Avid fans and occasional watchers alike were disappointed Monday night as NBC announced it was benching the sitcom "Community" in the middle of its third season.
The sitcom follows a group of seven students, four whom are nontraditional students, at a community college in the fictional Greendale, Colo. The seven meet up as a Spanish study group and become friends, and continue the study group even after the Spanish course ends.
The award-winning "30 Rock" will return to NBC, taking the place of "Community" at 8 p.m. Thursdays in January. Meanwhile, NBC is moving "Whitney," a struggling comedy according to the New York Times, from Thursday nights to 8 p.m. Wednesdays.
"It's the stupidest choice NBC could have made," Michael Boehnlein, sophomore, said. "Keeping ‘Whitney,' bringing back ‘Fear Factor' — they're making stupid decisions."
Boehnlein began watching "Community" from its beginning two years ago after his friends suggested it. He had seen the previews for the show but didn't get into it until midway through the first season, he said. From then on, he was hooked, citing it as the best show on NBC.
"I love the characters and the chemistry between them," Boehnlein said. "The random things they do is hilarious."
Although "Community" received low ratings, critics and fans have praised it highly, according to the New York Times. The show previously received nominations for the People's Choice Awards, Teen Choice Awards and the 1st Critics' Choice Awards.
"The writing is amazing, and the cast works perfectly together," Zach Edwards, senior telecommunications major, said. "The episodes are over the top, and that's what I think a lot of people are looking for these days."
Edwards and Boehnlein both said they liked that the show was about college students. Edwards said he could relate to some of the experiences he has been through and has friends that remind him of the characters on the show.
The show stars Joel McHale ("The Soup") as the 33-year-old narcissistic ex-lawyer Jeff Winger; Gillian Jacobs as the 31-year-old high school drop out and activist Britta Perry; Yvette Nicole Brown ("Drake & Josh") as the devout Christian and mother of three Shirley Bennett; and Chevy Chase as the racist, rich and old Pierce Hawthorne.
The show also stars Danny Pudi as the TV-obsessed Abed Nadir; Alison Brie ("Mad Men") as the uptight and innocent Annie Edison; and Donald Glover (Childish Gambino) as the former high school football quarterback and clueless Troy Barnes.
Ken Jeong ("The Hangover," "The Hangover Part II") also stars as Señor Chang, a Spanish instructor, until he becomes a student who constantly tries to join the study group. Jim Rash stars as Dean Pelton, the dean of Greendale Community College, who tries to gain the affections of Winger and be a respected dean, despite his shortcomings.
Even those who don't keep up with "Community" on a weekly basis are baffled by the temporary cancellation.
Grace Yinger, sophomore telecommunications major, didn't watch the show live every week, but instead would catch up whenever she had the chance. Over the course of its three seasons, she said she had noticed an improvement in the writing.
Although Yinger likes both shows equally, she said she wasn't happy that "Community" was benched for "30 Rock."
"‘30 Rock' had its own time slot," she said. "It didn't need to move."
Since the announcement, fans on Twitter have been using the hashtag "OccupyGreendale" to speak out against the show's mid-season halt.
NBC said the show is not canceled and promised it will only be off the air for a brief time, according to the New York Times.
Ashley Dye contributed to this story
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