Community is back for a 5th Season – Is that a good thing?

By now I’m sure you’ve all heard that Community has been renewed for a stunning fifth season.

Even after the departure of Dan Harmon, the driving creative force behind the idiosyncratic charm and sharp wit of the show, after a what would be a very satisfying series finale, the little cult show continued to chug along into a tumultuous fourth season that never quite found its legs and saw the departure of core cast member Chevy Chase.

I rarely actively wish for a show to be canceled – this means a lot of people cast and crew lose their jobs and that’s just not a cool thing to hope for. That being said, as a fan Community was a show that used to regularly reinvent itself in new and interesting ways, exploring internal conflict and group dynamics and the dependency on pop culture to express feelings and navigate personal relationships IRL. Watching that show slide into mediocrity in the surprise fourth season, I wonder if we really need a fifth.

On the other hand – there were a few moments in season four that seemed to really “get” what Community is about, where the writers were really writing for the characters instead of servicing a plot – exploring what makes them tick and what it means about how they interact with each other and the world around them. The optimist in me can’t help but feel that with a little work and reflection these moments can turn into a more sustained level of consistency next season.

Community’s fifth season  isn’t due to premiere until mid-season 2014 – that’s a lot of time to look back at season four and the series as a whole and figure out just how to make it work.

What do you think? Will you give Community another shot in season 5? Did you dig season 4 to begin with?