‘Community’ Producers in Early Talks With Hulu for Additional Season

Sony TV and the streaming service are both motivated to make a deal

Justin Lubin/NBC

Sony Pictures Television is investigating a new option to continue “Community” with streaming service Hulu.

An individual with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap that Sony TV and Hulu are in very early talks to continue the canceled NBC comedy for additional episodes. Both parties are motivated to make the deal.

Hulu already has the digital rights to repeats on the show’s first five seasons. “Community” is also the type of series that does well on streaming sites due to its niche comedy and very strong online fan community — that doesn’t always translate to live viewership metrics still used heavily by networks to measure a show’s success.

Also read: ‘Girls’ Books ‘Community’ Alum Gillian Jacobs for Season 4

Comedy Central owns the off-network rights to replays of the show’s first five seasons.

Representatives from Sony TV and Hulu declined to comment.

NBC canceled “Community” in March. Never really a ratings hit, the network aired five seasons of the show because it could trust that a certain amount of people — at least four million or so — would tune in loyally each week and it was a critical darling.

Also read: Dan Harmon Responds to ‘Anxious Fans’ of Canceled ‘Community’

The show did have its ups and downs. Creator and showrunner Dan Harmon was fired ahead of Season 4 amid complications with Chevy Chase and tales of bad time management, but he returned for the show’s fifth season. And it would end up losing original cast members Chevy Chase and Donald Glover during Season 5.

Its fifth season finale on April 17 drew 2.87 million viewers and a 1.0 rating/4 share with the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic.

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