Dan Harmon is going back to school.  While the Community creator and former showrunner was fired following the conclusion of the NBC comedy’s third season, rumors have been swirling in recent weeks that Harmon had been asked to return to the series this year for the bubble show’s fifth season.  Moses Port and David Guarascio—who replaced Harmon as the showrunners of season four to decidedly mixed results—opted not to come back for season five when NBC semi-surprisingly renewed the series for another season, and with Chevy Chase gone as well, the opportunity seemed ripe for Harmon to come back.  Now Community fans have reason to rejoice, as Harmon has confirmed on Twitter that he is indeed returning to the series.  Hit the jump for more.

Harmon confirmed his return to Community on Twitter

While it's not uncommon for shows to undergo staffing changes behind the scenes, the essence of Community very much came from the mind of Harmon.  Much like an Aaron Sorkin-less The West Wing , Harmon's absence was wholeheartedly felt in season four, as everything from the show's sense of humor to the characters seemed off.  There were a couple of bright spots to be found, specifically the excellent Jim Rash-penned body swap episode, but all in all Harmon's return is very, very good news for fans of the series. 

Taking to Twitter, the creative went on to hint that he’s already staffing the show, humorously asking his Twitter followers if anyone knew any talented writers that “haven’t been hired by Parks and Rec.”  Many of Community’s veteran writers exited the series at the same time as Harmon, with Megan Ganz recently making the move to ABC’s Modern Family.  I’m interested to see how Harmon addresses season four when the show returns, if he does so at all.  Will he claim that this most recent season was all a dream?  Will he acknowledge certain story developments like Ken Jeong’s awful “Changnesia” arc or the infiltration of the darkest timeline?  We’ll find out for sure when Community returns for what is likely its final round of episodes, though NBC has not announced a firm airdate for the comedy just yet so don’t expect to see it until midseason.

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