COMMUNITY | A Complete Retrospective

Six Seasons and a Retrospective
From humble beginnings, to paint-ballistic ambition, to even a minor gas leak, and everything in between. All to chronicle one TV show’s most bizarre and unusual journey.
Get out your pens and pencils, because we’re taking a six year course through the highs and lows, the victories and defeats, of Greendale Community College.
This is… COMMUNITY | A COMPLETE RETROSPECTIVE
THE COMPLETE TIMELINE:
00:00 - 2009: You’re Already Accepted
00:05:27 - 2009: Casting
00:08:36 - 2009: Promos for Season 1
00:12:22 - 2009: SEASON ONE Vol. 1
00:29:33 - 2010: SEASON ONE Vol. 2
00:47:21 - 2010: Reception to Season 1
00:48:45 - 2010: Season 2 Renewal
00:49:24 - 2010: Comic-Con 2010
00:50:57 - 2010: Promos for Season 2
00:52:46 - 2010: SEASON TWO Vol. 1
01:10:16 - 2011: SEASON TWO Vol. 2
01:27:39 - 2011: Reception to Season 2
01:29:09 - 2011: Season 3 Renewal
01:29:40 - 2011: Comic-Con 2011
01:31:03 - 2011: Filming S3 / S2 DVD
01:32:52 - 2011: Promos for Season 3
01:33:44 - 2011: SEASON THREE Vol. 1
01:50:03 - 2011: Community Pulled from Mid-Season
01:51:26 - 2012: Community Back in the Field
01:53:50 - 2012: SEASON THREE Vol. 2
02:05:59 - 2012: Renewal for Season 4
02:06:27 - 2012: Dan Harmon VS Chevy Chase
02:07:59 - 2012: Dan Harmon Fired
02:10:32 - 2012: Comic-Con 2012
02:12:03 - 2012: Season 4 moved to Fridays
02:13:23 - 2012: October 19th
02:14:32 - 2012: Chevy Chase Leaves Community
02:16:19 - 2013: Promos for Season 4
02:17:02 - 2013: SEASON FOUR
02:32:11 - 2013: Reception to Season 4
02:33:49 - 2013: Dan Harmon Returns
02:35:09 - 2013: Donald Glover Leaves Community
02:35:59 - 2013: Comic-Con 2013
02:37:11 - 2013: Guest Stars for Season 5
02:38:21 - 2013: Promos for Season 5
02:39:02 - 2014: Promos Continue
02:39:37 - 2014: SEASON FIVE
03:01:38 - 2014: Reception to Season 5
03:02:16 - 2014: Community Cancelled
03:03:54 - 2014: Yahoo Swoops In
03:05:01 - 2014: Comic-Con 2014
03:05:54 - 2014: Yvette Nicole Brown Leaves Community
03:06:38 - 2014: Casting / Filming for Season 6
03:07:33 - 2015: Promos for Season 6
03:10:22 - 2015: SEASON SIX
03:31:10 - 2015: Reception to Season 6
03:32:37 - Six Seasons and a Movie
Twitter: / theprimetheater
Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/prime_of_gamer/
Galvatron: / @galvysphone
Outro Music: Running in the 80s 1.5x speed

[@ThePrimeTheater]

CORRECTIONS FOR THIS VIDEO: #1: The image I used for Monica Padrick is in fact NOT Monica Padrick. It is actually Annie Murphy. #2: Briggs Hatton does not *actually* appear in Wedding Videography, that is actually Matt Gourley playing Briggs Hatton. #3: I'm bad at pronouncing names, it is my Achilles Heel. Kinda wish I could change the video itself without having to post an entirely new one, so just pinning this comment will have to do. I will update this any more corrections if/when they pop up. Making mistakes blows 😔

[@Snackington]

Have you also been informed you pronounced Schrab wrong?

[@ThePrimeTheater]

@@Snackington name pronunciation is my Achilles heel 😔

[@LuxuryPossum]

Also Briggs Hatton does not appear in Wedding Videography episode, that’s Matt Gourley playing Briggs. They brought in a stand in for Harmon too in that short writers room scene.

[@ThePrimeTheater]

@@LuxuryPossum im just winning all the awards on this one, huh

[@LuxuryPossum]

@@ThePrimeTheater I'm sorry! I still enjoyed the video. Very comprehensive! I appreciated the structure and giving credit to all the writers and directors that worked on the show.

[@t.j.giroux5936]

“Fire can’t go through walls stupid…. It’s not a ghost!” Is hands down the best Chang line of this whole show. It cracks me up every time.

[@CasperUK31]

"And a one, a two, a chang chang chang four" “I am Brutalitops! The magician! Magic user baby..” "Do you guys believe in ghosts? And do you believe what those ghosts say about other ghosts?" "Hey phantom menace! How's the trade embargo with the naboo?"

[@aboutashow]

​​@@CasperUK31 "I'm liiiterally dying, but you'll never hear my story"

[@AlisonBrieVids]

I really wish the first D&D episode was more readily available. The world needs to know the legend of Hector the Well-Endowed

[@Sd-sv2cm]

And Kyle the gnome waiter

[@faithevers6899]

search it on youtube there’s a 7 part playlist with the whole episode

[@chelsie2767]

It's available on here if you just look up the episode. It's in like 3 minutes increments but still, better than nothing

[@shehzad_ali]

Amazon Prime has the episode available. It's where I obtained it.

[@osnapitzari47]

@@chelsie2767found it ty

[@luhguren]

Daaaamn! I've watched this show MULTIPLE times and never noticed the monkey's hand stealing the pen!!!! Holy shirt!!! What else did I miss??? One wonders.

[@alonedownthere47]

i never noticed the abed delivering a baby thing happened nine months after the std fair, really makes me wonder if most of the throwaway jokes have that level of thought put into them

[@mikecunningham4682]

I must've watched it through at least ten times, and odd episodes quite often too. I still notice new things to enjoy! One of my current favourite gags is everyone throwing balls of paper at whoever's talking, cracks me up every time

[@play3r.wav.]

it's pretty forking cool

[@boydbear2044]

HAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaAAmmmmmm, gurl!

[@pigeonboy958]

​@@play3r.wav.you do know I'm saying fork and not fork right?

[@broisyougobbling]

This is what I needed to get through the workday Edit: The reason Troy and Abed are in the tags so often, is that Community had a notoriously long filming schedule, and Donald Glover and Danny Pudi were the only two willing to stay late and film bits.

[@HectorTWE]

That's not true. Every cast member except Chevy almost always stayed late to shoot

[@neilfan1016]

@@HectorTWEyes but i think they mean extra late

[@Azulagirlboss]

Nobody appreciated Joel McHale’s perfect sarcastic & cynical tone of his character. He deserves more praise & recognition.

[@DemBones1306]

Fuck yes he does

[@Bokmoh]

Everybody appreciated it. He was the de facto leader for a reason.

[@samuelbastias3752]

@@Bokmohlet's be clear. He was only the leader because Abed let him be. If not for him, everyone would still be speaking the same language: chicken.

[@Rational_Driver]

Sadly this show has been pulled off Netflix as of 3/31/24. Right when I was in the middle of watching this EXCELLENT retrospective and making me want to rewatch the show for the millionth time.

[@AaayeeeeB]

If you can afford it, I'd suggest getting the box set. It's all yours, all the time.

[@rushlove0624]

It’s on Peacock now every episode even the Dungeons and Dragons episode

[@brookemaurice1715]

It's also currently on prime but might be leaving soon :'(

[@poke8735]

Their youtube channel has uploaded the full length episodes for free

[@TheDoctorinspector]

I always thought Abed created all 6 timelines in his head. That's why the darkest timeline is when Troy leaves for the pizza.

[@Claire-cc6xy]

And the show got dark after donald left

[@c.decker3046]

Annie & Abed are two of my favorite tv characters ever. It also helps that Alison Brie and Danny Pudi share one of the cutest celeb friendships ever

[@Ali-xo2de]

Yeah!! Their dynamic is probably my favorite thing of the last seasons of community, they're just so cute!!

[@pigeonboy958]

@@Ali-xo2de I agree with you both. When people say they don't watch after Troy leaves, I'm just sitting there like but then you miss Annie and Abed in the morning. The cow handshake. The brother who doesn't know whether to poop or keep cutting carrots. Not to mention Mike from breaking bad and better call Saul. Keith David who is utterly fantastic in his role. And Frankie Dart. Also fartz mitzvah.

[@jarethanson8775]

Annie & Abed are genuinely so much fun in the later seasons, but they're (not unjustifiably) overshadowed by the ghost of "Troy and Abed" the entire time so it I feel like it doesn't hit as hard as it could

[@ellensalokorpi8349]

one of my fav jokes ever in community is chang thinking hes a ghost and them zooming to a black and white picture just for it to be for a "old timey pictute club"

[@dr.braxygilkeycruises1460]

One of my favorite "blink & you'll miss it" moments was in Season 5, episode 6. It is the one after Troy leaves. Near the very end of the episode, Professor Hickey is home, sitting in his chair and watching TV. The crawl at the bottom of the screen reads, *"Actor LaVar Burton and non-Celebrity Guest captured by pirates."* 😁

[@RobertJW]

That second hug can reliably be guaranteed to remind me of: "I see your value now." "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."

[@Azulagirlboss]

I like how every single character on the show, even the extras, minor characters respect the rules of paintball. They’re straightforward & remove themselves from the game even when there’s no eyewitness to them getting shot.

[@amberdennis7909]

I noticed that too. I was wondered why no one changed their clothes and lie.

[@megan7792]

I didn’t watch Community when it came out. I have now watched it several times through and it’s hands down one of my favorite shows of all time

[@miledith555]

The second part to pillows and blankets is my favourite episode of the entire series. I was really partial to the stylised episodes and that one was just so good. And the story I heard behind it, that Harmon was told they were going over budget by shooting elaborate episodes, so they decided to make an episode composed almost entirely of photos… That’s really funny.

[@Pterokid1]

I love the changenesia episode only because of Troy and Annie as Partner and Houlihan. Troy disagreeing with everything that Annie is my fav part of season 4

[@nm9688]

I loved everything about changnesia. Ken Jeong was hilarious

[@alonedownthere47]

this is so well made, clearly a lot of time and love was put into it. so many retrospectives just do a synopsis of every episode one by one and aren't engaging at all, but the way you edit and jump around to each important story beat when it's most relevant is so good. usually when someone says to subscribe at the beginning of the video i scoff like "prove it first," but you definitely proved it

[@Chocolatepain]

For real

[@casihamilton3773]

I watch this video all the time, it's my favorite background sound, and I've been resisting the urge to "well actually" ever since it came out but I can fight it no longer. Britta doesn't move in with Troy and Abed in Season 3. Troy moves into the spare room that was the dreamatorium, symbolic of him growing up and becoming more of a man after his experiences in the air conditioner repair school.

[@krisgomez3997]

One of my all time favs is BACK! Every prime upload is a certified youtube event!

[@Left-handed-liberal]

One of my favorite channels discussing one of my favorite shows...for over 3 hours...❤ And r.i.p. Carl Weathers.

[@Horltum]

Not that I don't agree, but what is the relevance of Carl Weathers?

[@Left-handed-liberal]

@samgow7048 he made a reference/showed the handshake from predator

[@rubeuspotter1610]

The bloopers reel for Community is so hilarious too! Donald and Alison especially shine in those

[@kibbt]

So excited to watch this. The retrospective GOAT returns

[@AmaraEmme]

This doesn’t matter at all, but Dan Harmon’s irl study group was for biology, not Spanish. Anyway, this was the perfect thing to put in the background today, I appreciate how so much care was put into it. Thank you!!

[@Azulagirlboss]

This show didn’t get enough Emmys. At least “Arrested Development” got the critical acclaim & became a Emmy-darling during its run on the network.

[@lindsayjohnson8208]

A beautiful homage to one of the weirdest most wonderful shows to grace our screens. Thank you for sharing this with all of us!

[@Blitzion107]

In my opinion the Best thing about (besides the Humor) Community is the variety, There is a zombey episode, a Episode where the hole College fight with paintball guns, a the Floor is Lava episode, and the dice Episode in Troys and Arbids new apartment

[@HarryAshtonCoaching]

Usually I’d never watch a +3 hour long video, but your retrospectives are seriously good. Bravo Sir 👏 can’t wait for the next one!

[@Dudeman23rd]

Underrated detail I love about your retrospectives is how you theme your title cards to ape the style of the production. The lined paper and block letter font are on point.

[@ianwilkes435]

I didn’t remember liking season 5 the first time I watched it but I went back and re-watched it again recently and was exited for every episode because they are genuinely rly good

[@yavzicle1337]

I dont remember watching a movie/video without pausing fully focused in a long time. Maybe never did. Trust me on this that my all time favourite movie is The Irishman which is 3.30 hours long and I watched it many times. But I’ve never watched it non-stop. You made me watch for 3.38 hours non-stop. Respect brother. Just gonna tell you the best compliment a community fan give you. AND THIS IS A MAN WHO KNOWS HOW TO MAKE INCREDIBLE VIDEOS!

[@KeyanCarlile]

Oh my god, thank you for making this!

[@ThePrimeTheater]

ayyyyy, my pleasure

[@THEBIDSTUDIOS]

Prime Theater + Community... Streets Ahead indeed! Phenomenal Work as always.

[@summerchild_]

Frankie is one of my favorite characters in Community. One of the best characters from the last seasons

[@HandsomeLongshanks]

Garret's wedding will always be my favorite episode from season 6. It's just ridiculous on every level

[@dygrdqjzco7j]

4:48 RIP Carl Weathers😢

[@artconfluence8048]

I'm still in love with Alison/Annie, ever since she let her hair down in the Debate 109 episode. Love this video btw; great work!

[@jtrain9926]

"I never saw Beastmaster, I just wanted you to think I was cool" lives rent free in my head

[@filmden]

I would love a retrospective for Always Sunny In Philadelphia! It has so much history that could be awesome to explore. Love the work!

[@emmadenton1826]

And Megan Ganz is a brilliant writer on both!

[@TenDozenMonks]

Great video!! Absolutely loved it. I’ve been smashing through KZbin’s vast catalogue of Community video essays and retrospectives, so when I woke up and found your 3 and a half hour video at the top of my home page this morning, my reaction was more or less exactly how Buddy reacted when he found out he was in the cool group!

[@archangel1of7]

I really liked intro to felt surrogacy. Specifically the music. Both the first and the last songs always stick with me a while after each rewatch. The first one is very catchy and the last one is touching despite being funny. Both Pierce's and Troy's solos always hit pretty hard.

[@sragz007]

Recently discovered this channel with the MCU series - and now you've done one of my fav TV shows - you da real MVP

[@AntiqueKeeper]

Not many can make hours fly by like the Retrospective King Prime, thanks for covering one of my personal favourites! Much love bro ❤

[@bencastro92]

Still making my way through the MCU retrospective. Made it through TDKR trilogy videos and now I have this one to look forward to. Just wanted to thank you so much for all your hard work and let you know that you are a staple in my morning routine (have you playing in the background all throughout) and a staple for whenever I make long car rides. Keep up the amazing work!!!!

[@Solar_Eclipse53]

Just wanna say, thank you for all the retrospective videos ❤❤

[@tgif1345]

Great retrospective! I watched your Star Wars video a while back and when this video popped up on my KZbin main page, I put it on immediately. I binged all six seasons of Community on Netflix at the beginning of lockdown and I loved it. Thank you for covering it.

[@wj7920]

finally finished watching, incredle coverage of the entire timeline including what is happening in real life that influenced what was within the show -- the level of research and knowledge is amazing, especially for someone who only started watching the show after it has ended. what i would give to be a fan from day 1 and be there for all the drama but learning all this has given me a deeper appreciation for the show that i already love and rewatched several times. thanks!

[@ephy9590]

This is so incredibly well-done!!! Thank you for putting this all together. I can't imagine how long this took but I'm glad I subscribed a few months ago to find this in my sub feed. Community is truly a beloved, classic show for me at this point - and for many others. Its legacy is so interesting and weird (I thought I knew everything but you taught me a couple of things!) and I love that it's been getting its flowers in recent years. Hopefully the movie lives up to this legacy!

[@chaoticgoodiegood125]

This was a beautifully put together retrospective. Thank you.

[@tomonelch8705]

Excellent video! This series is one of the rare shows that I rewatch because it’s done with such quality content, great humor, and character development. That last episode always make me shed tears.. it reminds me that through life there are transitions and you won’t remain close to people you once greatly cared about or whom were a huge part of your life 😢

[@edvaira6891]

Love the way you do these! Thanks so much for honoring my favorite show of this entire century!

[@JCorsoPhoto]

I just wanna say thank you. for making this. One of my all time fav shows and its wonderful to sit here on a sunday and speed run through the entire series via your retospective. Thank you.

[@amaximo4951]

I can give your video no higher compliment than it made me laugh so hard I had to stop it halfway through and start rewatching Community again. Well done!!

[@rigobertoalvarado4506]

Thanks for this retrospective. This is one of my favorite shows of all time. I watch it alt least once a year.

[@sarahm5059]

You were right on the nose about the importance of the chicken finger episode because that was the episode that came to mind when you first showed Dan Harmon's plot structure wheel. While it wasn't a "perfect episode" or even my favorite, but it perfectly represented the formula of the show and why it worked

[@siriusmania]

i’ve been waiting for a very long analysis on community, thanks !!!

Thank you for this! One of my favorite shows and I did not know it was criminally underatted.

[@rmmccarthy1240]

Your retrospective was so good that I watched it in entirety. Beautifully done.

[@darylgraham4313]

lol at Yvette's introduction. Yvette had already been on Curb Your Enthusiam, Two and a half men, That's so Rarcen, That 70's show, Malcom in the middle, House, the office., in addition to the nickelodeon shows and several that I don't recognize. Yvette is weirdly in everything, especiallly when you include the shows she showed up in after community started.

[@gf2245]

banger video dude you can really tell all the work you put on it it was also dope to see all the comercials and all the content thats gets lost in the tv to streaming transition

[@theruoc147]

I finally started watching the show after seeing the first season recap. Thank you. Also just finished it

[@DeadCardinal]

Don't know if it has been commented but for all the Potterheads out there; Magnitude is played by Luke Youngblood aka Lee Jordan, The Weasley Twins best friend

[@bonbonbot8444]

Omg yes he is the one who does quidditch commentaries 😮😮😮

[@Schellnino1994]

Your channel is really well done! thank you for all the great videos!

[@seaotterfan1]

this is my FAVORRITEEEE video about community all the little callbacks and references I noticed that no one was talking about!!!

[@blueberrycranberrycherry]

Man I appreciate this video so much I’ve watched this show countless times and there’s still so much extra context u provided ahaha

[@shortininja]

I absolutely love Matt Berry in S6 but Im eternally saddened it was before his role in WWDITS solely because I really wanna hear him respond to Brittas "I lived in New York City!" with a Lazlo line read lmao

[@JerzCe73]

I really enjoyed your video, in fact, when Troy goes off on Zach Braff, I did not get the joke that Donald Glover was parroting what his detractors were saying about him leaving Community...Genius! Thank you

[@Brianpcomstock]

Took m two days but a top 3 community video, full stop. You’re great!!

[@IronBeagle2003]

Really glad you’re still doing these, and I’m super hyped to see your retrospective on Halo one of my favorite video game franchises! As for Community I never completed it due to my lizard brain constantly changing my interests. But the stuff I have seen is extremely funny and charming and I definitely like Dan Harmon’s work. I might someday watch the show in full but I’m glad this video exists so I can at least get a grasp of what happens. Very excited for the future, Prime!

[@iap7597]

I just saw the second to last episode in my latest re-watch! Best sitcom ever.

[@grahamparr4451]

What a great video dude ,great work ,I’m so glad I found your channel

[@zobetobe]

I was ecstatic when I saw a community video essay I haven’t watched bc I really feel like i’ve seen everything after 4 years as a fan, this is my new favorite fs

[@stonecoldsbottlebin]

Fantastic. I love your reviews and this is my favourite comedy ever. Awesome.

[@Limposium]

A 3,5 hour video recapping a TV-show I've seen five times? Count me in!

[@OzymandiasWasRight]

That season 1 box set is still one of my favorite things. ...I should really dig up a DVD player one of these days.

[@akkoei8822]

this is the best video ever created i cant express how happy i am to watch this i will watch this every single day forever

[@madsvstheworld]

finished community for the first time 2 days ago and i’m a sucker for video essays that suck up my entire afternoon. thank u!

[@itiscujo]

RICHARD AYOADE DIRECTED THE MY DINNER WITH ANDRE EPISODE?!?! HOW DID I NOT KNOW THIS?!

[@BradsGonnaPlay]

Never seen your work, but I’m strapped in for this full one.

[@cbnz2929]

Omg! My favorite show ever. Such good memories and still so funny. Watching it from its premiere and seeing the ups and downs in real time just made fans like me love it more 🤠

[@nilus2k]

I watched it when it was on the air. It’s such a great show. I’m sharing it with my 16 year old son now and looking forward to #andamovie

[@williamcrawford948]

Had no idea about the small bits in the back ground of episodes. Makes me love the show even more

[@duncanriley7030]

Dude these are awesome thank you!

[@briancarroll1917]

Not the retrospective we wanted but definitely what we needed

[@cookiemonster6816]

Didn’t Dan Harmon harass a female staff member on the show? I thought that was also one of the reasons they let him go for a season…

[@Mostly_Cheddar]

That was THE reason, by Dan harmons own admission. Kinda sus that got intentionally glazed over, bc it would be impossible to dive this deep into the shows lore without knowing that

[@emmadenton1826]

The female staff member was Megan Ganz (writer in s2 to s4). She's actually a brilliant writer, and is currently working on its always sunny in philadelphia. She actually talks about her experience on community a little on the always sunny podcast (particularly this moment when Harmon screamed at her, berating her for the s2 documentary episode which Ganz wrote).

[@OzymandiasWasRight]

I'm not gonna excuse what he did cause it's pretty awful, but it's worth mentioning she has stated she forgives him and mentioned an 'all time great apology'. But yea, he did that. And it was awful.

[@emmadenton1826]

@OzymandiasWasRight I'm glad you mentioned that! I do think it's important to acknowledge when apologises are done well, and are accepted by the wronged party. Because you're right. A good apology does undo the wrong that was done, but it can lessen the harm moving forward.

[@reply514]

I didn't even realize that this video youtube suggested was only 2 weeks old so i was definitely surprised finding out that there was an official movie that was green lit. I've rewatched episodes here and there but I was out of the loop so this was a nice surprise for me

[@the_well-known_stranger2275]

Prime is back with another absolute banger, I absolutely love these videos. You deserve much more recognition

[@ThomasTheSkankEngine]

I just started binging the show so I'll save to watch the full video later but this is amazing and unexpected, thank you so much for making this. Also, would love a retrospective on Walking Dead or Game of Thrones down the line

[@caseywonderland]

Community airing at 8:00 is what got me into it. The end credits always made my family laugh even without knowing what the show was. So one week we tuned in and fell in love. It's now one of my favorite shows of all time.

[@timvanness4527]

I did finish the series thanks to this video. Your video was a great watch.

[@brunorolo1254]

the music in the background of the pulpficion episode being the same music as in the movie... u thought we wouldndt noticed but we did... what an amazing video

[@KimoyaFTW]

thank u for this i love this show and i love long youtube videos dissecting this show great vid!! cant wait for the movie :')

[@galileaolvera8531]

Amazing video. The only thing this was missing was props to the constant reference of the elevator music song (I believe) first coined in the Halloween episode in season 3 (jazz song playing on the radio during one of the scary stories). I had this tune stuck in my head a good 24 hours after it played on an episode...OK I may be humming it now…

[@bonbonbot8444]

Lenord is my favorite character out of all. I love his little backpack and his menacing behaviour.

[@katztoffelbrei6780]

Great video, thank you for all the background informations and the critics from the time it came out :)

[@Cashew1405]

One of my favourite youtubers on one of my favourite shows. Great vid as always

[@Ecto_Adrian]

Finally a community retrospective. The goat never fails

[@eastbaysteez21]

I watch community almost every night and fall asleep to it like it’s my girl lol. This is like the third time I’ve put this on before bed. Thank you my friend.

[@lol-lb5pm]

im a younger viewer who didn’t watch the show as it aired, and it’s really nice to hear about the advertising and the buzz around community as it was coming out!!

[@ugle118]

This was nuts! Thanks dude

[@leegish6984]

Man it's always good when Prime drops another video. And I am so excited that stargate is next!