Why was Community canceled?

From the mind of Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon, Community originally aired on NBC from 2009 until 2014, before moving to Yahoo! Screen for its sixth and final season, which concluded in 2015.

According to IMDb, Community chronicles the life of Jeff Winger (Joel McHale), a disbarred attorney who is forced to enroll in a community college in Colorado after it’s discovered that his bachelor’s degree is a phony. Winger soon makes friends within the unconventional student body and faculty Greendale Community College, and comedic misadventures ensue.

If you’re wondering why the popular series was canceled, then you’ve come to the right place.

Why did Community end?

Joel McHale did an interview with Metro Weekly in 2015 that pretty much summed up why Community was canceled. Here is what McHale told the outlet about Community‘s move from NBC to Yahoo! Screen:

"Yahoo paid tons of money for it because they knew that people were watching it. NBC just never liked it. They didn’t know what it was. They were always terrified and confused about what it was and we were always at the — as [creator] Dan Harmon called it — the “Vietnam of Time Slots.” We were up against the Big Bang Theory, easily the most popular show on television."

He continued to speak about budget issues that the show faced while it was still on NBC:

"Our budget was decreased every year we were at NBC and Yahoo significantly increased it and gave us basically no notes, according to Dan. The weird part is that NBC would send an executive to listen to the table reads when we would have them and I’d be like, “What are you doing here? What do you care? You canceled us.”"

Ultimately, it seems that the cancellation of the show came down to budget and contract issues. Here is what McHale had to say about it:

"They wanted to [renew Community]. But all of our contracts were up after six years. All the actors on the show, almost without exception — their stock has risen significantly and it’s out of the pay rate that is affordable to make the show. So you’re not going to be able to get Alison Brie or Gillian Jacobs at a normal television salary anymore. There is just not enough money to be able to pay for the show."

There you have it, folks. While it’s unfortunate that the series had to come to an end, it’s really cool that Yahoo! Screen was willing to produce the sixth season. Otherwise, the show would have ended much sooner than it did.

If you want to watch the show for the first time, or rewatch it for the 10th time (we’re not judging!), then you’ll be happy to know that all six seasons of Community are available to stream on Netflix.