It’s a great accomplishment for any show to reach 100 episodes, but for Community , it’s especially notable. The show came incredibly close to cancellation for several years, went through a huge upheaval behind the scenes as series creator Dan Harmon was fired (only to then have that undone a year later when Harmon was amazingly brought back) and had some notable cast changes along the way. And then, in May, Community was finally cancelled by NBC… only to be resurrected via Yahoo this summer, with Season 6 set to debut in 2015!

(L-R) Alison Brie, Danny Pudi, Jim Rash, executive producer Chris McKenna, Paget Brewster, Gillian Jacobs, Joel McHale, Ken Jeong, Keith David and series creator Dan Harmon celebrate Community reaching episode 100.

The Community cast are filming their 100th episode this week, and I paid a visit to the show’s new sets (they had to move to a different lot thanks to that whole cancellation thing) where the Greendale gang were celebrating this milestone and the victory it represents.Deadpanned Gillian Jacobs (“Britta”), “This is the thing that should have never happened and many people tried to prevent from happening.”Said Alison Brie (“Annie), about reaching episode 100, “I’m really shocked. it’s really against all odds and it’s cool. It’s pretty exciting. I think that’s how we felt even coming back for Season 6. Not a lot of shows even make it to six seasons. That is a feat in of itself.”As Danny Pudi (“Abed”) put it, “Every episode we do, we’re shocked we’ve completed it. We’re always like, ‘This is the end’ - of either the show but also us physically, mentally, and emotionally. I don’t know how, in this whole capacity, Dan [Harmon] survives and the show survives.”That being said, Pudi described the mood on set for Season 6 as “calm.” Brie agreed, remarking, “It’s sort of like, we’ve been through so many ups and downs with the show and just when it got the worst it could get, which was the show being cancelled, it still has another life. So now I think we’re all just like, ‘Well I guess we’re invincible and we’ll just keep doing it!’ And everyone just feels relaxed. We’re all just having fun with our friends. This feels like a bonus season like we’re not stressed about what the network is thinking about us and we can just relax and have fun.”Similarly, Ken Jeong (“Chang”) said, “We’ve survived kind of the worst of it. Just for us to be here in any project is a miracle, but we’re on something that’s literally my favorite sitcom on television - even if I wasn’t in it. The older I get, the more I really don’t take this for granted. This is pretty amazing.”Jacobs also echoed the sentiment about the mood on set, explaining, “I think there’s a relief in that we had cancellation hanging over our head for years and it finally happened. And it wasn’t the end of the show so no one can hurt us now!”Reflecting on reaching the 100th episode, Joel McHale (“Jeff”) had high praise for Harmon, saying, “Dan is one of the best writers on the planet and I’m always spoiled because I don’t know what it’s going to be like without him if this ever stops - hopefully never! And then working with people like Jim and Allson and Danny and Gillian and Ken and now Paget and Keith. I don’t know why I’m so fortunate because I am a dick.”Brie also noted how crucial Harmon was, noting, “I don’t think any of us would have been on board to do a sixth season without Dan. We realized that after Season 4. You can’t take the Dan Harmon out of Community. It doesn’t work. He is our god.”The Paget and Keith McHale mentioned are Paget Brewster and Keith David, who have joined Community as new cast members in Season 6, following the departures of Yvette Nicole Brown and Jonathan Banks.Said Jacobs, of her new castmates, “They’re so great. We’re so lucky to have them and they’re so funny and such good actors and we just look like hacks next to them.”Jeong added, “Keith David did some takes just now, literally a half hour ago, that the rest of us were just kind of… Our jaws were dropping, like, ‘Oh my goodness!’ He’s turned all of his lines into my favorite lines of the episode. And then Paget last week, she came in with these huge monologues and little time to prep and she just knocked it out of the park, boom, better than anybody else. For her just to come in like this and just get it and then just outshine everybody else in a good way… she’s really not only kept up but we’re learning from them. it’s wonderful to see.”Don’t look for Abed to mention that Keith David’s character sure sounds like an actor from his beloved series, The Cape, despite David’s time on that show. However, Pudi did reveal, “There’s an immediate connection with Abed and Keith David’s character. We haven’t fully gone into why. Kind of just like the [actual] person. I’m so drawn to him, any time he opens his mouth and said anything it’s like it’s Keith David! We’re all huge fans of him so we’re definitely taken by him and Abed for sure.”Regarding Community’s new home, Brie said, “I think it was exciting knowing that we were coming to Yahoo and that Dan was coming [back] to suddenly think just what will Dan be capable of now that he has a longer leash?’ Not no leash, but it’s significantly longer.” Pudi chimed in, “A leash is always kind of good. You need some kind of leash.”While Community isn’t beholden to network TV-level restrictions on Yahoo, the cast said the show wouldn’t feel dramatically different.Said Rash, “I don’t think Dan wanted it to be suddenly we’re cussing. It wasn’t the world we’d been in. I think the best thing to get, without over-extending our welcome, is a little bit more cushion on time. An episode can fluctuate [in running time] without going crazy. We’re not going to have a Sophie’s Choice. You don’t have to cut scenes. An episode can be a little longer, a little shorter.”The show will feel different visually, returning to the more cinematic look it began with – which will be reflected by Community shooting actual exteriors much more than in recent years. Not only is there an outdoor set area that’s been built on the show’s new lot, but they are also venturing out on location occasionally, including LACC (Los Angeles City College), which doubled as Greendale in Season 1.Noted Rash, “This will be the first time we leave a lot since the first season,” with McHale adding, “It shows you that Yahoo cares about this show. Unlike with NBC, I don’t know if they even remembered we were on.”

While the date is yet to be determined, Community: Season 6 will debut in 2015 on Yahoo.Eric Goldman is Executive Editor of IGN TV. You can follow him on Twitter at @EricIGN , IGN at ericgoldman-ign and Facebook at Facebook.com/TheEricGoldman