Could there be hope for Community? Maybe. But don’t dust off that old Trapper Keeper just yet.
NBC canceled the quirky comedy earlier this month, but a new report surfaced Wednesday that Hulu is in early talks to pick up a sixth season of the show. There’s a tiny grain of truth there, a person close to the situation told Mashable, but conversations are so preliminary that it’d be wise to temper expectations at this point.
The report on Deadline does say the talks are in their early stages, with both sides interested in making something work. A key player in this dance will be Community creator Dan Harmon, who wrote on his blog that fans of the show should relax, as opposed to mounting a massive campaign to get the show off the mat for one more go.
Community already has a digital distribution deal with Hulu, which is co-owned by NBCUniversal, Fox Broadcasting Company and Disney-ABC Television Group, and owns digital rights to all previous seasons. In other words, it looks at first blush like a natural fit. However, Mashable's sources say producer Sony TV is more likely shopping the show to numerous outlets, including cable networks and other digital distributors -- and is nowhere near a deal with Hulu.
It’s likely that a sixth season -- whether on Hulu or elsewhere -- would be the last for Community, whose creators, stars and fans have been repeating the mantra, “Six Seasons and a movie.”
For now, Community fans should keep their hopes in line with reality: that season 5 may very well have been its last.