Cast of "Community" (Image courtesy of NBC)

According to “Community” fans, NBC is a hot mess.

When the peacock announced its mid-season line-up Monday, there were a few noticeable gaps. Namely, “Community” was no longer on the schedule, yanked from its Thursday night time slot mid-season.

In a smart move from network execs, the critically acclaimed “30 Rock” was placed in the Thursday primetime slot.

Pulling “Community” was undoubtedly smart ratings-wise. It was a low-rated show in a lagging network, and a primetime spruce-up might be just what the network needs to get back on its feet.

However, will this tactic work if the network is upsetting its core fan base?

Look at the fan’s reactions the night when “Community” was unceremoniously dumped.

The appalled fans took to the Twittersphere in retaliation, posting petitions, shocked reactions and messages of support for cast members.

“NBC totally Britta'd this whole #Community thing,” @sam_ash snarkily tweeted.

@JonahNRO was a little more open with his feelings, saying, “They cancelled #community!?!????! WTF!?”

The microblogging site Tumblr exploded with support for the show, including GIFs from the show, screencaps of letters sent from users to NBC and rants about the show’s hiatus.

Other fans steered away from social media and sent messages directly to NBC protesting the show’s hiatus, essentially taking the hold as the death toll for their beloved show.

One thing is for sure, though, fan support will be essential if the show returns after its break. If fans turn out in support like we’re seeing now, there may be a chance for the show to survive past the end of the season. Whether the hold is merely a shakeup in the lineup or a direct threat for cancellation, though, is yet to be seen.

Look at what we saw with the “Arrested Development” phenomenon.  After a lack of support for the show, it took on a life of its own, becoming a cult classic and coming back with another season and a movie … over five years after the show ended.

What it comes down to is this: fans are angry, but if they don’t show support when times are good, NBC isn’t going to listen to them when times are bad.

But please, let’s take “Whitney” off the schedule, and then we’ll talk.

Reach writer Jennifer Schultz here, and follow her on Twitter @neon_jenn.