That’s how he, star Joel McHale and co-writer Andrew Guest brought the film to town, before the strike. And while Harmon and Guest still have work to do on the script, which Peacock ultimately greenlit, a Greendale Community College reunion will likely remain central to its premise.
During the series’ run from 2009 to 2015, “six seasons and a movie” had become both a hashtag and a rallying cry for Community fans. Then, shortly before the pandemic hit, Sony contacted Harmon, eager to seriously explore the “and a movie” after seeing the show enjoy a solid second life on streaming. Harmon then recruited Guest, who had worked on the first few seasons and was brought back for the series finale.
“I think Dan, as part of his evolution in understanding himself and his creative process, knows that he needs a partner,” offers Guest, speaking on a subject that Harmon explores in depth in her recent THR cover profile. “That’s why he has someone running Rick and Morty and someone running Krapopolis, and so I think Dan and Sony both said, ‘Who are we going to pair you with here?'”
During a lunch with Harmon at the Smoke House in early 2020, Guest agreed to come on board. From there, the conversation quickly turned to what the film could be and, just as importantly, who would be in it. “It became a very long process because we wanted to include as many actors as possible and so we needed to know who was interested before we knew what the film would be,” recalls Guest, who spoke to THR. for the Harmon profile. “Because if we just make a movie with Jim Rash and Joel McHale, there’s a movie out there, but we need to find out about it as soon as possible.”
To their delight, everyone except Chevy Chase, who had left before the series ended, agreed to return. The challenge was getting all their schedules in sync, especially since the ensemble now includes in-demand talent like Donald Glover as well as stars Alison Brie, Gillian Jacobs and Yvette Nicole Brown. And as far as Harmon was concerned, shooting them separately was a failure. “Because what matters most to me as an audience member or anyone who loved this show is seeing these people see themselves,” he says. “And they still love each other, and it won’t be the same if you film them separately in different months and in different places.”
Before the WGA and SAG-AFTRA shut down production for several months (and counting), Harmon reveals that the plan was to shoot the film in Atlanta to ensure Glover could be there. “And Donald was thrilled,” he says of the show’s biggest revelation, leaving the show a few seasons before it ended. But now that the shutdowns have wreaked havoc on everyone’s filming schedules, Harmon admits how worried he is about the whole project falling apart. As he puts it: “By the time we can re-coordinate, what are the chances that everyone’s schedule will line up again?” »
This isn’t Harmon’s only fear, however. Meeting the excessively high expectations of fans is also of great importance. “And that’s the fandom that’s been the most supportive of me, overall, and has endured the most to support me,” he says. “Because I wasn’t thinking about them when I was arguing with Chevrolet. It was only later that I realized that I had hurt those people who didn’t want to think of me as some kind of weird, self-proclaimed Kubrick. They cared about Greendale, about this world that I had created, and suddenly they were getting this outright side order from me, which wasn’t fair to them.
And after all that, he really doesn’t want to let them down now. “I hate to say how terrified I am of doing things wrong, because there’s a part of me that knows that fear can’t result in a good thing,” Harmon continues. “And you’re not going to get anywhere by giving an impression of what you think you should do or what you think they want, but I really don’t want to be wrong, and that’s really terrifying. But then, I remain hopeful that being honest with myself about my fear is at least one way to break the cycle.