Yahoo! Screen kept alive the dream of six seasons and a movie for "Community" this summer. Unfortunately, the show will have to go on with one less player.
Yvette Nicole Brown asked to be released from her contract to care for her ailing father, according to TV Guide Magazine. Sony Pictures TV and executive producers Dan Harmon and Chris McKenna agreed to her request.
"My dad needs daily care and he needs me," Brown told TV Guide 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."
The 43-year-old actress has played Shirley Bennet since the show's premiere in 2009 on NBC. Brown doesn't fret about how the writers will explain her absence given the character's three kids, business and degree.
"Yvette was an integral part of 'Community' and is irreplaceable. We are sad to see her go and wish her the very best," Harmon and McKenna said in a joint statement.
Brown left on good terms with the show, and the executive producers have left open the possibility for her to make a guest appearance. As a devoted "Community" fan, she still plans to live tweet when the show returns.
"It's very bittersweet. I can take care of my dad but won't be with my TV family," Brown said. "I don't want the fans to worry; it's going to be fine. Greendale is the heart of the show, not any particular character. Even if characters come and go, the heart of Greendale remains."
The less grueling schedule of a multi-camera sitcom will allow Brown to keep her role on the CBS reboot series, "The Odd Couple," starring Matthew Perry. She will also appear on the upcoming USA Network comedy series "Benched."
"Community" plans to add two new characters for the sixth season to replace Brown and Jonathan Banks, who will star on the "Breaking Bad" spin-off "Better Call Saul." One character is a woman brought in as a consultant for the school and the other is a retired salesman who's looking to reinvent himself at Greendale, according to TV Guide Magazine.
The show starts filming later this fall and Yahoo! Screen will release the 13-episode season in early 2015.
