Dan Harmon, ‘Community’ Showrunner, Calls Show's 4th Season ‘Like Being Raped’ – And Apologizes

Dan Harmon, the newly reinstated showrunner of TV comedy Community, ripped apart the show’s fourth season on his podcast “Harmontown.”

Harmon, who was fired from the show in 2011, began lightly enough, saying that the season wasn’t his cup of tea, but then got more vivid with his distaste. “There’s something awesome about having all of those preconceived notions kind of ripped away from you. It’s exciting. There’s something awesome about being held down and watching your family get raped on a beach,” he said.

Harmon – quite graphically – explained the problem was probably that the season four showrunners didn’t know what they were getting themselves into. “They went to Comic-Con, saw what was going on — people dressed as spacemen and bananas and s—. Going 'Holy s—, I cut myself every night and watch Community! And they went 'F—.' And I think they tried their best.”

One specific aspect of the season Harmon strongly disliked was the show’s decision to hire James Brolin to play Jeff Winger’s (Joel McHale) father instead of Bill Murray. Harmon had always envisioned Murray playing the role, having given McHale’s character the same last name as Murray’s character in the 1981 film Stripes.

Listen to the podcast here.

Harmon has since apologized for his comments on his Tumblr page. “I was very much not thinking about anyone but myself while watching that season, which was the crime,” Harmon wrote. “I hope over time you’ll forgive me. I wasn’t thinking about your contribution or describing it. I was just indulging my petty feelings about being left out.”

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