with a straight-forward, “friends-hanging-out” setup and slowly morphed into a far weirder, proudly self-aware meta-commentary on television, narrative and tropes in general. Every sitcom lightly teases its formula over time. Community reveled in wild leaps, all but looking into the camera as they were doing so. One week might be a Western, while the next would go to outer space, or be a claymation Christmas special or performed entirely with puppets. Or, it seems, over Zoom.
The show will raise money for COVID-19 relief, sending donations to José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen and Frontline Foods. It’ll all go down May 18th at 5PM ET.
