'Community' at SXSW: 6 Weird and Wonderful Moments

Spirits were high in the packed Austin Convention Center room Sunday as Community king Dan Harmon and the cast of NBC’s long suffering show gathered to celebrate their new life on Yahoo Screen. “Six seasons and movie!” cheered one attendee, repeating the mantra of the show’s niche but passionate fan base that supported the show through five seasons until NBC finally gave it the hook. “You can just say movie now,” said Harmon, who moderated the delightfully loose panel that included co-executive producer Chris McKenna, the old Greendale gang of Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Alison Brie, Ken Jeong, and Jim Rash, as well as Season 6 newcomers Paget Brewster and Keith David. Here are six moments that had the audience rolling.

1. Harmon joked that the move from network to the Internet was a “horrible” one for the writers’ room. “Chris and I finally are just in charge. There’s nobody above us. There’s nobody even on the side of us, doing a bad job of helping. Everything we’ve complained about for five years is finally solved. And now it’s just us and we’re just falling apart. We have so much rope there’s just nooses everywhere.”

Related: ‘Community’ Catch-Up Guide: Watch Our 5 Recap Videos

2. When Harmon said he knew Keith David (Enlisted), who plays a brilliant if adrift inventor who enrolls at Greendale, was starting to trust their bozo crew: “You went to Juilliard, you’re powerful and you can strike me down. But I remember one time you asking for clarification on some joke, and I said ‘Oh, it’s because she just s—t her pants.’” David burst out laughing in his great baritone, and Harmon relaxed.

3. “Alison, would you do a rap if I beatboxed?” asked Harmon in a non sequitur. “No,” she immediately responded. “Jeez, one Lego movie,” joked McHale. “Will you do a beatbox for me and I’ll rap?” said Harmon. “Community, on Tuesdays at 8!” he rapped, before trailing off. “Well I don’t know when we’re going to be on.” “Yep, that’s how it is on the Internet,” answered McHale. “At 8! On the Internet! Channel 6 on the Internet!” Speaking of raps, any chance they’d ever put out an album of original Community songs? “I think Sony would say ‘That doesn’t make money so why would we do that?’” said Harmon. “Thank God for Yahoo records!” said Brie.

4. At one point McKenna turned to the cast and asked, “We have two episodes left, any ideas?” McHale said he’d like to find out more about Paget’s character Frankie, who plays a consultant hired to get Greendale’s money in line. “There’s all these allusions to vague, different sexuality, we’re not sure what’s going on.” Brie seconded that: “I’ve been hoping for an Annie-Frankie love connection, and I’ve tried to suddenly suggest that in the background of scenes.” “I’ve been doing that too!” said Brewster. The audience approved.

5. During the Q&A, one fan had “just a fun question.” If Harmon could restructure the show around one person, in other words Better Call Saul it, which character would he choose? The cast all leaned in awaiting his answer. “Just a fun question, all in fun, have fun!” joked McHale. “Boy, so that’s very intriguing,” said Harmon, “so if there was some aerosol poison released in the air… Better Call Starburns?” referencing Dino Stamatopoulos’s character, a middle-aged student and petty criminal who shaved his sideburns to look like the stars.

6. So what about that movie? “We don’t know,” said Harmon. “Yahoo seems down for just about anything. They have purple beer at their campus. Their name has an exclamation point in it. Why would they turn their nose up at the idea of a movie of a low-rated show? But I can’t comment on that. That’ll be determined by the big suits in the big rooms. Or the little suits in the little Keebler trees.”

Season 6 of Community premieres March 17 on Yahoo Screen.