The actress, who has been with the show since the first season, asked to be released from her contract for personal reasons.
- Oct 1, 2014
AceShowbiz - "Community" is losing one of its beloved members. Yvette Nicole Brown announced her departure from the comedy show to care for her ailing father. "My dad needs daily care and he needs me," Brown said.
It is the grueling schedule of a single-camera sitcom that forced her to make such decision. "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," she told TV Guide.
Her request to be released from her contract has been honored by Sony Pictures TV and executive producers Dan Harmon and Chris McKenna. "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 released a joint statement.
Brown played Shirley Bennett in the show's first five seasons. It is not yet clear how her absence will be explained in the show but she is open to return sporadically. "I am totally open to whatever [Harmon] decides," she said. "I'm glad it won't be hard for them to explain where she is. She has three kids, a degree and a business. There are a lot of ways to explain her [departure]."
The sixth season will debut on Yahoo! Screen after being saved from the ax on NBC. Two new characters will be introduced; a woman who's brought in as a consultant to help shape up the school and a retired salesman who comes to Greendale to reinvent himself.
