‘Community’ finds resurgence

Can a positive critical re-evaluation and heightening buzz help a struggling series when Emmy season rolls around? NBC is about to find out when it sees how voters respond to “Community.”

“As our season progressed, critics were starting to say nice things about our show,” series creator Dan Harmon notes.

Already, the number of critics enthusiastically jumping on the show’s bandwagon over the course of the season has helped secure the low-rated sitcom — starring Joel McHale and Chevy Chase as students at a mediocre community college — a second-season renewal.

“There wasn’t a great ratings story for the show, but increasingly, there was a lot of online chatter and critics standing up for the show,” says Jeff Ingold, Executive Vice President, Comedy Programming, NBC and Universal Media Studios, in charge of comedy development. “That helps in keeping a show strong in terms of how it’s perceived by the network. Hearing from objective third parties can keep these shows alive while waiting for audiences to find them.”

Read the full story on Variety