NBC’s Community Gets Animated Short-Form Spin-Off

CULVER CITY: The comedy Community has been given an animated treatment for a new short-form show, which is launching on March 7 on Hulu, Hulu Plus and NBC.com.

The shorts, titled Abed’s Master Key, will run for three episodes. It features the animated alter-egos and voices of Community series regulars. Each installment is around two minutes in length. Dave Seger (Ikea Heights) and Tom Kauffman (Ikea Heights) wrote the shorts.

Abed’s Master Key launches March 7 on the free, ad-supported Hulu service, the subscription-based Hulu Plus as well as NBC.com. Community returns to the NBC lineup on March 15.

“These animated shorts are a vital component to our multi-pronged campaign aimed at driving awareness to the show’s return to NBC on March 15,” said Chris Van Amburg, the senior VP of U.S. marketing at Sony Pictures Television. “The Community actors and team were eager to lend their voices and support to an effort intended to engage their loyal fan base that has rabidly kept the show thriving via flash mobs, fan art, viral videos, dedicated fan sites and on Facebook and Twitter.”