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Community season five never should have happened. Don’t take that the wrong way – I’m very happy that it did. But that doesn’t change how highly the odds were stacked against it. As I watched the first and second episodes of the new season last night, I couldn’t escape a feeling somewhere between elation and disbelief at the simple fact that I was still watching Community – the eternal underdog, somehow the show had evaded the NBC cancellation axe once again. After all, shows that lack huge stars, draw small ratings and experiment with formula rarely make it past one season. Certainly none of them make it to five.

Community has travelled a particular bumpy road to this season. After three seasons of subversive, innovative oversight, showrunner Dan Harmon was sacked by NBC in 2012 and replaced by Aliens in America co-creators Moses Port and David Guarascio. The only problem was,...

"Community" Season 5 has released its first photos, and things look to be just as crazy as usual at Greendale Community College. Add in guest stars Jonathan Banks and Rob Corddry, along with the return of Jeff Winger, and all of the insanity is back where it should be in "Repilot" and "Introduction to Teaching."

If you recall from the end of Season 4, Jeff (Joel McHale) actually managed to graduate from Greendale and was well on his way to returning to life as a lawyer. Unfortunately, the photos suggest that not all is well in the legal world.

Back at Greendale, however, the prodigal son can expect a warm welcome -- from the Dean anyway.

Jeff's former study group may not be so thrilled.

Or maybe they're just irritated by the return of Rob Corddry's character, Alan Connor.

How exactly does Jeff Winger re-integrate into the life of a community college?...

With NBC axing freshman comedy Welcome to the Family, the network’s Thursday night schedule has opened up, which is great news for fans of the cult comedy Community.

The Peacock Network has just announced that the show’s fifth season will premiere on Thursday, January 2nd at 8:00 p.m., airing two back-to-back episodes before shifting to its regular, half-hour 8:00 p.m. slot the next week to accommodate the return of Parks and Recreation.

The return of the critically-acclaimed comedy was up in the air back in September when NBC simply scheduled it for a mid-season debut. Fans of the show are most likely now starting to count down the days until January 2nd, especially with widely-perceived creative genius Dan Harmon back running things.

Harmon was fired from Community in May of 2012, following heated arguments with NBC and former cast-member Chevy Chase over the direction of the show.

"Community" Season 5 will see the return of one of its most distasteful (in a funny way, of course) characters. Rob Corddry ("Children's Hospital") will return to play the role of Alan Connor in the upcoming season's premiere episode (as reported by TVLine).

The character of Alan Connor appeared several times on "Community" in the past, most recently in the show's Season 3 finale. A lawyer and former colleague of Jeff Winger (Joel McHale), Alan's main purpose has been to bring Jeff back to the dark side of the law. He also has done things like represent Pierce Hawthorne in a community college-based lawsuit.

Why will Alan return in Season 5? Considering that Jeff has finally managed to get that college degree -- thereby allowing him to work as lawyer again -- it's possible that Alan could show up in a work situation. He may also be back to his recruiting ways, no...

In the first indication that returning Community creator Dan Harmon may literally be picking up where he left off in Season 3, Rob Corddry (Childrens Hospital) is set to reprise his role as Jeff’s obnoxious law-firm chum Alan Connor in the NBC’s comedy’s Season 5 premiere, TVLine has learned exclusively.

Video | Community Creator Dan Harmon Talks Donald Glover’s ‘Devastating’ Exit and… an Animated Episode!

Corddry last appeared in the show’s Season 3 finale, which was the final episode Harmon presided over before his exit.

There’s no word on what brings Alan back into the fold, but conventional...

The doctors are in, again. Jon Hamm and Daniel Radcliffe have signed on for a second series of A Young Doctor’s Notebook & Other Stories. The Big Talk Productions mini will return later this year on Sky Arts in the UK. The first four-part series originally aired in December 2012 and was the most successful program in Sky Arts history. Ovation will air series one this fall in the U.S. The adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s short stories sees Hamm as a Russian doctor during the Russian Revolution, and Radcliffe as his younger self. The comedy-drama’s second series will return to the small village of Muryevo in 1918 to find the Young Doctor battling against an all-consuming morphine addiction. Under the critical gaze of his “clean” older self, the Young Doctor struggles to cope with life in the hospital, the Civil War, and the arrival of a beautiful young aristocrat...

A short film depicts the sometimes solitary hell of solving. Alan Connor talks to writer/director Steve Simmons

Steve Simmons has made a seven-minute film that puts the contents of a solver's brain on the screen, as played out by Keith Hill of ITV sitcom FM and Amanda Renberg of The Ketchup Effect.

Reading this on mobile? Click here to view the film

I talked to Simmons about placing crosswords on to that other two-dimensional medium, film.

Did you write the clues yourself? Were you tempted to have more intricate clues, or to show the completed grid?

I wrote about half the clues but got the rest of my inspiration from scouring crossword sites on the web. Some of the initial clues were much more cryptic but I wanted to avoid the viewer lingering too much once a clue was solved. I made them a bit more obvious at times.

Photo credit: Colin Hutton

Ovation, America’s only arts network, has further grown its slate of arts-centric programming by completing a deal with BBC Worldwide for the highly sought after UK hit from Big Talk Productions, A Young Doctor ‘s Notebook, starring Jon Hamm (TV’s Mad Men, The Town) and Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter, The Woman In Black).

“As a cause-based media company dedicated to the arts, Ovation is the perfect home for such a rich visual adaptation of this classic literary work,” said Robert Weiss , Ovation’s Chief Creative Officer. “It’s an honor to deliver work from artists as passionate about this project as Jon Hamm and Daniel Radcliffe .”

Originally broadcast on Sky Arts in the UK last year, A Young Doctor ‘s Notebook became the highest-rated program in the network’s history, with audiences up over 1000% on the slot average and receiving universal critical acclaim.

“I...

Starring Jon Hamm and Daniel Radcliffe in the leads, the anticipated mini-series, A Young Doctor’s Notebook, stars airing here in the UK early next month, and after a handful of great first-look images last week, Sky have debuted the first trailer for the programme.

The four-part mini-series will be airing on Sky Arts 1 (and Sky Arts 1 HD) from 6th December, and when you have the likes of Hamm and Radcliffe front and centre of a programme, the odds are pretty good it’s going to be a success.

“A Young Doctor’s Notebook is a four-part comedy drama based on a collection of short stories by the celebrated Russian writer and playwright Mikhail Bulgakov. The drama recounts Bulgakov’s semi-autobiographical experiences as a young doctor working in the small village of Muryovo at the dawn of the Russian Revolution in 1917.

Recounting from his notebooks, the Doctor considers his life...

Starring Jon Hamm and Daniel Radcliffe, A Young Doctor’s Notebook is sure to give Sky a big ratings boost when it airs in the UK early next month. Hamm is of course well known for his unparalleled performance as Don Draper in AMC’s Mad Men, and Radcliffe is diversifying his credits nicely following the end of Harry Potter.

The four-part mini-series will be airing on Sky Arts 1 (and Sky Arts 1 HD) in early December, and now the first images from the series have been released. We can’t wait to see how Hamm and Radcliffe interact on the small screen.

“A Young Doctor’s Notebook is a four-part comedy drama based on a collection of short stories by the celebrated Russian writer and playwright Mikhail Bulgakov. The drama recounts Bulgakov’s semi-autobiographical experiences as a young doctor working in the small village of Muryovo at the dawn of...

Harry Potter and Mad Men stars lead cast for four-part comedy drama set in Russia in 1917

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe and Mad Men's Jon Hamm are to star in a comedy drama about the Russian revolution on Sky Arts.

The pair will play the same doctor at different stages of his life in the four-part series, A Young Doctor's Notebook, by Russian writer and playwright Mikhail Bulgakov.

Hamm will play the older man, who has a series of "bleakly comic" exchanges with his younger self, played by Radcliffe.

The Mad Men actor described the project as "original, dark, funny and moving" and said he was "thrilled to get the opportunity to work on such rich source material with such fantastically talented people whose work I greatly respect".

A Young Doctor's Notebook will air in Sky Arts' Playhouse Presents strand in 2013. Playhouse Presents has featured projects starring Emma Thompson,...

Leave it to NBC to make this season of Community and its impending future even more dramatic. On May 17 NBC will throw a curveball and move the hour-long season finale a week early, giving viewers the final three episodes in one night.

“The First Chang Dynasty” will air at 8pm Et/Pt and feature the long awaited takeover of Greendale by Chang (Ken Jeong). The study group infiltrates the campus and must do so during Chang’s birthday party. Jeff (Joel McHale) devises a plan and Troy (Donald Glover) comes up with one of his own with the help of Vice Dean Laybourne (John Goodman) understanding the risks involved as far as dealing with the scheming dean. This will lead into a new episode of 30 Rock.

“Introduction to Finality” will air at 9pm Et/Pt where Jeff squares off against his former law firm colleague Alan Connor, played by guest-star...

It's like Christmas in May! NBC has decided to move up the two-episode season finale of "Community" to Thursday, May 17, which means there will be three all new episodes in one night!

The three episodes start with "Digital Estate Planning," which has Pierce (Chevy Chase) being called to Hawthorne Enterprises to discuss his inheritance with his dad's right hand man. The group goes with him for moral support. They must play the video game of their life to save his money.

The next is "The First Chang Dynasty," Chang (Ken Jeong) is in control of the campus and the gang must sneak in to take over. Troy (Donald Glover) enlists the help of the Air Conditioning Repair Annex, knowing he's selling his soul.

The final (oh, please don't let it be final) episode is "Introduction to Finality," which has Jeff (Joel McHale) going up against former law colleague Alan Connor...

Six seasons a movie? How about three new episodes in one night?

According to The Futon Critic, NBC has moved the hour-long season finale of Community (really just back-to-back installments) to May 17... the same evening it had already planned on running a new Community at 8 p.m, meaning the schedule that evening will look like this:

8 p.m. Community - “The First Chang Dynasty”

8:30 p.m. 30 Rock (season finale)

9 p.m. Community - “Introduction to Finality”

9:30 p.m. Community - “Digital Estate Planning” (season finale)

As for what you can expect from these Community episodes, read on for their official descriptions:

The First Chang Dynasty

With Chang in control of Greendale, the study group develops an elaborate plan to infiltrate the campus without being detected. While Chang becomes distracted planning a big birthday bash for himself, Jeff and the study group launch their sneak attack. Meanwhile, Troy enlists...

If you love "Community," then Thurs., May 17 will be a very cool, cool, cool treat. Sure, fans have all been fighting for six seasons and a movie, but three episodes for a finale isn't bad either.

According to The Futon Critic, NBC will be airing 90 minutes of "Community" for its big Season 3 finale, right smack in the middle of May sweeps. The finale, which was originally set to be an hour long with back-to-back episodes, is getting another episode thrown in the mix, bookending that night's Season 6 finale of "30 Rock" (8:30 p.m. Et).

While some may see this as the network trying to burn off remaining episodes of the show, others view it as a vote of confidence for "Community," which has always struggled in the ratings, but has seen an uptick the past few weeks after its hiatus. Airing three episodes of any show on one night is a bold move,...

If you love "Community," then Thurs., May 17 will be a very cool, cool, cool treat. Sure, fans have all been fighting for six seasons and a movie, but three episodes for a finale isn't bad either.

According to The Futon Critic, NBC will be airing 90 minutes of "Community" for its big Season 3 finale, right smack in the middle of May sweeps. The finale, which was originally set to be an hour long with back-to-back episodes, is getting another episode thrown in the mix, bookending that night's Season 6 finale of "30 Rock" (8:30 p.m. Et).

While some may see this as the network trying to burn off remaining episodes of the show, others view it as a vote of confidence for "Community," which has always struggled in the ratings, but has seen an uptick the past few weeks after its hiatus. Airing three episodes of any show on one night is a bold move,...

We interrupt your death metal to bring you some heavy news. Season 3 of ‘Community’ returns to its old timeslot this Thursday on NBC after being pulled from the schedule to make way for new 30 Rock. Tina Fey’s much loved sitcom went on to prove that the 8pm timeslot is doomed to receive low ratings when competing with shows to please the masses such as ‘American Idol’ and ‘The Big Bang Theory.’

Despite the ratings, ‘Community’ is one of the most talked about shows on the internet, often described as the spiritual successor of arguably the best cancelled show of all time ‘Arrested Development’. Since it’s last episode, ‘Regional Holiday Music’ aired, Dan Harmon and the cast have been slowly revealing details of the remaining 12 episodes to tease the devoted fans. March 3rd saw the cast and showrunners reveal a Chang-load of spoilers at TV convention PaleyFest and after...

With the Oscars now over, and putting a cap on the year in movies (for 2011 anyway) it seems now is as good a time as any to see what's happening on the small screen.

First up, fantasy fans steady yourselves, because the full length trailer of the second season of "Game Of Thrones" has arrived. And damn, this thing is every bit as epic as devotees of the show might be hoping for and no, you didn't mishear anything: there is a promise of dragons in this one. This season will delve into "A Clash Of Kings," the second book of George R. R. Martin's "A Song Of Fire Ice" series, and the first episode arrives on April 1st. Be prepared, watch below. [Hey U Guys]

But trumping "Game Of Thrones" on the anticipation scale for small screen fans is "Mad Men," and after an all-too-long hiatus, the show is back on March 25th.

We were over the moon when we heard about the return of "Community." All the flash mobs and internet campaigns made a difference, and our beloved comedy will be back with all new episodes on March 15th. We're also getting the return of comedian Rob Corddry, according to EW.

If you recall, Corddry played lawyer Alan Connor, the former colleague of Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) who turned him into the State Bar for his not quite legit law degree. Doesn't that sort of make him a good guy? If he hadn't done it, Jeff wouldn't have had amazing adventures with his study group buddies.

Corddry's return will happen in the season finale, which will air in late spring. He'll be representing Pierce (Chevy Chase) and Jeff representing Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) in Summer Fun Court. The case? A debate over a sandwich business that the two started together. We'll also...

"Community" has finally been granted a return date to NBC’s Thursday night schedule (March 15, 8 p.m. Est), and in that welcome-back spirit, we will be saying hello to an old frenemy in the near future.

EW has learned that "Childrens Hospital‘s" Rob Corddry will guest-star in the season 3 finale, reprising his season 2 role as Alan Connor, former law firm colleague of Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) who turned Jeff into the State Bar for having a “less than legitimate” degree.

"Community" has finally been granted a return date to NBC’s Thursday night schedule (March 15, 8 p.m. Est), and in that welcome-back spirit, we will be saying hello to an old frenemy in the near future.

EW has learned that "Childrens Hospital‘s" Rob Corddry will guest-star in the season 3 finale, reprising his season 2 role as Alan Connor, former law firm colleague of Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) who turned Jeff into the State Bar for having a “less than legitimate” degree.

News of the return of Community just hit this week, but details about the season finale (which hopefully won't be the series finale) are already hitting the internet. EW has learned that Rob Corddry will return to the series for the first time since his second season appearance where it was revealed that his character Alan Connor, a former law firm colleague of Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) was the one who turned him into the State Bar and resulted in him being forced to go to Greendale in the first place. Alan and Jeff will face off again as lawyers in Greendale Summer Fun Court. If you don't want to know anymore details about the season finale, you may not want to read after the jump. The case in question will involve Alan representing Pierce (Chevy Chase) versus Jeff representing Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) involving some sort of sandwich business the two started.

Community has finally been granted a return date to NBC’s Thursday night schedule (March 15, 8 p.m.), and in that welcome-back spirit, we will be saying hello to an old frenemy in the near future. EW has learned that Childrens Hospital’s Rob Corddry will guest-star in the season 3 finale, reprising his season 2 role as Alan Connor, former law firm colleague of Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) who turned Jeff into the State Bar for having a “less than legitimate” degree. This time, Alan and Jeff square off in Greendale Summer Fun Court, with Alan representing Pierce (Chevy Chase) and Jeff...

Community - NBC, 8 - When Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) runs into his former law firm colleague Alan Connor (Rob Corddry), the two re-connect and Jeff finds himself returning to some of his evil ways of late night partying and expensive suits. Alan takes Jeff to a law firm event to see his former boss, Ted (Drew Carey), and the study group shows up to “rescue” him. While Annie (Alison Brie), Abed (Danny Pudi) and Troy (Donald Glover) sneak into the offices to gather dirt on Alan, Jeff watches in horror as Pierce (Chevy Chase), Britta (Gillian Jacobs) and Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) are corrupted by the lawyers.

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