Last spring, “Community” got an unexpected reprieve after NBC canceled it. Yahoo Screen will bring “Community” back for a sixth season, but another cast member is leaving the series.
TV Guide is reporting that Yvette Nicole Brown is leaving “Community” for personal reasons. Brown’s request to leave was accepted by Sony TV and “Community” creator Dan Harmon. In a statement, Harman and executive producer Chris McKenna said “Yvette was an integral part of Community and is irreplaceable. We are sad to see her go and wish her the very best.”
Brown explained to TV Guide that “My dad needs daily care and he needs me. The idea of being away 16 hours a day for five months, I couldn’t do it. It was a difficult decision for me to make, but I had to choose my dad.”
She added that “[Dan Harmon] has been so wonderful about it all. He told me, ‘Yvette, I’m praying for your dad.'” Brown also noted that she is open to making guest appearances as Shirley and that “I’m glad it won’t be hard for them to explain where she is. She has three kids, a degree and a business. There are a lot of ways to explain her [departure].”
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“Community” is reportedly adding two new characters to help fill the void left by Brown and Jonathan Banks, who is now a series regular on “Better Call Saul.” The first is “a woman who’s brought in as a consultant to help shape up the school” and the second new character is “a retired salesman who comes to Greendale to reinvent himself.”
Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Jim Rash and Ken Jeong are still slated to return for “Community” Season 6. Yahoo Screen is expected to premiere the new season either in late 2014 or in early 2015.
