In yet more Community news that is not official confirmation of a fourth-season renewal and is thus the worst thing to happen to you ever, The Hollywood Reporter reveals that co-showrunners Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan—the namesakes of Fat Neil and Garrett, but also important in other ways—are leaving the show behind. The move comes as part of a new overall deal the pair has signed with 20th Century Fox TV that will see them supervising and developing new projects for the studio. It's a reward for all of their years of respected work on Family Guy, Scrubs, and of course Community—which is great for them, if they want to be jerks and "take advantage of opportunities" and "grow within their chosen industry" and all that. So yeah, go ahead and evolve as creative talents who have contributed greatly to Community's success and thus deserve our respect and gratitude, jerks.
Anyway, such mock-outrage aside, Goldman and Donovan are parting with the series on amiable terms, and though it will definitely lend a wistful air to every mention of Garrett or Fat Neil to those who are really mindful of all this insider stuff, the show isn't expected to change if and when it gets that fourth-season renewal everyone is still waiting to hear about (we know). Yes, the duo were instrumental in shaping Community, overseeing many of the daily shoots and Chevy Chase-improvised scenes that would then be cut out because they don't understand funny, but their absence creates only a temporary vacuum that most expect to be filled by producer Chris McKenna (though it remains to be seen whether his own recently acquired development deal with Universal will take up too much of his time). And of course, if and when it is renewed, Harmon will still be there, imprinting everything with his own comic voice and controlling everything to the incredibly personal degree that has made the show so unique. In other words, don't worry, Community fans, at least any more than to the extent to which you've already been worrying for months now.