Dan Harmon Apologizes for Chevy Chase Voicemail Leak
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Dan Harmon took to his blog today to apologize for playing a voicemail from actor Chevy Chase at a public gathering. Harmon is the creator and executive-producer of the NBC hit comedy Community – of which Chase is one of the leads.
The expletive-laced voicemail Chase left Harmon was retribution for a feud that started when the veteran comedian walked off set for apparent script gripes. At Community’s wrap-party, Harmon singled Chase out for his behavior – in front of Chase’s wife and daughter no less.
Harmon played the voicemail for a snickering audience – which later leaked the voicemail to the internet. This negative publicity has worried many of the show’s loyal fans, who fear that Community might not receive a pick-up for a fourth season. To try and quell some of the outrage, Harmon explained in his blog-post that, “every choice I make, I try to make for the good of the show, and the show is not an expression of my ego or entitlement, it’s an expression of my desire to make strangers happy. When that’s not happening, when I’ve done something that hurts an audience, it’s always an accident.”
And to quell some of the fear, Harmon instructed his fans to not, “worry about the show. I agree with you that the show is what’s important. It’s why I get mad when I get mad. It’s why I’m happy when I’m happy. I will always do everything I can to make sure we get our six seasons and a movie.” And finally, the creator apologized, saying that, “I’m just really sorry that I’m so damn bad at that job in so many specific ways, and I promise you that every time I screw up at it, I try to get better.”
In recent days, discussions about Chase’s future on the show have arisen by fans and industry insiders alike, even prompting polls on whether the character of Pierce is even essential to the snarky comedy. But whether Chase stays or not, fans are nervous about Community’s renewal chances (which was benched earlier this season after declining ratings).
Although insiders say there is little to worry about. Community was recently sold into syndication to Comedy Central – a move that makes the show extremely profitable for NBC and Sony. By allowing it at least one more season, both parties stand to make a lot of money in re-runs, even if the show does poorly next year.
My guess, though, is that in a couple weeks things will calm down, Chevy will go back to his private palace on the moon (or wherever rich comedians live) and Harmon and the other writers will take their summer hiatus to recharge for a fourth season of Community that looks almost exactly like this one.
Harmon’s entire post can be read here.
