Community star Gillian Jacobs calls season 6 underrated, offering a defense of the show's final episodes. Picked up by Yahoo! Screen for 13 episodes, Community season 6 served as the initial farewell for the unmistakable comedy. Despite generally positive reviews from critics and some interesting developments with the ensemble, the concluding note did not manage to generate much buzz at the time.

Jacobs addressed these criticisms in an interview with Community season 6 while discussing her favorite episodes and mentioned one particular installment that stands out. In the quote below, Jacobs acknowledges that the initial run on Yahoo! Screen was a change but also goes on to defend it and compare it to other seasons of the standout sitcom:

“I think season 6 is underrated, so I would advocate for some season 6 episodes. I know it was hard to watch on Yahoo! Screen, but now it’s all together, so you can watch it again! [Seasons] 1-3 feels like universal agreement upon, 4-5 mixed feelings, and then 6 I feel is unfairly maligned. I like the RV episode in season 6 (episode 10, “Basic RV Repair and Palmistry”) where we have a giant hand strapped to the ceiling of an RV… I feel like there were some great episodes in there, and we had really great additions to the cast in season 6 as well, so I would encourage people to check it out.”

Why Community Gets Such Strong Reactions

Similarly to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it is easy to separate and analyze each season of Community because the show relied a lot on distinctive standalone episodes. From paintball battles to movie homages and documentary parodies, there was a degree to which viewers were unsure what they would get with each episode. But they'd know, more often than not, the actors, writers, crew , and directors would challenge themselves to provide something new.

The flip side is that when the aim is high and when the episodes are that unique, it becomes easier to pinpoint a decline in quality. This was something Community acknowledged fairly early on, playfully calling out the expectation of audiences. While there were generally agreed upon low points, like the controversial Community season 4, the later installments often get shuttled away and the earliest years with the original cast are held up as the gold standard.

There's truth to this, with a general acknowledgment that television shows are often at their best in that period between seasons two and three. But in the case of Community, even if the latter half didn't contain the same spark, it still contained gems. The Peacock movie, which will bring back Community actors and series creator Dan Harmon, is sure to revive the debate.

Source: The AVClub