‘Community’ Loses Charm With Dropping Of Yvette Nicole Brown

Community was saved for a 13-episode sixth season by Yahoo but that new season will go on without Shirley Bennett.

Sony TV confirmed on Monday that Yvette Nicole Brown is leaving the community college-set comedy, which was canceled by NBC in the spring. Brown who starred in the show’s first five seasons as Shirley Bennett, the devout, tightly wound mother of three says she is departing so she can tend to her sick father.

“My dad needs daily care and he needs me,” Brown told the magazine. “The idea of being away 16 hours a day for five months, I couldn’t do it. It was a difficult decision for me to make, but I had to choose my dad.”

Brown praised Community executive producer Dan Harmon for being understanding about her personal situation, saying, “I can’t say enough how much I respect Sony and Dan for how they handled this profound change in my life.”

You know you're a #Community fan when you first thought on news of @YNB exiting to take care of her Dad was: We love you. Hope all is okay.

— Clinton (@comedy4cast) October 1, 2014

In a joint statement, Harmon and fellow executive producer Chris McKenna said: “Yvette was an integral part of Community and is irreplaceable. We are sad to see her go and wish her the very best.”

Yvette Nicole Brown really has left Community. :( ALL THE :(

— Nerd³ (@DanNerdCubed) October 1, 2014

This does not mean that Brown won’t be seen on TV this season. She has a recurring role on CBS’ reboot of The Odd Couple, which is slated for midseason. She said the multi-camera comedy offers her a more manageable schedule than the single-camera schedule of Community. In addition, she will appear occasionally on the USA legal comedy Benched, which premieres Oct. 28.

I'll really miss Yvette Nicole Brown in season 6 of Community. If the show keeps going, season 9 will just be Abed and Neil playing D&D

— Henry Gilbert (@hEnereyG) October 1, 2014

Brown also did not rule out the possibility of returning to Greendale for a guest spot but for now her departure will be addressed in some manner without her presence.

Community, of course, has weathered the departures of series regulars before—namely, Chevy Chase and Donald Glover. Another exit is Jonathan Banks, who played a regular on the show’s fifth season. He’s had to pull out due to his commitments to reprise his iconic “Breaking Bad” role in AMC’s “Better Call Saul”.

To refill the halls, Community is currently casting two new characters—a female consultant who is tasked with helping to shape up Greendale and a retired salesman who seeks to reinvent himself at the school.

The show will shooting season 6 later this fall. The show’s other regulars including Joel McHale, Jim Rash, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie and Ken Jeong.

‘Community’ Loses Charm With Dropping Of Yvette Nicole Brown