Community (season 5)
The fifth season of the television comedy series "Community" premiered on January 2, 2014, and concluded on April 17, 2014. The season consists of 13 episodes and aired on NBC on Thursdays at 8:00 pm ET as part of the network's "Comedy Night Done Right". The season features the return of series creator Dan Harmon as showrunner, as well as the exit of cast members Donald Glover and Chevy Chase from the series. John Oliver returned as Ian Duncan after a two-year hiatus. Jonathan Banks made his introduction to the series as Buzz Hickey, a  criminology professor. NBC announced the series' cancellation in May 2014, but in June 2014, Yahoo! announced it had commissioned the show's sixth and final season to be streamed online on Yahoo! Screen. Episodes. <onlyinclude></onlyinclude> Production. On May 10, 2013, NBC announced it had renewed the series for a fifth season, to consist of 13 episodes. The season does not feature original cast member Chevy Chase in a regular role, as he left the series near the end of the fourth season by mutual agreement between the actor and network. Chase does appear in a guest role during  the first episode of the season, and the character's exit from the show is finalized in "Cooperative Polygraphy." Donald Glover, who portrays Troy Barnes, only appears in five of the thirteen episodes. Jonathan Banks appears in 11 of the season's 13 episodes as criminology professor Buzz Hickey. Rob Corddry reprises his role as lawyer Alan Connor in the season premiere. Walton Goggins guest stars in "Cooperative Polygraphy" as a mysterious man named Mr. Stone, "with a dangerous accusation, a tantalizing offer and a devious plan that will change the group forever." John Oliver, who played Professor Duncan throughout  the first two seasons, reprises his role in season 5 for multiple episodes. Other guest stars in the season include Vince Gilligan, Mitchell Hurwitz, Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, Brie Larson, Nathan Fillion, Robert Patrick, Paget Brewster, Kumail Nanjiani, Katie Leclerc, and Ben Folds. David Cross guest stars in an episode that serves as a sequel to season 2's "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons", playing Hank Hickey, the estranged son of Professor Hickey. B. J. Novak has a cameo in the second part of the two-part season finale. Season 5 began shooting on August 19, 2013. The fifth season has the  return of series creator Dan Harmon as showrunner and executive producer after he was fired from the show after the end of the third season. Former writer-producer Chris McKenna also returned as an executive producer. Season 4 showrunners Moses Port and David Guarascio did not return for season 5, as their contracts were for one year. The only other returning writers are Andy Bobrow and Tim Saccardo. Meanwhile, Annie Mebane, Steve Basilone, Maggie Bandur, and Ben Wexler all departed to join "The Michael J. Fox Show", while Megan Ganz joined "Modern Family". Writers who joined for the fifth season  include Parker Deay and Jordan Blum ("American Dad!"), Alex Rubens ("Key & Peele"), Ryan Ridley ("Rick and Morty"), Dan Guterman ("The Colbert Report"), and Matt Roller (Funny or Die). Other writers include Carol Kolb, Briggs Hatton, Clay Lapari, Erik Sommers, Monica Padrick and Donald Diego. Reception. The fifth season received strongly positive reception from television critics and is considered an improvement over the previous season. The season received a Metacritic score of 80 out of 100 based on 15 reviews, signifying "generally favorable reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an approval rating of 93% with an average score of 8.5  out of 10 based on 42 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "With Dan Harmon back as its show runner, "Community" returns with a familiar new energy and more fun, exciting adventures for the Greendale gang." Verne Gay of "Newsday" gave the back-to-back episodes an "A" grade, remarking that the first of the two ("Repilot") was funny, while the latter ("Introduction to Teaching") was "simply hilarious." Alan Sepinwall, writing for HitFix, remarked that the show "is back, and back to being itself." DVD release. The fifth season was released on DVD in region 1 on and in  region 2 on .