The fifth season of the television comedy series ''

Community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...

'' premiered on January 2, 2014, and concluded on April 17, 2014. The season consists of 13 episodes and aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

on Thursdays at 8:00 pm ET as part of the network's " Comedy Night Done Right". The season features the return of series creator

Dan Harmon Daniel James Harmon (born January 3, 1973) is an American writer, producer, and actor. He is best known as the creator and producer of the NBC/Yahoo! Screen sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015), creator and host of the comedy podcast '' Harmontow ...

as showrunner, as well as the exit of cast members Donald Glover and

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...

from the series.

John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. Oliver started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom. He came to wider attention ...

returned as Ian Duncan after a two-year hiatus.

Jonathan Banks Jonathan Ray Banks (born January 31, 1947) is an American actor. Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Chillum Heights, Maryland, while attending Indiana University Bloomington Banks did theatre. In 1974, he moved to Los Angeles where he be ...

made his introduction to the series as Buzz Hickey, a criminology professor. NBC announced the series' cancellation in May 2014, but in June 2014,

Yahoo! Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Manage ...

announced it had commissioned the show's sixth and final season to be streamed online on

Yahoo! Screen The company Yahoo! ran several similar video services. Yahoo! Video, a video hosting service, was established in 2006. Later, the ability to upload videos was removed, changing it to a more pure video on demand service; the website became a port ...

Cast

Starring

* Joel McHale as Jeff Winger *

Gillian Jacobs Gillian MacLaren Jacobs (; born October 19, 1982) is an American actress and director. She is known for her roles as Britta Perry on the NBC sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015) and Mickey Dobbs on the Netflix romantic comedy series ''Love'' (201 ...

as Britta Perry *

Danny Pudi Daniel Mark Pudi (born March 10, 1979) is an American actor. His roles include Abed Nadir on the NBC sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015), for which he received three nominations for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor i ...

Abed Nadir Abed Gubi Nadir ( ''‘Ābid al-Qūbī Nādir'') is a fictional character on the NBC/Yahoo! Screen sitcom series '' Community'', created by Dan Harmon and portrayed by Danny Pudi. Talkative, literal, and sometimes overly pedantic, Abed is a st ...

Yvette Nicole Brown Yvette Nicole Brown (born August 12, 1971) is an American actress, comedian, writer and host. She starred as Shirley Bennett on the NBC sitcom ''Community'', as Dani in the 2015 version of '' The Odd Couple'' on CBS and as Dina Rose on the AB ...

as Shirley Bennett *

Alison Brie Alison Brie Schermerhorn (born December 29, 1982) is an American actress. Her breakthrough came with the role of Trudy Campbell in the drama series '' Mad Men'' (2007–2015), which won her a Screen Actors Guild Award. She gained recognition fo ...

as Annie Edison * Donald Glover as Troy Barnes *

Jim Rash James Rash (born July 15, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He portrayed the role of Dean Craig Pelton on the NBC sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015), for which he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Bes ...

as Dean Craig Pelton *

Ken Jeong Kendrick Kang-Joh Jeong (, ; born July 13, 1969) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, producer, writer and licensed physician. He rose to prominence for playing Leslie Chow in ''The Hangover'' film series (2009–2013) and Ben Chang in the ...

as Ben Chang

Recurring

as Professor Buzz Hickey *

as Professor Ian Duncan *

Richard Erdman Richard Erdman ( John Richard Erdmann; June 1, 1925 – March 16, 2019) was an American character actor and occasional film and television director. He appeared in more than 160 films and television productions between 1944 and 2017, mostly i ...

as Leonard Briggs * Charley Koontz as Neil *

Erik Charles Nielsen Erik Charles Nielsen (born May 8, 1981) is an American actor and comedian. Early life Nielsen was born in West Sayville, New York. He is of Danish descent. Nielsen graduated from Palm Bay High School in 1999. While attending Boston University, ...

as Garrett Lambert *

Dino Stamatopoulos Konstantinos Pollux Alexandros "Dino" Stamatopoulos (born December 14, 1964) is an American writer, producer, and actor. He has worked on TV programs such as ''Mr. Show'', '' TV Funhouse'', '' Mad TV'', '' The Dana Carvey Show'', ''Late Show wi ...

as Alex "Star-Burns" Osbourne *Danielle Kaplowitz as Vicki Jenkins *

Brie Larson Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers (born October 1, 1989), known professionally as Brie Larson, is an American actress. Known for her supporting roles in comedies as a teenager, she has since expanded to leading roles in independent films and blockb ...

as Rachel *

Luke Youngblood Luke Youngblood (born 12 June 1986) is a British actor. He is known for playing Ben in ''The Story of Tracy Beaker'', young Simba in ''The Lion King'' at several London venues, Lee Jordan in the ''Harry Potter'' film series, and Magnitude on ...

as Magnitude *Brady Novak as Richie Countee *Jeremy Scott Johnson as Carl Bladt * James Michael Connor as the Subway Representative

Guest stars

* Steve Agee as David (" App Development and Condiments") *

Paget Brewster Paget Valerie Brewster (, ; born March 10, 1969) is an American actress and singer. She was first recognized for her recurring role as Kathy on the fourth season of the NBC sitcom ''Friends''. Her breakthrough role came as FBI Supervisory Speci ...

as Debra Chambers ("

Analysis of Cork-Based Networking "Analysis of Cork-Based Networking" is the sixth episode of the fifth season of ''Community'', and the 90th episode overall in the series. It originally aired on January 30, 2014, on NBC; and is written by Monica Padrick and directed by Tristram ...

") *

LeVar Burton Levar Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and television host, best known for playing Geordi La Forge in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1994). He also played Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries ''R ...

as himself (" Geothermal Escapism") *

Kevin Corrigan Kevin Corrigan (born ) is an American character actor. He has appeared mostly in independent films and television since the 1990s, including as Uncle Eddie on the sitcom ''Grounded for Life'' (2001–2005). His film appearances include support ...

as Professor Sean Garrity (" Introduction to Teaching") *

as Pierce Hawthorne (" Repilot") *

Rob Corddry Robert William Corddry (born February 4, 1971) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as a correspondent on ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'' (2002–2006) and for his starring role in the film ''Hot Tub Time Machine''. He ...

as Alan Connor ("Repilot") *

David Cross David Cross (born April 4, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, director, and writer known for his stand-up performances, the HBO sketch comedy series '' Mr. Show'' (1995–1998), and his role as Tobias Fünke in the Fox/Netflix si ...

as Hank Hickey (" Advanced Advanced Dungeons & Dragons") * Chris Elliott as Russell Borchert (" Basic Sandwich") *

Nathan Fillion Nathan Fillion (; born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian-American actor. He played the leading roles of Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds on '' Firefly'' and its film continuation '' Serenity'', and Richard Castle on '' Castle''. , he was starring as J ...

as Bob Waite ("Analysis of Cork-Based Networking") * Ben Folds as Professor Bublitz (" Basic Intergluteal Numismatics") *

Gina Gershon Gina L. Gershon (born June 10, 1962) is an American actress. She has had roles in the films ''Cocktail'' (1988), ''Red Heat'' (1988), '' Showgirls'' (1995), '' Bound'' (1996), '' Face/Off'' (1997), '' The Insider'' (1999), '' Demonlover'' (2002 ...

as Devon's wife ("

VCR Maintenance and Educational Publishing "VCR Maintenance and Educational Publishing" is the ninth episode of the Community season 5, fifth season of ''Community (TV series), Community'', and the 93rd episode overall in the series. It originally aired on March 13, 2014 on NBC. The episode ...

") *

Vince Gilligan George Vincent Gilligan Jr. (born February 10, 1967) is an American writer, producer, and director. He is known for his television work, specifically as creator, head writer, executive producer, and director of AMC's '' Breaking Bad'' (2008– ...

as Devon ("VCR Maintenance and Educational Publishing") *

Walton Goggins Walton Sanders Goggins Jr. (born November 10, 1971) is an American actor. He has starred in a number of television series, including ''The Shield'' (2002–2008), '' Justified'' (2010–2015), '' Vice Principals'' (2016–2017), ''The Righteous ...

as Mr. Stone ("Cooperative Polygraphy") *

Tim Heidecker Timothy Richard Heidecker (; born February 3, 1976) is an American comedian, writer, director, actor, and musician. Along with Eric Wareheim, he is a member of the comedy duo Tim & Eric. He has also appeared in films, including '' Bridesmai ...

as Roger ("App Development and Condiments") * Mitchell Hurwitz as Koogler ("App Development and Condiments") * Jen Kirkman as Four ("App Development and Condiments") *

Katie Leclerc Katie Lynn Leclerc is an American actress and producer. She has appeared on several television series, including ''Veronica Mars'', ''Fashion House, Community'' and ''The Big Bang Theory''. In 2011, she was cast in the television show '' Switche ...

as Carol ("Analysis of Cork-Based Networking") * Michael McDonald as Ronald Mohammad ("Basic Story") *

Jerry Minor Jerome Charles Minor Jr. (born October 4, 1969) is an American actor, comedian and writer known for his comedic roles in numerous television programs such as ''Mr. Show'', ''Saturday Night Live'', ''Trigger Happy TV#US version, Trigger Happy TV'' ...

as Jerry the Janitor ("Analysis of Cork-Based Networking") * Dominik Musiol as Pavel Iwaszkiewicz ("VCR Maintenance and Educational Publishing") *

Kumail Nanjiani Kumail Ali Nanjiani (; ur, کمیل علی ننجیانی, ; born May 2, 1978) is a Pakistani-American actor, comedian and screenwriter. He is known for his role as Dinesh in the HBO comedy series ''Silicon Valley'' (2014–2019) and for co-wr ...

as Lapari ("Analysis of Cork-Based Networking") * B. J. Novak as Mr. Egypt ("Basic Sandwich") *

Robert Patrick Robert Hammond Patrick (born November 5, 1958) is an American actor. Known for portraying villains and honorable authority figures, he is a Saturn Award winner with four other nominations. Patrick dropped out of college when drama class sparke ...

as Waldron ("Analysis of Cork-Based Networking") *

Eddie Pepitone Edward David Pepitone (born November 5, 1958) is an American character actor and stand-up comedian. Early life Pepitone was born to a Sicilian father and a Jewish mother in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, and was raised from the age of nine ...

as Crazy Schmidt ("Analysis of Cork-Based Networking") *

Brian Posehn Brian Edmund Posehn (; born July 6, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, voice actor, musician, and writer. After numerous appearances as a television guest star, Posehn acquired his first major recurring role in HBO's '' Mr. Show wi ...

as Bixel ("App Development and Condiments") * Questlove as himself ("Basic Sandwich") *

Amber Tamblyn Amber Rose Tamblyn (born May 14, 1983) is an American actress and writer. She first came to national attention in her role on the soap opera ''General Hospital'' as Emily Quartermaine at the age of 11. She followed with a starring role on the pr ...

as herself ("Basic Sandwich") *

Eric Wareheim Eric Alexander Wareheim (; born April 7, 1976) is an American comedian, actor, writer, director, musician, and winemaker. He is best known as one half of the comedy duo Tim & Eric, alongside Tim Heidecker. He also had a recurring role on the Netf ...

as Billy ("App Development and Condiments") * Paul Williams as Britta's Connection ("VCR Maintenance and Educational Publishing")

Episodes

Production

On May 10, 2013, NBC announced it had renewed the series for a fifth season, to consist of 13 episodes. The season does not feature original cast member

in a regular role, as he left the series near the end of the fourth season by mutual agreement between the actor and network. Chase does appear in a guest role during the

first episode A series premiere is the first aired installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. In the United States, many series premieres are aired in the fall time or, for mid-season replacements, either in the spring or ...

of the season, and the character's exit from the show is finalized in "Cooperative Polygraphy." Donald Glover, who portrays Troy Barnes, only appears in five of the thirteen episodes.

appears in 11 of the season's 13 episodes as criminology professor Buzz Hickey.

reprises his role as lawyer Alan Connor in the season premiere.

guest stars in "Cooperative Polygraphy" as a mysterious man named Mr. Stone, "with a dangerous accusation, a tantalizing offer and a devious plan that will change the group forever."

, who played Professor Duncan throughout the first two seasons, reprises his role in season 5 for multiple episodes. Other guest stars in the season include

, Mitchell Hurwitz,

, and Ben Folds.

guest stars in an episode that serves as a sequel to season 2's "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons", playing Hank Hickey, the estranged son of Professor Hickey. B. J. Novak has a cameo in the second part of the two-part season finale. Season 5 began shooting on August 19, 2013. The fifth season marked the return of series creator

as showrunner and executive producer after he was fired from the show after the end of the third season. Former writer-producer Chris McKenna also returned as an executive producer. Season 4 showrunners Moses Port and David Guarascio did not return for season 5, as their contracts were for one year. The only other returning writers are Andy Bobrow and

Tim Saccardo Tim Saccardo is an American TV and film comedy writer best known for working on the NBC series ''Community'' for four out of its six seasons. His other credits include the HBO series ''Vice Principals'', the Fox/ TBS series '' American Dad!'', a ...

. Meanwhile, Annie Mebane, Steve Basilone,

Maggie Bandur Maggie Bandur is an American television writer and TV series producer. Biography In 1992, as a student at El Camino Real High School in Los Angeles, Bandur took part in the United States Academic Decathlon. El Camino Real's team finished fo ...

, and Ben Wexler all departed to join '' The Michael J. Fox Show'', while Megan Ganz joined ''

Modern Family ''Modern Family'' is an American family sitcom television series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for 11 seasons, from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of th ...

''. Writers who joined for the fifth season include Parker Deay and Jordan Blum ('' American Dad!''), Alex Rubens (''

Key & Peele ''Key & Peele'' (abbreviated to ''K&P'') is an American sketch comedy television series created by Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele for Comedy Central. Both Key and Peele previously worked on '' Mad TV.'' Each episode of the show consists ...

''), Ryan Ridley (''

Rick and Morty {{Infobox television , image = Rick and Morty title card (cropped).png , alt = , caption = , genre = {{Plainlist, * Animated sitcom * Adult animation * Science fiction * Black comedy * ...

''), Dan Guterman (''

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show fo ...

''), and Matt Roller (

Funny or Die Funny or Die is a comedy video website and film/television production company owned by Henry R. Muñoz III that was founded by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Mark Kvamme, and Chris Henchy in 2007. The website contained exclusive material from a re ...

). Other writers include

Carol Kolb Carol Kolb is an American comedy writer. She was a writer for and editor-in-chief of ''The Onion'', and a former head writer for the Onion News Network. She served as a writer on '' Kroll Show'', and later worked as a staff writer on the televisi ...

, Briggs Hatton, Clay Lapari, Erik Sommers, Monica Padrick and Donald Diego.

Reception

The fifth season received strongly positive reception from television critics and is considered an improvement over the previous season. The season received a

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

score of 80 out of 100 based on 15 reviews, signifying "generally favorable reviews". On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the season has an approval rating of 93% with an average score of 8.5 out of 10 based on 42 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "With Dan Harmon back as its show runner, ''Community'' returns with a familiar new energy and more fun, exciting adventures for the Greendale gang." Verne Gay of '' Newsday'' gave the back-to-back episodes an "A" grade, remarking that the first of the two (" Repilot") was funny, while the latter (" Introduction to Teaching") was "simply hilarious."

Alan Sepinwall Alan Sepinwall (born October 19, 1973) is an American television reviewer and writer. He spent 14 years as a columnist with ''The Star-Ledger'' in Newark until leaving the newspaper in 2010 to work for the entertainment news website HitFix. He ...

, writing for

HitFix HitFix, or HitFix.com, was an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information, and reviews and critiques of film, music, and television. In mid-2010 HitFix crossed the 1,00 ...

, remarked that the show "is back, and back to being itself."

DVD release

The fifth season was released on DVD in region 1 on and in region 2 on .

References

External links

* {{Community (TV series) Community (TV series) seasons 2014 American television seasons