So we’ve kinda heard this before — Arrested Development producer Brian Grazer told us around this time last year that the fifth series of the show would start filming in mid-2016. Mid-2016 is here, and now creator Mitch Hurwitz told the journalists at the Netflix panel during the Television Critics Association press tour shooting could begin in 2017. Will our hopes be left dangling forever? Granted, it’s a big cast that’s hard to bring together — which is one reason that Season 4 played out in such a disjointed way.
According to Variety, Hurwitz told the room that,
“It’s the thing I’m really desperate to do. We’ve got a lot of the stories [written] and we’re ready to go.”
One of the stories might be akin to Making a Murderer, but at the time Hurwitz also admitted that it depends on which cast members are available.
Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos also noted at last year’s press tour that, “We’re plugging along. It’s a long, complex deal … The talent is very busy… and it’s owned by Fox.”
So there have been a lot of rumors, in the meantime, about when the show might return, if the show might return, and what it might be like. Arrested Development’s resurrection on Netflix kicked off not only their desire to produce original content, but also their habit of “saving” shows, and leaning in hard on nostalgia. Even still, Season 4 was met with mixed reactions, as the POV-styled episodes were such a huge departure from the first three seasons, and the plot didn’t come together until the very end.
Even if we have to wait longer though, it will be worth it to bring the entire cast back: Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Alia Shawkat, Tony Hale, David Cross, Jeffrey Tambor and Jessica Walter.
