Dan Harmon is a creative force to be reckoned with. He is the mastermind behind the cult classic NBC hit Community, as well as the massively successful animated series, Rick and Morty.
While there’s no denying his talent as a TV writer and producer, he doesn’t come without his controversies. Here’s why Harmon ultimately got fired as a series creator on Community, yet ultimately returned as the showrunner after a season apart.
Dan Harmon Says He Was So Difficult To Work With That He Would Have Fired Himself Too
Fortunately, the series creator has done enough self-reflecting over time to realize how problematic his behavior was behind the scenes of Community. “I would have fired me,” he admitted (per The Hollywood Reporter.) Not only was he a tyrant on set, but he also had a notoriously bad relationship with the head of NBC, who was rooting for his show to fail. In a quest to kill the series, NBC refused to promote Community.
According to Harmon, he felt as though the network heads were trying to “smother (his show) with a pillow very quietly.” If he complied more with NBC, perhaps he wouldn’t have faced such a strained relationship with the network. But the series creator was known for turning in scripts at the very last minute, as well as going way over budget throughout the shooting process. Which leads us to our next slide…
Dan Harmon Neglected The Community Budget And Paid Out of Pocket For Music Sequences
There’s no denying the fact that music plays a crucial role in cinema and television. Songs have the power to evoke strong emotions that can be seminal in the final cut of an artistic piece. Unfortunately, though, it costs a whole lot of money to have the rights to utilize a song in a movie or tv show, and Harmon admits he’s paid at least $300,000 out of pocket just to get certain tracks into the halls of Greendale Community College.
Everything from “Roxanne” by The Police, to “Gravity” by Sarah Barellies, and “Ants Marching,” by Dave Matthews Band, along with “Mama Mia” by ABBA added a lot to the overall spirit of Community, yet went severely over their spending budget.
It reportedly got to the point where crew members had to lie about financial details to Harmon in order to keep him in line.
The Series Creator Didn’t Get Along With Community Star Chevy Chase
Beyond his poor relationship with NBC, he also didn’t get along very well with a prominent cast member- Chevy Chase. Following on-set difficulties, Harmon got a room full of cast and crew on the set of Community to shout “F*ck you Chevy!” in unison. Of course, this didn’t sit well with Chase, who abruptly left the show afterward.
Losing their star player in such a way was not a good look for the network. To add fuel to the fire, an angry voicemail Chase sent Harmon got leaked to the public. Such behavior was unacceptable to NBC, and this played a crucial role in Dan Harmon’s ultimate termination.
Fortunately, though, Chase and Harmon have buried the hatchet and have “been friends ever since.”
Community Creator Responsible For Bullying and Sexual Harassment
Ultimately, Dan Harmon believes the nail in the coffin was when he told one of the writers on Community that he loved her. When she didn’t reciprocate his romantic advances, Harmon admits he launched a hate campaign against her and treated his employee with unabashed resentment. “I said horrible things (to her.) Just treated her cruelly, pointedly,” the Community creator confessed. “Things that I would never, ever, ever have done if she had been male and if I had never had those feelings for her. And I lied to myself the entire time about it, and I lost my job. I ruined my show. I betrayed the audience. I destroyed everything, and I damaged her internal compass.”
Fortunately, the writer in question has since forgiven Harmon for his behavior.
Simone Torn is a pop culture writer with 10 years of experience. She has written for several entertainment magazines such as Nicki Swift, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Dexerto, and more.
Source:https://themusicessentials.com/entertainment/community-when-dan-harmon-got-fired-from-his-own-series/