Community type TV Show network NBC

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Brace yourselves, Community fans.

The series is moving to Friday nights this fall.

The upside: Community will now have the perfect hit comedy lead in: Whitney!

“I know that most people in our industry think Friday is a graveyard but we don’t really believe that,” NBC’s entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt told EW.com on Sunday about the move. “If you don’t build it they won’t come. We got some traction with Grimm, it’s the No. 1 18-49 on Fridays. We thought if we have a base there, let’s see if we can give Grimm a lead-in with these shows that actually have fan bases — including Whitney.”

Later, on a conference call with reporters, Greenblatt noted that this season’s Thursday night comedies in general “have a really strong following [but] they don’t have a large enough audience. They’re still shows that mean something to this network … I think on the Thursday night shows, ‘broad’ is synonymous with ratings … we’re always trying to be broader.”

As for whether Dan Harmon will stay on as Community showrunner, Greenblatt said there’s “conversations happening” as to whether Harmon will remain the top writer-producer on the series. “I expect Dan’s voice to be a part of the show somehow, I’m just not sure if that means he’s running it day-to-day or consulting on it,” Greenblatt said.

The executive also noted that none of the NBC renewals — including Community — are “final season” orders.

On Fridays in the fall, Whitney will air at 8 p.m., Community at 8:30 p.m., Grimm at 9 p.m. and Dateline at 10 p.m. Community was rescued with a 13-episode order fourth-season order. The Friday move was one of the more interesting decisions on NBC’s new fall schedule that was just announced here. NBC’s new fall trailers are here.

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