Community’s most observant viewers may notice that season 6's episodes are longer than those in the first five, running approximately 28 minutes as opposed to the former standard of 21-22 minutes. Community, streaming now on Netflix and Hulu, became a cult hit when it first aired on NBC in the fall of 2009. The show was created by Dan Harmon, who went on to co-create another beloved comedy series, Rick and Morty. Community featured a rough-around-the-edges cast of characters led by Joel McHale, Donald Glover, Danny Pudi, Gillian Jacobs, Alison Brie, and Chevy Chase.
Due to behind-the-scenes drama and a lack of ratings, NBC put Community on hiatus during season 3. Cast members and fans rallied together to save the show, and they were successful with one major caveat: Harmon would not return as Community’s showrunner. Fans and critics felt Community changed when it returned without Harmon - and not for the better. NBC decided to course-correct and bring Harmon back for season 5, but fan-favorite Donald Glover left the show just five episodes later.
By this point, critics and audiences had a rollercoaster history with Community; Harmon’s return pleased critics, but the season 5 finale dropped viewers from its premiere. At the end of Community season 5, NBC officially canceled the show - but luckily for fans, Yahoo! Screen swooped in to produce season 6. This is where the changes in episode runtime came into effect, since network TV shows are beholden to 30-minute time slots with space for commercials. No such restrictions exist in the streaming world, meaning that each episode of Community’s sixth season could be a few minutes longer and allow their stories to pace themselves organically.
Unfortunately, the gamble didn’t pay off for Community or Yahoo! Screen. In fact, some blamed the pricey purchase of Community for the financial woes – and eventual demise – of the Yahoo! service. The show may have made it to six seasons (minus the movie), but Community season 7 never happened and is now unlikely to, given Harmon's time-consuming commitment to Rick & Morty and the cast moving on to other projects.
While the longer episodes of Community are only a by-product of its rocky path, they were a prototype for later streaming models. Giants like Netflix and Hulu feature sitcom-style shows with episodes that can vary wildly in length – look at The Mandalorian, for example. Many also feature rougher, more fallible central characters than their network TV counterparts. It’s impossible to overlook the impact Community had on television history, even if it didn’t last long in the streaming world.