Go Stream The Banned Community Episode Right Now

“Advanced Dungeons and Dragons” is the first of two Community episodes centering around the study group playing D&D and the only episode of the show to get banned. In the episode, Abed leads the group through a session of the TTRPG to help their peer, Fat Neil, cheer up after playing a role in giving him the demeaning nickname. It’s generally considered one of the show’s best episodes because of its heartfelt moments, great jokes, and inventive use of Dungeons and Dragons. 

The beloved Community episode was banned because of a moment that some viewed as Ken Jeong performing in blackface. Jeong’s character, Chang, arrived at the session dressed as his Dungeons and Dragons character, a drow. This costume included full-body dark makeup, which led to the episode being banned, despite Chang explaining he was dressed as a drow, not imitating a black person in the episode. 

Community wasn’t the only sitcom to have an episode banned in 2020 for using blackface, it was part of a wave of episodes being removed in response to the death of George Floyd. Other prominent shows to have episodes taken down were 30 Rock and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which both had multiple episodes removed. Unlike “Advanced Dungeons and Dragons” these other episodes had characters in clear-cut instances of characters dressed in blackface. 

Another difference that sets the Community episode apart from other shows being banned for blackface is that it was removed directly by streaming services. This stands out from the situation with 30 Rock where creator Tina Fey asked streaming services to remove the offensive episodes. By taking “Advanced Dungeons and Dragons” down without input from the creators, Netflix and Hulu put the power to judge content into the hands of streaming services. 

The episode’s removal was controversial among fans and the show’s creators. While creator Dan Harmon called the removal justified, despite it being one of his favorite Community episodes, actress Yvette Nicole Brown called the episode being banned an overreaction. Fan response was similarly split, with some seeing the joke as going too far for shock value, while others thought the punchline being that Chang wasn’t in blackface set it apart from other episodes being banned. 

Now that Community has been moved to Peacock ahead of the upcoming movie, “Advanced Dungeons and Dragons” no longer seems to be banned. While some may find the episode offensive, the decision of whether or not to watch it has been returned to the audience. For those who can look past the joke or who don’t find it offensive in context, it’s a fantastic episode. 

“Advanced Dungeons and Dragons” is widely considered one of the best episodes of Community, and being banned kept fans from seeing it for the last several years. It was also widely seen as being removed unjustly, ignoring context. “Advanced Dungeons and Dragons” is available to stream on Peackcock now.