NBC’s ‘Community’ season 4: Network boss talks season 5 chances, Chevy Chase

If you have already given up hope for whatever reason that “Community” could exist beyond season 4, the head of NBC is doing whatever he can to try and say now that the end is not necessarily here for Jeff Winger and company just yet. As a matter of fact, he would be thrilled to order a season 5 of the comedy if the ratings come in high enough.

With Sunday being the network’s day at the Television Critics Association, Robert Greenblatt kicked things off by reminding everyone that there is plenty of an incentive for the network to continue to promote and have the show on the air, and so the constant delays leading up to the show’s February 7 launch are not necessarily an indication that the end is in fact near:

“We’re always hopeful for a show to continue. And we co-own it. I’d love nothing more than to see it continue.”

Greenblatt also shared some of his thoughts on the exit of Chevy Chase (who will appear in 11 out of the show’s 13 upcoming episodes, including the finale), and expressed some confidence that even in spite of him no longer being a part of the show, the end product here would not suffer:

“Actors come and go on a lot of shows and this is a big ensemble … I don’t think that’s going to be a big negative about the future of the show.”

The final thing worth noting here is that Greenblatt said that overall, we are going to be seeing roughly the same show that ended up becoming a cult favorite for NBC to begin with, though he said that there may actually be a little more “heart” with the characters than in seasons past. This may be an allusion to how Dan Harmon himself personally had little interest in establishing any long-term relationships with the characters on his show, explaining that this was better suited for other showrunners like “The Office’s” Greg Daniels.

Do you think the ratings will actually be good enough against “The Big Bang Theory” for a “Community” season 5 to happen? If you want to read about another major departure from the show, you can do so here.

Photo: NBC