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NBC Delays Premiere of ‘Community’

Fans of the NBC comedy “Community” were already worried about the network’s commitment to the show because the show’s creator, Dan Harmon, was removed at the end of last season, and the show was slated for the little-watched programming desert of Friday night.

But late Monday, NBC released news that both “Community” and another comedy slated for Fridays, “Whitney,” which were scheduled to have their season premieres on Oct. 19, will have their start dates delayed indefinitely.

NBC officials said the network was doing so well with its programs from Monday through Wednesday that it wanted to concentrate its promotional efforts on those nights.

NBC does have a successful drama on Fridays, “Grimm.”

Network officials indicated they may be saving the comedies to plug holes on other nights.

NBC’s statement said:

“Without having to launch these comedies on Friday at this time, we can keep our promotion focused on earlier in the week — plus we will have both comedies in our back pocket if we need to make any schedule changes on those nights. When we have a better idea of viewing patterns in the next few weeks, we will announce new season premieres of ‘Whitney’ and ‘Community.’ ”

A version of this article appeared in print on 10/10/2012, on page C3 of the NewYork edition with the headline: NBC Delays Season Premiere of ‘Community’.