The Greendale Seven is now down to the Greendale Four as Yvette Nicole Brown has announced she will not be returning for the show’s highly anticipated sixth season.
Brown starred as Shirley Bennett on the first five seasons but reportedly asked producers Dan Harmon and Chris McKenna to release her from her contract due to personal family reasons.
She told TVGuide that the decision came due to her father falling ill.
“My dad needs daily care and he needs me,” Brown informed TVGuide. “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.”
Harmon and McKenna released a joint statement regarding Brown leaving the cast. They said,
“Yvette was an integral part of Community and is irreplaceable. We are sad to see her go and wish her the very best.”
Unfortunately Brown isn’t the only cast member not returning. Jonathan Banks will not be a season 6 cast member due to the AMC series, “Better Call Saul.”
To fill the gaps, “Community” is casting for two new characters: a woman who has been “brought in as a consultant to help shape up the school” and a “retired salesman who comes to Greendale to reinvent himself.”
