Community Creator Replaced as Showrunner

This is not news that will be greeted with joy by Community fans, I'm guessing (And yes, they'll be a healthy dose of editorial in this news story). Dan Harmon, the man who created Community and has served as its showrunner, is being replaced in that capacity in Season 4, reports TV Guide, along with other outlets. The new showrunners will be newcomers to the series, Moses Port and David Guarascio.

Port and Guarascio wrote for Just Shoot Me and created The CW's short-lived Aliens in America. Recently, they served as consulting producers on Happy Endings. However, the tough pill to swallow, regardless of Port and Guarascio's own accomplishments, is not having Harmon be the guiding force for the series anymore, given Community's very unique feel and vision among the sitcom landscape.

TV Guide says Harmon was only signed to a one-year deal last year. He will have a consulting producer title on Community going forward, though TV Guide stresses that doesn't mean he's be actively involved in the show. No doubt fans will ponder what it means hearing Sony (who produce the series) "had been looking to make a change at the top," according to TV Guide, which is why they hadn't made a new deal with Harmon.

Community is a rather low-rated show, but one with excellent reviews and an intensely loyal core fanbase who know much about the people who make it. That being the case, it's odd to see this dramatic change behind the scenes, as many of the key creators of Community will likely be dramatically different next season. Besides Harmon no longer running the series, executive producers Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan are leaving for a new deal at 20th Century Fox while co-executive producer Chris McKenna has a new deal at Universal TV. TV Guide says McKenna also wouldn't have taken the showrunner job if offered without Harmon's involvement in the series.

All of which begs the question, will Community: Season 4 feel like Community? TV Guide says Sony had been "looking at ways to broaden Community and attempt to extend the show's life on NBC," as they sought new showrunners. But it's pretty clear fans of the series love Community the way it's been.

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/19/community-creator-replaced-as-showrunner