Entertainment

'Community' Season 6 Needs to Happen

by Kadeen Griffiths

The siren call of #sixseasonsandamovie is so close for Community fans that I'm almost afraid to jinx it. Just when it looked like we were going to have to give up because NBC had cancelled Community after only five seasons, there came a beacon of hope in such a plot twist that even Abed Nadir might have had trouble seeing it coming. Hulu is in talks to air the sixth season of Community and that means it's only a matter of time before we're able to persuade someone to do a movie. Let's keep our fingers and our toes crossed.

As hard as Dan Harmon tried to make the finale of season five work well enough as a season and a series finale in a premeditated move that we were all sad to see was necessary, there are still a lot of lingering questions and plots that Community needs at least one more season to resolve. The adventures at Greendale could have ended once the main cast finally graduated, but they all inevitably came back and deserve a fitting and satisfying ending. Of course, it's impossible to satisfy all of the Community fans all of the time, but at least knowing before production starts that this will be the final season will enable Harmon to bring all the plot lines to a better conclusion.

1. Will Troy Barnes Return to Greendale?

As wonderful as it was to have Harmon back as showrunner for season five, the sudden and abrupt departure of Troy Barnes was even harder to take than Pierce Hawthorne's even more sudden and abrupt death. Troy left Greendale in order to sail around the world with LeVar Burton so that he could inherit Pierce's fortune, but he's got to come back some time. Season six needs to explore what will happen when he does. He'd be rich now, so does he still need to go to Greendale? Will he do it anyway just to have something to do, exactly like Pierce admitted in the early seasons?

2. Will Jeff End Up With Annie or Britta?

Jeff's relationship with Annie Edison and Britta Perry tends to be less of a love triangle and more of a game of Pong. As the ladies continue to rise to new heights and then sink back down into their former habits, Jeff keeps bouncing between them indecisively depending on what's going on in the episode. One minute, he and Annie are doing cutesy capers to hide their mutual attraction and the next he and Britta are getting engaged to put meaning in their lives. Jeff either needs to pick a girl and commit to her or both girls need to mature beyond him already.

3. When Will Abed Start Writing Community?

Oh, come on, like we couldn't all see this ending happening. Abed is eventually going to turn the chronicles of his time at Greendale into the most meta movie since his stint as a filmmaker in "Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples" or the whole series is going to turn out to be a screenplay that he's been writing this whole time. Maybe the movie that ties off the series can even feature the real Jeff, Britta, Annie, Troy, Shirley, and Pierce attending the premiere of the TV series, for even more meta fun.

4. Can We Get More of Buzz Hickey?

Buzz Hickey may as well have just been called Replacement Pierce for all the time that was devoted to developing him as a character and a member of the study group. From his hopefully improving relationship with his son to his quiet dedication to his duck-based comics, Hickey has a rich background that season five only skimmed the surface of. Hulu's season six should give him more spotlight episodes, please and thank you.

5. Will Shirley Ever Find Success?

From one season to the next, Shirley's relationship with Andrew, which got so much focus and attention before, crashed and burned. In fact, we didn't see anywhere near enough of Shirley during season five, despite her arguably being the most successful out of any of the study group members. Look how much money her sandwich shop made over the course of the season. Season six is the time to give Shirley her happy ending.

6. What About Chang and the Dean?

Ken Jeong has been cast in a new show, which might reduce the amount of Ben Chang appearances we can expect out of another season of Community. And Dean Pelton is a character so developed to his job that Dean may as well be his first name (it's Craig, for anyone who didn't know), so Chang's absence could mean an even more increased role for him. Maybe season six is the time the Dean gets over his crush on Jeff and gets a life — though I doubt it.

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