NBC’s ‘Community’ season 5 spoilers: Joel McHale assures us of awesomeness ahead

Are you worried about the “Community” premiere on Thursday night? If so, we understand. We’re talking about a show here that at one point was more than just a funny show; it was one of the funniest things on TV. This was something in season 2 especially that we waited eagerly for every week like a national holiday, mostly because it brought so much joy, creativity, and a modern voice to the table.

Unfortunately, season 4 was a major bump in the road. Without the show’s fearless leader in creator Dan Harmon, it started to fall somewhat by the wayside for a number of reasons. The stories were no longer as strong, and it felt like it was trying to rest on old laurels more than find new avenues to succeed.

Now that we’ve gotten the history lesson out of the way, let’s start to explain just why it will work this time around. Joel McHale was a man largely responsible in making sure that Dan would return to the show for another season, and speaking to TVLine, he explained how the end result of that move has turned out brilliantly:

“The show is in Dan’s head; it always has been. That’s the only place that it ever came out of. It’s so specific to his voice … The scripts are some of the best we have ever done, by a mile! When we do our table reads, it is like opening a gift.”

Harmon and Chris McKenna (an unsung hero over the course of its run) both rejoined the show this summer, and the thirteen episodes ahead have some great stuff planned. You have guest spots from Jonathan Banks and Nathan Fillion, returns for Brie Larson and John Oliver, and stories that really work on trying to uncover whether or not Jeff can be convincing into helping to save Greendale Community College, and not cause is destruction in part by helping his former work associate Alan with a job.