The new showrunners on NBC’s "Community" — David Guarascio and Moses Port, who were brought in after Dan Harmon was pushed out of the role — tell The New York Times that they first refused the job.

"We each said no, twice," Port said. "We’re huge fans of the show and always have been. There was some awareness of ‘What is the situation you’re stepping into?’ It’s also the fourth year of a show, which is tricky, in and of itself."

Asked whether they had contact with Harmon after they accepted, Guarascio said they exchanged some emails, which he described as "friendly and supportive."

Guarascio added that part of their mission is “to keep the show what it was.”

"In a perfect universe, we catch fire, we get more episodes and we’re talking about Season 5. The reason why I guess we do think of ourselves more as caretakers is that we’re not trying to redefine the franchise," he said. "If this does turn out to be the end and the last 13, everyone really wants them to be great. You just don’t want to go out with a whimper."