Why Some Community Fans Gave Up On Season 4

It's natural for a TV show to go through ups and downs. It's challenging to maintain a consistent level of quality over the course of six or seven seasons. After all, creative forces come and go, so with differing sensibilities come changes that may not always rub fans the right way. And nowhere is this more evident than with Season 4 of "Community." 

It's often regarded by fans as the black sheep of the "Community" mythos. And in the show's fifth season, it was even referred to as "the gas leak year," where everyone acted differently due to an unforeseen gas leak that had taken place at Greendale Community College previously. To understand the change in quality, it's paramount to know what went on behind the scenes. 

Prior to Season 4 starting filming, showrunner Dan Harmon was fired. He was a major creative force behind the sitcom, and David Guarascio and Moses Port were brought in to take his place. Fans tell it best why the season they spearheaded just feels a little off compared to the rest of "Community."

Dan Harmon has accrued a massive fanbase. Even before he became a co-creator of "Rick and Morty," he had a popular podcast called "Harmontown" since 2012. He has a singular sense of humor that his fans truly connect to, so when he departed "Community" for Season 4, it's only natural the fanbase would lash out a bit. 

All you have to do is browse through some Reddit threads to find countless examples of people voicing their disdain of the gas leak year. For instance, u/BobMugabe35 summed up a lot of fans' opinions by writing, "It was a lot of Community episodes that seemed like they were written by people who had never watched the show, but only heard secondhand accounts of it being 'that wacky meta show.'" 

Others believe the hatred comes from people's loyalties to Dan Harmon, as u/kingzilch wrote, "Community is very much a product of its creator, and without Dan Harmon, there's an undefinable element that's missing. Guarascio and Port made a sincere and admirable effort, but the lack of Harmon, coupled with a fanbase predisposed toward hostility, meant that no matter what they did it was going to be a disappointment." Fortunately, things turned around after that season. Harmon was brought back as showrunner for Seasons 5 and 6. And if the forces that be ever decide to move forward with a "Community" movie, you better believe Harmon will be involved, or fans will be furious.