In May, Community creator Dan Harmon was let go from the NBC series with little warning, leaving the upcoming fourth (and potentially final) season of 13 episodes in new hands. To say the internet revolted would be an understatement. At the time, Harmon simply posted on his Tumblr that neither NBC nor Sony gave him the heads up and his involvement with the show was all but technically over.
RELATED - Danny Pudi Talks Season Four Dreams
Last night, Harmon appeared on G4's Attack of the Show, addressing the axing for the first time in detail. Dan joked that he spent so much time fretting about being fired that NBC/Sony potentially got the idea from him. "For the first season of Community, I was able to disguise myself as a person that just wanted to make television and do a good job. Slowly I got itchy like you do in a wool sweater. I felt like we were going to get canceled and just started farting around -- the paintball episode at the end of the first season, you can see that."
But he got serious when talking about the perception that he was let go for being unprofessional.
RELATED - Joel McHale: I Believe In Community
"I feel like I'm a good person and a professional very able leader of men," he said, before adding, "Maybe I am just a jerk. If 20 people call you a horse's ass, you buy a saddle. I think to people who work above me, I'm a liability that isn't worth the benefit."
Which isn't to say this experience has put him off working in the medium completely. "I aspire to mainstream success. Television is a populist, derivative, democratic medium, you're supposed to make a hamburger that everyone wants in their mouth. That's when you know you're doing it well. [But] I grew up on [Robert] Zemeckis and [Steven] Spielberg -- people who believed that making things for everyone didn't have to mean it was stupid."
RELATED - How is Community Like The Muppets?
So how will he apply these lessons to his next show? "I think, first of all, the idea is not the important thing. My idea is to have less ideas because I want to be successful in television. I think good TV should be like crack in that every rock gets the job done. On television you're engaged in the pacification of the masses, but the masses deserve to be pacified."
To watch Dan's whole interview, click here!
Hot New Hookups! | The Latest Hollywood Trends | Summer’s Hottest New Movie