( EW.com ) -- The upcoming fourth season of `` Community '' may have a short order ( 13 episodes ) , may be on Fridays ( with a `` Whitney '' lead in ) and may have seen the exit of creator Dan Harmon . But that does n't mean it 's the final season , NBC brass says . `` We 're in a transition with our comedy programming and trying to broaden the audience and broaden what network does , '' NBC entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt told critics at the Television Critics Association 's press tour in Beverly Hills on Tuesday . `` Those Thursday comedies , which the critics love and we love , tend to be a bit more narrow than we 'd ultimately like as we go forward . '' `` 'Community ' has been a show that 's always on the bubble [ to return ] and we decided to bring it back again and see what a fourth season would do for us , '' Greenblatt continued . `` The reason we did 13 episodes [ of Community and other shows ] is we wanted to get more comedies on the schedule ... which is n't to say we could n't decide at some point to extend those seasons longer . '' 'Looper , ' 'Cloud Atlas ' at Toronto Film Fest . As for Harmon 's exit , Greenblatt said : . `` I think fans of 'Community ' are going to get the same show they have loved from the beginning , '' he said . `` Every so often it 's time to make a change with a showrunner ... you evaluate the creative ... sometimes you want to freshen a show and we decided to do that with 'Community ' -- no disrespect to anyone . '' Asked if he would categorically rule out a fifth season , Greenblatt said : `` I would love nothing more than 'Community ' to have a following on Friday and be able to continue [ beyond season 4 ] . '' NBC is premiering several new comedies this fall , including broad and wacky titles like `` Animal Practice '' and `` Guys With Kids , '' as well as potentially more risky shows like the Matthew Perry therapy sitcom `` Go On '' and Ryan Murphy 's unconventional family comedy `` The New Normal . '' MTV bringing back 'House of Style ' `` We 're in this awkward stage , '' said NBC 's entertainment president Jennifer Salke . `` Some of our new comedies might seem more commercial to you ... it 's kind of an evolving comedy brand . '' `` Shows like 'Whitney ' and 'Up All Night ' were steps in the right direction and that 's why they 're back , '' Greenblatt said . `` It [ can ] take more than a couple seasons for a show to creatively find itself . '' See the full article at EW.com . CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly . © 2011 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved .
The upcoming fourth season of `` Community '' will air on Fridays with a `` Whitney '' lead in . Greenblatt : `` We 're in a transition with our comedy programming and trying to broaden the audience '' NBC is premiering several new comedies this fall , including `` Animal Practice '' and `` Guys With Kids ''