The pressure is on for Moses Port and David Guarascio.
The new producers of the hit NBC show “Community” faced the fans today at the San Diego Comic-Con, where they joined the show’s veteran cast in a panel in front of hundreds of fans in Ballroom 20. Alan Sepinwall live-blogged the proceedings here.
Stepping in for the departed creator Dan Harmon, Port and Guarascio have big shoes to fill and the Comic-Con panel served as a public debut for the duo. They answered audience questions alongside stars Joel McHale, Yvette Nicole Brown, Gillian Jacobs, Alison Brie and Danny Pudi, and veteran writer/producers Megan Ganz and Andy Bobrow.
The panel could have been a train wreck had fans really gone after the newcomers, but Port and Guarascio seemed to have come out swimmingly by reassuring that harmon’s legacy will be honored and that the show’s distinctive comic style is not going to change.
After showing clips and answering queries about episodic specifics, the Q&A got down to brass tacks; just how will “Community” continue without Harmon to lead the way? What changes, if any, can fans expect?
“A couple of months ago, we were a lot like you: just huge fans of the show who thought it was one of the most special things on television,” explained Guarascio. “Suddenly we’re here, helping to keep it going. The only thing we care about is keeping it this weird, wonderful gem that it’s always been. That’s not gonna change.”
“We understand the show deeply, and we love it, and we want to keep it the way it is,” he reassured the skeptical fans in attendance, adding that they see Harmon’s beloved past work “a beacon.”
Port alluded to the fact that they have the help of one of the best casts on TV and several veteran writers. He put it plainly, “What I’m saying is, we’re not going to screw it up.”