'Community' Can't Really Have it All

Just when you thought things were looking up for ol' Community, here's some bad news for fans: Donald Glover the actor who plays Troy will only be in five of the thirteen episodes of the show's fifth season, Josef Adalian of Vulture reports. That breaks up the show's key duo—Troy and Abed—and throws some water on the joy of creator Dan Harmon's return.

Just when you thought things were looking up for ol' Community, here's some bad news for fans: Donald Glover, who plays Troy on the beleaguered but beloved NBC comedy, will only be in five of the thirteen episodes of the show's fifth (and presumably final) season, Josef Adalian of Vulture reports. That breaks up the show's key duo—Troy and Abed—and throws some water on its rabid fanbase's recent excitement that, for one, the show got a fifth season at all, and that once-exiled show creator Dan Harmon is returning.

Glover, who wants to focus on his music career, as Childish Gambino, is reducing his screen time from regular player to more of a wave. According to Adalian, Glover's reduced screen time was a result of a compromise between Glover and the studio: "Glover will now be able to focus more on his music, while Sony will save some money since it won't have to pay Glover for every episode."

However amicable it might be, it's not great news for the show. Alan Sepinwall writes at HitFix: It's disappointing not only because Glover is one of the funniest, most versatile performers on the show, but because creator Dan Harmon is coming back for this season, and will now have to work with a diminished study group, and with only occasional appearances of the show's most reliable comic pairing in Troy and Abed." Alas, Abed must be feeling pretty lonely right about now.