Danny Pudi, Jim Rash, and Joel McHale introduce the first extended clip from season 4 of Community, and you laugh, because it is three funny men who have learned how to play off each other well over the last few years.  Then they get to the clip, a Hunger Games spoof that thanks to an unfortunate midseason premiere is probably several months past timely.  A scheduling mishap led to overbooking the popular class History of Ice Cream, so the dean leads the students to the extravagant “Hunger Deans” to fight it out for a spot in the class.

It feels sterile (“Hunger Deans” is not funny, right?), but I can’t deny my prejudice about anything new in a post-Dan Harmon Community.  I will try to keep an open mind when Community returns on February 7, because I really am dying to see if one of my favorite shows can still be great, or if the creator’s departure will bury it.  Watch the clip after the break.

At long last, Community has a premiere date.  The Dan Harmon-less fourth season of the whip smart comedy series was initially set to premiere this month on Fridays, then NBC announced that they were holding the show for an unspecified premiere date sometime in the future.  Many assumed that the network was saving the series as a replacement in the event that one of their new comedy shows got cancelled, but when Animal Practice was given the axe NBC gave the timeslot to Whitney instead.

The cast put together a sort of fan-appreciation video in the wake of the delay news, and now finally some good news has surfaced as star Yvette Nicole Brown announced on Twitter that the fourth season will premiere on Thursday, February 7th at 8pm.  Hit the jump for more. [Update: NBC has confirmed the date with the release of their full midseason schedule, which is included after the jump and announces a break for Revolution, a move for Smash, and more.]

Community fans have become experts in the virtue of patience.  We’ve been jerked around so many times regarding when/where/if one of the smartest and funniest shows on TV will actually be on TV that we’re no longer shocked when NBC asks us to “trust them” and wait “a little bit longer” to see new episodes.  The upcoming Dan Harmon-less fourth season of Community was initially slated to begin on October 19th (ie. today), but NBC recently reneged on that decision in favor of holding Community and Whitney as replacements for when their new comedy series go belly-up.  Animal Practice was cancelled yesterday, but NBC naturally decided to replace it with Whitney instead of Community.

The wonderful ensemble cast knows how much the show means to their fans, so they’ve put together a great little video in which Troy and Abed try to explain why the show’s fourth season doesn’t have a premiere date.  The clip is filled with in-jokes and fan appreciation galore.  Seriously, this cast is the best.  Hit the jump to take a look.  Season four of Community premieres someday. [Update: We've updated the article with a clip from the season premiere.]

NBC continues to kick Community to the curb.  The studio announced today that it would be bumping the season four return of the fan-favorite show from their expected Friday, October 19th date to an unspecified future date.  Sophomore comedy series, Whitney, will also be moving to Fridays, but that show’s debut date is up in the air as well.  NBC cited the need for more time to make a marketing push in the case of each series.

I can’t imagine that Community needs to be marketed any more, with the off-season fireworks of creator/showrunner Dan Harmon being let go; the fourth season will be run by Moses Port and David Guarascio.  I also can’t imagine a scenario in which marketing will get me to watch Whitney.  In the meantime, NBC will air re-runs of the first season of Grimm from 8-9pm on Fridays, which will lead into new episodes of the supernatural procedural.  Hit the jump to see who will be returning to Community if and when it returns.

Earlier this year, we got the chance to talk with Community’s Danny Pudi in conjunction with Speed Stick’s “Handle It” campaign.  Fans were asked to tweet their most embarrassing stories, and the winning selection was turned into a video narrated by Pudi.  The contest has now come to a close, and Pudi spoke with us again about how they settled on this particular embarrassing story as the winner and the many awkward submissions that were turned in.

Additionally, with the fourth season of Community set to kick off next month, we spoke quite a bit about the new batch of episodes.  Pudi teased an Inspector Spacetime convention episode, a ghost-filled Halloween episode, the appearance of Jeff Winger’s (Joel McHale) dad, played by Josh Brolin, and gave his thoughts on the Inspector Spacetime web series.  I also asked Pudi about the show’s regime change, as David Guarascio and Moses Port replaced Dan Harmon as showrunner, and he divulged his personal favorite episodes of the series thus far.  Hit the jump to check out the interview.

The first trailer for the road trip comedy The Guilt Trip has been released.  The film stars Seth Rogen as an inventor who sets out on a business trip with his mother (Barbra Streisand) in tow.  The trailer actually doesn’t look half-bad, with Rogen and Streisand showing off some promising chemistry.  There are a few solid jokes, and I appreciate the sweet emotional backbone that grounds the story in lieu of just having Rogen and Streisand go on a road trip with “zany adventures.”  Rogen’s familial situation isn’t uncommon (I can definitely relate), and it looks to be a nice foundation for the film’s story.  In the event that your family isn’t keen on seeing Django Unchained  this Christmas, The Guilt Trip doesn’t sound like a terrible compromise.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  Directed by Anne Fletcher (The Proposal),  the film also stars Yvonne Strahovski, Adam Scott, and Danny Pudi.  The Guilt Trip opens on December 25th.

NBC’s Community will feature a holiday family reunion of sorts when Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) comes face to face with his father during the show’s upcoming Thanksgiving episode.  In the episode titled “Cooperative Escapism in Familial Relations,” fans will finally be introduced to William Winger, the estranged father whom Jeff hasn’t seen since he was a child.  Playing the elder Winger is none other than James Brolin (Marcus Welby, M.D.).  Community season four premieres at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 19.  Hit the jump for more on season four and a set photo of McHale and Brolin.

Rather than dump your hard-earned money into private school tuition, why not cut a check to go to Greendale Community College instead? The cast of NBC’s Community is getting ready to air season four this fall and they’d love for you to visit them!  All it takes is a winning charitable donation that benefits the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation, and you and a friend will be heading to Greendale and going home with a signed script and photos! Hit the jump to find out how to win!

The Greendale Seven are about to be schooled by Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) when he joins the cast of Community this fall.  McDowell is set to star in two episodes as a history professor (I hope they find a way to work A Clockwork Orange in).  THR reports that his character will be named Professor Cornwallis.  McDowell is the latest addition to the faculty, as British comedian Matt Lucas (Bridesmaids) recently joined as well.  Look for Community’s return to NBC in its new time slot, Friday nights at 8:30pm starting October 19th.

When last we talked about NBC’s cult comedy series, Community, we were at Comic-Con, rejoicing that the entire cast would be returning, but lamenting the absence of creator and show-runner, Dan Harmon.  While we wait to see if new overseers David Guarascio and Moses Port can keep the old Community magic, season four will see an infusion of overseas humor with the addition of British comedian, Matt Lucas (Bridesmaids). Lucas, perhaps best known for British comedy series Little Britain, will star as Greendale Community College’s newest faculty member.  Hit the jump for more details on his character as well as a look at a great fan-made Inspector Spacetime poster.

Community is one of the best comedies on television.  But this offseason saw upheaval in the departure of Creator/Executive Producer Dan Harmon.  They were so unsure about a return that the last episode of the third season could act as a series finale.  Still, a fervent fan base has given the quirky show a fourth season, even if it comes with a move to Fridays.  The first table read is set for August 6th with shooting to begin August 13th.  Five of the cast sat down to talk about the upcoming season, the departure and the bit of plot they could share (the appearance of Jeff’s dad).  More after the break.

Full disclosure: The line to get into Ballroom 20 was very, very long this morning, and the Community panel (the first of the day) had the audacity to start without me.  I was about 20 minutes late, and I don’t know what excitement happened without me.  It is probably for the best, since I was a rubbernecker looking to see how they would deal with the recent ugly firing of Community creator Dan Harmon.  (Answer: They addressed it without really discussing it, even when I wasn’t there.  Not surprising.)

There was a big group: Joel McHale, Yvette Nicole Brown, Gillian Jacobs, Alison Brie, Danny Pudi; writers Megan Ganz and Andy Bobrow; producer  Russ Krasnoff and new showrunners David Guarascio and Moss Port.  I hope you’ll forgive my tardiness and hit the jump for an abbreviated bullet-point recap, along with a brand new gag reel.

It looks like Community’s Greendale Seven will all be returning for a fourth season (yes, even Chevy Chase’s Pierce Hawthorne).  Reports have Sony Pictures Television picking up the options on all the actors from the NBC comedy and critical darling.  Although there was some speculation earlier this year as to whether or not Chase would be back (due to some behind-the-scenes issues), he’s on the list of castmembers who will be returning this fall.  Of course, we all know that creator and former showrunner Dan Harmon won’t be returning, after being let go earlier this year.  In his stead will be Moses Port and David Guarascio. Deadline confirms that Joel McHale, Donald Glover, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Yvette Nicole Brown, Gillian Jacobs, Jim Rash and Ken Jeong will also return.

Despite 30 Rock often cracking wise about how NBC is barely a network anymore, the broadcaster lead the Critics’ Choice Awards nominations with 14 recognitions (although 30 Rock, unfortunately, received none). NBC’s low-rated but much beloved jewel Community picked up six nominations on its own, including five for acting (Joel McHale, Jim Rash, Alison Brie, Gillian Jacobs, and Danny Pudi), solidifying its place in the canon of widely under-appreciated series with deeply rooted critical and cult followings.

Hit the jump for the full list of nominees, along with who got snubbed.

I’m sorry to say that Annie’s Boobs will not be taking over for Dan Harmon as showrunner of NBC’s Community next season.  With Harmon’s impending departure, David Guarascio and Moses Port will take over the daily duties as both showrunners and executive producers.  Rumor has it that Harmon, creator and executive producer for the first three seasons (which is almost half way to six seasons and a movie), may stay on as a consulting producer.  Guarascio and Port have a long history of television writing and producing; they’re best known for the moderately long-running NBC series, Just Shoot Me and recently added Aliens in America, Happy Endings and El Jefe to their resume. It’s great that Guarascio and Port have experience in the industry and that should help with keeping the show afloat, but will the intangible allure of Community disappear with Harmon?  Hit the jump for much, much more.

Update: Dan Harmon has responded to this sad news on his blog.  Hit the jump for more.