‘Arrested Development’ Will Officially Return To Netflix For Season 5
Netflix has officially greenlit the return of “Arrested Development” for a fifth season Netflix.
Series creator Mitchell Hurwitz is on board, along with the entire series regular cast, including Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter, Will Arnett, Tony Hale, Portia de Rossi, David Cross and Alia Shawkat. The fifth season will begin shooting this summer (with production expected to begin in August) and launch in 2018 with 15 episodes.
Also: Deals have been structured this year so that every cast member is available at the same time. That means, unlike Season 4, characters will be able to share more scenes together throughout the season.
READ MORE: ‘Arrested Development’ New Season: Jessica Walter Says Prospects Are ‘Looking Real Good’
The cult comedy about the eccentric Bluth family became an international sensation after a rocky start at Fox, where the show ran from 2004-2006. It was cancelled after three seasons due to middling ratings, but developed a devoted following from critics and fans, as well as wracking up 25 Emmy nominations. The move to Netflix came in 2013 for a fourth season. The streaming service will now host a hotly-anticipated fifth.
“In talks with Netflix we all felt that that stories about a narcissistic, erratically behaving family in the building business — and their desperate abuses of power — are really underrepresented on TV these days,” said Hurwitz. “I am so grateful to them and to 20th TV for making this dream of mine come true in bringing the Bluths, George Sr., Lucille and the kids; Michael, Ivanka, Don Jr., Eric, George-Michael, and who am I forgetting, oh Tiffany. Did I say Tiffany? — back to the glorious stream of life.”
Hurwitz will executive produce, along with Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Jim Vallely and Richie Rosenstock. Imagine TV and 20th Century Fox Television are producing for Netflix.
“I love working with Mitch. He is a genius and the rarest of original thinkers. He brings a richness to the characters and the storylines that makes the series memorably fun,” said Grazer. Howard added that he was “warming up [his] uncredited narrator vocal chords.”
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