On May 18, 2012, as Dan Harmon‘s cross-country flight hit the tarmac at LAX, a text message arrived from his agent: Harmon, the celebrated creator, head writer and showrunner of NBC‘s cult comedy Community, had been fired. Although there had been troubling signs — Harmon often was dangerously late with scripts and led a lifestyle even his friends describe as highly dysfunctional — the dismissal came without explanation from the network or studio Sony Pictures TV. But Harmon’s initial reaction was one neither of anger nor of disappointment.
What followed was the most brazen attack by an employee on a television network since Charlie Sheen called his Two and a Half Men executives 'maggots,' 'scoundrels' and 'silly clowns': Harmon, now 40, published a bitter, passionate and widely read post on his Tumblr account, Dan Harmon Poops, in which he blasted not only the decision to force him out but also the means by which the network and studio did it.
In accepting their offer — for which star Joel McHale and, to a lesser extent, Harmon’s rabid fan base, are largely responsible — he not only is being granted a rare second chance but also is providing perhaps the most tangible example yet of the power of a savvy creative as well as the forgiving nature of Hollywood. In the process, Harmon’s little-watched critical darling — fewer than 6 million viewers tune in — has become the most captivating behind-the-scenes soap opera on TV, with its leader exalted, then killed off and now resurrected for what likely is a final act.
But not even Harmon’s biggest detractors deny his gift for crafting deeply funny, nuanced comedy, with one exec noting that he can take a good writer’s script and add several additional layers and subtle jokes. 'He’s got one of those one-in-a-billion minds,' says McHale, echoing the term 'genius' that many employ to describe Harmon. Adds McKenna, 'The first time I saw Dan’s work, part of my brain exploded.' Critics agree, with the series under Harmon’s stewardship regularly topping best-of lists and THR‘s Tim Goodman calling it and its creator 'wildly creative to the point where normal ideas and boundaries seem to bore them.'
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When Community joined such shows as 30 Rock and The Office on NBC’s 2009 schedule, that type of critical adoration and a loyal fan base were enough. What the network lacked in viewership was made up for in the accolades that allowed NBC to tout itself as a home for 'smart' comedy. The studio found a way to cash in, too, inking a syndication deal with Comedy Central and a lucrative pact with Hulu, which multiple sources peg at $850,000 an episode. But over time, Community failed to broaden its reach, as Harmon focused more on pleasing bloggers with episodes featuring obscure movie references, stop-motion animation and a game of Dungeons & Dragons.
Sony had hoped Port and Guarascio, who worked on the studio’s Happy Endings, would be able to open up Community to new viewers. But without its auteur, the series was criticized by key media — HitFix’s Alan Sepinwall suggested the new showrunners had opted to 'reverse-engineer the Harmon version of Community but couldn’t quite manage without the missing ingredient of Harmon himself' –and shed 11 percent of its viewership. Months later, Harmon used some choice words (more on that later) to describe his distaste for his successors’ work, noting in a Harmontown show that it was 'very much like an impression — and an unflattering one.'