The original premise of Harmontown began with Harmon's and Davis's attempts to discuss how to successfully eliminate the flaws of society and create a utopia in front of a live audience. The show evolved into what Harmon and Davis call "live therapy sessions" for Harmon, as he discussed with Davis a variety of topics, from anecdotes about his family and work to commentaries on movies, social issues, and scandals.
Format and structure
Harmontown was not scripted; it was largely improvisational. The show frequently featured many guests to help drive the discussion. On its fifth airing, the show began having a regular Dungeons & Dragons session at the end of each episode. This led to the introduction of Spencer Crittenden, who led their D&D segments, having extensive knowledge of the game. Crittenden happened to be an audience member when Harmon and Davis asked for assistance from the crowd with how to play D&D. Crittenden gradually became a part of the main cast. He was then hired as an assistant to Dan Harmon. Beginning in 2015, with episode #131 "Dirty Little Potato People", the Dungeons & Dragons segment was replaced with a Shadowrun game session, placed towards the end of the episodes and for a similar length as the D&D segment. Crittenden was also the gamemaster for this segment, with guests optionally filling the roles of some characters in the campaign. From October 2017 to June 2018, the podcast was recorded without an audience due to permit issues with the Starburns Castle venue. When Davis was unavailable, guest comptrollers included Rob Schrab, Erin McGathy, Kumail Nanjiani, Duncan Trussell, and Brandon Johnson, who eventually became Davis's regular replacement near the end of the podcast's run. Occasionally, special guests would serve as comptroller, including Mitchell Hurwitz, Bobcat Goldthwait, and—on the Harmontown movie tour—Gilbert Gottfried, Dino Stamatopoulos, Steve Agee, and LeVar Burton.
Tour and documentary
From January 10–30, 2013, Harmontown evolved from its original format and structure to go on a national tour, leaving Los Angeles and traveling to cities such as Pittsburgh, Austin, and Nashville, all while posting new episodes within two days. The tour became the subject of a documentary produced by director Neil Berkeley. The documentary, also called Harmontown, follows Harmon, Davis, McGathy, and Crittenden. The documentary premiered at the SXSW Film Festival on March 8, 2014. While Harmontown performed weekly episodes in LA, they would take the show on the road from time to time. In 2016, Harmontown traveled to Australia for a series of performances, and from time to time Harmontown could be found performing at various comedy festivals across the US.
Dustin Marshall: podcast producer 2011-2016, founder of Feral Audio
Steve Levy: producer
Kristian Boruff: live director
Sarah Hill: technical coordinator
Kevin Day: web producer
''Community'' controversy
Harmon's openness on Harmontown frequently proved controversial. Following season 3 of Community, Sony fired Harmon as show-runner, and many fans noticed the show's tonal shift inseason 4 with displeasure. Harmon avoided watching season 4 of his former show for some time, but after finally viewing it, he expressed his opinion of the season during a Harmontown episode. Harmon made comments referencing Jeffery Dahmer, and described his experience of watching the season as "like flipping through Instagrams and watching your girlfriend just blow a million ." Harmon subsequently publicly apologized for his comments.
Reception
The A.V. Club wrote that "The podcast is for fans only, but for that undervalued group, it's essential listening." CraveOnline wrote of the podcast: "If you're a Community fan, you're not going to want to miss the brains behind the show. If you're a comedy fan, you're not going to want to miss the show because it is, in all seriousness, the best comedy podcast out there. Harmon is a fantastic talker and storyteller and Davis is just as fantastic to listen to."
