Jordin Althaus / NBC

Chevy Chase is leaving "Community."

"Community's" study group is officially down a member.

Chevy Chase is exiting the NBC comedy effective immediately. A rep for Sony TV confirms Deadline's report that Chase and the show's producer have come to a mutual agreement, and while most of the fourth season's 13 episodes have been filmed, his character, Pierce Hawthorne, will not appear in the one or two episodes that have yet to be shot. 

His departure shouldn't come as too much of a surprise to Community fans given Chase's tumultuous relationship with the the show and its creator Dan Harmon (who is no longer involved with the series). 

More from E! Online: Check out TV's top turkeys! 

In an interview with Huffington Post U.K., Chase said, "It was a big mistake [taking the role]! I just sort of hung around because I have three daughters and a wife, and I figured out I might as well make some bread every week, so I can take care of them in the way they want." 

In October, Chase had an outburst on set, in which he voiced his opinions regarding the show and used the N-word. 

More from E!: Check our more famous feuds between stars and their shows 

Community returns for its fourth season on Feb. 7 on NBC. 

Will you miss his character? Tell us on our Facebook page.

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Ed Helms ("The Office), Katey Sagal ("Sons of Anarchy") and Joel McHale ("Community") were among the many stars who didn't make the cut for the 2012 Emmy nominations

It happens every year. Just moments after the annual list of primetime Emmy nominations goes public, the grumbling begins. It seems the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the body behind TV’s biggest awards bash, will never get it right as far as some viewers are concerned.

And well, those viewers have a point.

Sure, the Emmys have long honored easy favorites, like “Mad Men” and “Modern Family." And heck, the old guard even made room for newbies, including “Girls,” this time around. But where’s the love for the habitually overlooked offerings? “Community” fans may be used to seeing their favorite show snubbed, but that doesn’t make it right.

There’s no shortage of such snubs in the 2012 Emmy nod list. In addition the annual “Community” omission, the Outstanding Comedy Series category alone lacked expected spots for “New Girl,” Louie” and “Parks and Recreation.”

It wasn’t any better for comedy’s leading stars either. Despite critical praise for their work last season, Ed Helms (“The Office), Joel McHale ("Community"), Johnny Galecki (“The Big Bang Theory”), Laura Dern (“Enlightened”) and Laura Linney (“The Big C”) didn't make the final cut.

While  the Outstanding Drama Series nominations were pretty much as expected -- with the notable omissions of “The Good Wife” and "The Walking Dead" -- for the drama talent, it was more of the same. Katey Sagal (“Sons of Anarchy”), Kyra Sedgwick (“The Closer”) and Mireille Enos (“The Killing”) were no-shows on the nom list. And the spot assumed to be a shoo-in for “House” star Hugh Laurie, in honor of his work on the long-running show’s final season, went to another Hugh instead -- Hugh Bonneville, who plays the Earl of Grantham on “Downton Abbey."

There’s no pleasing everyone, but this year’s lacking Emmy nominations list is sure to leave TV fans talking.

Which primetime Emmys snub is the worst? Tell us your picks for obvious oversights on our Facebook page.

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LOS ANGELES -- Psychological thriller "Homeland" won the top prize at the Critics Choice Television awards on Monday, edging out the much-admired "Mad Men," while "Community" was voted best comedy.

Kevin Winter / Getty Images

Actors Joel McHale, producer Russ Krasnoff, Gillian Jacobs, Alison Brie and Danny Pudi of "Community" accept the award for Best Comedy Series from presenter Emily Deschanel onstage during The Broadcast Television Journalists Association Second Annual Critics' Choice Awards in Beverly Hills on Monday.

Cable channel Showtime's "Homeland" was declared best TV drama series and its star Claire Danes won the best dramatic actress award for her performance as a bipolar CIA agent on the hunt for a home-grown terrorist.

AMC's "Breaking Bad" brought home the best actor and supporting actor trophies for Bryan Cranston's chemistry teacher-turned drug king, and Giancarlo Esposito for his turn as the evil head of a New Mexico methamphetamine ring.

Flame-haired Christina Hendricks was the only winner on Monday for the multiple Emmy-winning AMC advertising drama "Mad Men", taking the supporting actress award for her role as curvaceous office manager Joan Holloway.

The little-seen but critically admired NBC show "Community" won for best comedy, while "Modern Family" stars Julie Bowen and her screen husband Ty Burrell were honored in the supporting acting categories.

Louis C.K was voted best comedy actor for his FX show "Louie," while Zooey Deschanel's ditzy "New Girl" and "Parks and Recreation" mockumentary star Amy Poehler shared the award for best comedy actress.

Britain's updated Sherlock Holmes detective show "Sherlock" won the best miniseries and its quirky star Benedict Cumberbatch was awarded best miniseries actor.

Julianne Moore took the prize for best TV movie actress for her portrayal of Sarah Palin in HBO's "Game Change," which charted the backstage story of Palin's 2008 Republican U.S. vice-presidential run.

A reality series victory for singing contest "The Voice" helped struggling TV network NBC to lead the tally of winners on Monday with five awards. ABC and AMC shows picked up three awards each, Fox had two and CBS -- the nation's most-watched TV network -- went home empty-handed.

The Critics Choice Television awards were chosen by the Broadcast Television Journalists Association and handed out a gala dinner in Los Angeles.

The winners were announced a month before nominations for the primetime Emmy Awards, the highest honors in the television industry.

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NBC

The halls of Greendale Community College looked a lot like the NYPD homicide unit on Thursday night's episode of "Community." That's because the critically-acclaimed comedy delivered a spot-on sendup of crime classic "Law & Order."

OK, maybe it wasn't entirely spot on -- after all, the case at hand involved a sabotaged school project rather than a murder -- but from the mock opening to the camera work to the sounds (DUN DUN!), it was all there.   

There were "Community" equivalents to every "L&O" character. Troy and Abed represented the detectives ("who investigate the crimes"), while Annie and Jeff stood in for the district attorneys ("who prosecute the offenders"). The rest of Greendale's familiar faces filled out vital roles (Captain Shirley, suspects Todd and Star-Burns, Judge Kane), but for the role of the medical examiner (or yam examiner, in this case), they brought in a ringer: "Law & Order's" own Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers.

The show even capped off with a perfect procedural-crime show twist. Just as the gang wrapped up the case of the smashed-yam project, an anonymous phone call delivered a completely "Law & Order"-worthy, out-of-nowhere blow. Spoiler alert: Fan-favorite background character Star-Burns died in a completely unrelated mobile meth lab accident.

The show just won't be the same without his clueless comic relief. 

What did you think of the lighthearted take on "Law & Order"? And what about that shocker at the end? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

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Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images file

There's a war of words going on between "Community" co-star Chevy Chase and the show's creator, Dan Harmon.

If you ask Chevy Chase, there's not much solidarity right now in "Community."

The comic veteran let loose an expletive-filled voice mail to Dan Harmon, the creator of his hit NBC comedy, which has since leaked to the Internet.

The rant was in retaliation for the producer purportedly insulting Chase at "Community's" wrap party -- this after the "Saturday Night Live" alum walked off the set during filming of a key scene in the season finale.

Confused yet? Here's a timeline on how the bad blood got started.

MORE: "Community" finally gets a return date!

Word of a feud first surfaced on Reddit in a forum for fans revealing that Harmon publicly called out Chase with a "[expletive] you" speech in front of his wife and daughter for storming off before the production could finish up the third season's final episode.

Per Deadline, Chase left the bash as soon as the "Community" mastermind went off on him and subsequently left Harmon a scathing, profanity-filled phone message in which he blasted him for the ugly scolding and explained that he bailed on filming because of Harmon's failure to supply a script.

"You didn't give us a script to begin with so nobody knew what the [expletive] was going on," railed the actor. "I don't get talked to like that by anybody, certainly not in front of my wife and daughter."

Chevy, who plays moist towelette tycoon Pierce Hawthorne on the show about students at Colorado's fictional Greendale Community College, then suggested Harmon play the voice mail for anyone who agrees that what the producer did was good form. Alas, Harmon did just that and the tirade found its way to the Web.

MORE: "Community" shelved by NBC starting midseason

He also addressed, if obliquely, the bad blood between them on his Twitter page.

In response to one follower who wrote, "Nothing warrants what you did to Chevy in front of his wife and daughter. Chevy may be a [expletive], but you're no better," Harmon tweeted : "Very brave and sensitive of you! Absolutely ingenious topic to pretend to know anything about with just the right audience."

Chevy, however, isn't the only "Community" member who has a beef with the boss, according to a show insider, who claims that actors didn't receive scripts in a timely manner.

The insider notes that Chevy hasn't exactly been a sweetheart on set, leading to inevitable friction between the two.

"Chevy doesn't remember his lines, so we have to make cue cards for him to read. Also if things aren't going well because the script is changing so constantly, Chevy gets mad and wants to go home -- and does go home," revealed the source.

MORE: "Community's" Chevy Chase and Joel McHale deliver TCA laughs

Chase's diva antics and constant demands for more lines have also made it harder for the crew and nearly led to a physical confrontation between the actor and his showrunner.

"Basically, you're balancing two prickly people," adds the insider.

Reps for the funnyman, Harmon and NBC were unavailable for comment.

When asked about his future on "Community" recently, Chase -- whose reputation for being difficult on set dates back to his "SNL" days and who once feuded with shock jock Howard Stern--told the Huffington Post, "I probably won't be around that much longer."

PICS: Top 10 feuds of 2010

Reps for the show have not responded to requests for comment.

(E! Online and "Community" are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)

What do you think of the TV feud? Should Chase and Harmon make peace, or should the star move on? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

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The long wait is almost over for fans who've spent much of the last three months petitioning, flash mobbing and hoping for more "Community." On Thursday night the comedy series returns to NBC's primetime lineup. For Joel McHale, the man at the head of the ensemble action, it's a chance to repay that fan loyalty.

(FYI: TODAY.com is powered by msnbc.com, which is a joint venture between Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

McHale visited TODAY on Thursday morning to talk about the show and the support it received during its absence.

"It was amazing," he said of the viewer response to "Community's" unplanned, mid-season break. "They had a flash mob outside here where people wore the Abed-evil-timeline goatees -- for those of you at home who have no idea what that is. They sang all the Christmas songs we had in our 'Glee' parody episode. They did it all around the country, and we couldn't believe it."

Especially when that response didn't die down after the first few weeks.

"I didn't realize it would continue," McHale said. "Again, it's only gotten louder. It's great. I can't believe it. I would kiss each and every one of them, if I could wash properly afterwards."

The busy actor -- seriously, as TODAY host Matt Lauer pointed out, McHale has little free time between "Community," his E! roundup "The Soup," and his standup career -- somehow still finds time for his own guilty pleasures on the boob tune.

"'Hillbilly Handfishin'!" he joked -- well, maybe it was a joke. "That's a real show -- hillbillies in a river, pulling catfish out of mudholes!"

Later McHale showed up for drinks and fun with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb.

For more laughs with McHale, tune in to "Community" Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

"Community" fans, what have you missed most about the show? Tell us all about it on our Facebook page.

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