Arrested Development (TV series)

Arrested Development is a character-driven American comedy television series, which ran from November 2, 2003 to February 10, 2006, about a formerly wealthy and habitually dysfunctional family. The series is presented in a fashion reminiscent of documentary film/cinéma vérité, with omniscient narration (by Ron Howard), archival photographs, and historic footage. Although set in Newport Beach and Balboa Island, California, it was primarily filmed in locations around Culver City and Marina del Rey, about an hour's drive north.

The show was created by Mitchell Hurwitz, the creator of The Ellen Show, and writer for The John Larroquette Show and The Golden Girls. Hurwitz, together with Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and David Nevins (all part of Imagine Entertainment) is also an executive producer. It airs/aired on broadcast networks worldwide, including Fox in the United States and Latin America, HDNet and G4 in the United States, TV3 in Ireland, BBC Two and Bravo in the United Kingdom, Global TV and CBC in Canada, in Asia on STAR World, in New Zealand on TV3, in Australia on the Seven Network & The Comedy Channel, in Belgium on KanaalTwee and in Turkey on CNBC-e.

During its run, the series earned six Emmys, a Golden Globe, and a cult fan base. It was also recognised with the "Future Classic" award at the 2004 TV Land Awards. Despite the critical acclaim, however, the show struggled to find a wide audience. At the time of the show's premiere, the producers of the show were sued by the hip hop group Arrested Development over the use of the name.^[1]

Fox aired the final four episodes of the third season in a block as a two hour series finale on February 10, 2006; opposite the opening ceremonies of the 2006 Winter Olympics. In the United Kingdom, BBC Two picked up the series in September 2004, and started airing the third season on 24 September 2006. Bravo began airing the first season as a run in to another American import, the Adult Swim block of programming on the 30 August. Showtime was rumored to have offered to pick up the show with at least 26 planned episodes following its release from the Fox Network. However, Mitch Hurwitz's decision not to continue with the show^[2] effectively ended any hopes for the series' continuation.

Characters

Main article: List of Arrested Development characters

The plot of Arrested Development revolves around the members of the Bluth family, who generally lead excessive lifestyles.

• Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), the main character of the show; he is a relatively honorable character. Michael strives to do the right thing and keep his family together, despite their materialism, selfishness and manipulation. Michael is forced to take over the family business after his father, George Sr., is arrested for white collar crimes, including "some light treason."
• George Michael Bluth (Michael Cera), Michael's son, shares his father's qualities of decency. George Michael feels a constant pressure to live up to his father's expectations, and is reluctantly willing to follow his plans, even if they sometimes conflict with his own plans and values. There is constant sexual tension between George Michael and his cousin Maeby, and although this is obvious to the audience, the other characters are completely oblivious.
• George Bluth Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor), Michael's father and the patriarch of the family, is the founder of the Bluth Company, whose primary operations are building and marketing mini-mansions. At times dictatorial, George Sr. goes to considerable lengths to manipulate and control his family.
• Lucille Bluth (Jessica Walter), Michael's mother and George's wife, is equally manipulative, as well as materialistic, and hypercritical of every member of her family, and also seems to be the alcoholic of the family. She has a particularly tight grip on her youngest son, "Buster"
• George Oscar Bluth II (GOB; usually written as Gob; pronounced "Jobe") (Will Arnett), Michael's older brother, is an unsuccessful professional magician whose business and personal schemes usually fail. He primarily uses a Segway for transportation, and sometimes converses with others from it while stationary. GOB, constantly seeking validation of his father's love, is used by his father to undermine Michael's control of the family business.
• Byron "Buster" Bluth (Tony Hale), Michael's younger brother, is a professional graduate student who studied cartography and other obscure things as a youth. He is extremely immature, unstable, socially inept and prone to panic attacks, which is probably a result of his mother's dominance and sheltering. Oscar (his father's identical twin brother) often implies that he is actually Buster's father.
• Lindsay Bluth Fünke (Portia de Rossi), Michael's twin sister, is a self-proclaimed activist, who is flamboyant and materialistic, continually desiring to be the center of attention. She enjoys being objectified, but also protests it.
• Tobias Fünke (David Cross), Lindsay's husband, is a former "never nude," who became an aspiring actor after his psychiatrist's license was revoked. His language and behavior is characterised by his constantly inadvertent yet obvious homosexual proclivities.
• Mae "Maeby" Fünke (Alia Shawkat), the attention-starved daughter of Lindsay and Tobias, is the polar opposite of her cousin George Michael: skipping school, cheating on homework, and stealing money from the family's banana-stand business. The ever-rebellious teen, Maeby finds her chief motivation in going against her parents' wishes in an attempt to "teach them a lesson."

Several other characters regularly appear in minor roles. George Sr.'s identical twin brother Oscar (also played by Jeffrey Tambor) is a lethargic ex-hippie seeking the affection of George's wife Lucille. Lucille Austero, or "Lucille 2," played by Liza Minnelli, is Lucille's rival and Buster's love interest. Carl Weathers plays a parody of himself, as an unemployed, ultra-cheapskate actor.

Other notable characters include: Annyong (Justin Lee), Lucille's adopted Korean child and Buster's rival; Kitty Sanchez (Judy Greer), George Sr.'s former secretary; Barry Zuckerkorn (Henry Winkler), the family attorney; Ann Veal (Mae Whitman), George Michael's deeply religious girlfriend; Steve Holt (Justin Grant Wade), a schoolmate of George Michael and Gob's illegitimate child from a girl he dated in high school; Stan Sitwell (Ed Begley Jr.), George Sr.'s main business rival; and Scott Baio as attorney Bob Loblaw (comically pronounced, "Bah blah blah"), a replacement for Barry Zuckerkorn, in part, because he "skews younger" (an allusion to Baio's "Happy Days" character "Chachi," who was brought in to inject youth into the aging Winkler's "Fonzie."). Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Charlize Theron, and Amy Poehler also play recurring characters.

Casting

Original casting was by Deborah Barylski and Lynn Mason, associate casting director.

The most difficult part for casting the series involved finding people who would be believable as a family. Alia Shawkat was the first person cast. Michael Cera, Tony Hale, and Jessica Walter were cast from video tapes and flown in to audition for Fox. Jason Bateman and Portia de Rossi both read and auditioned for the network, and were immediately chosen. The character of GOB was the most challenging to cast. When Will Arnett auditioned, he depicted the character in an interesting way, different from expectations. The casting for the role of GOB came down between two actors in the end — Will Arnett and Rainn Wilson (now appearing on the American version of The Office). Ultimately, the part went to Arnett.

The actors playing Tobias and George Sr. were originally going to have minor roles, but David Cross's and Jeffrey Tambor's portrayals mixed well with the rest of the characters, and they were given more significant parts. David Cross was originally approached to play Buster, but opted to play Tobias so he wouldn't have to spend as much time in Los Angeles, as the role was originally intended to only be a recurring character. Due to the character's popularity during test-screenings of the pilot episode, he was given a much bigger role, and is the only actor on the show to improvise a large portion of his dialogue.

Plot synopsis

Main article: List of Arrested Development episodes

First season

George Bluth Sr., while retiring as CEO of the Bluth Company, is arrested by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for defrauding investors and gross spending of the company's money for "personal expenses". His wife Lucille becomes CEO, and immediately names her youngest son Buster as the new president, who proves ill equipped. Seeing no other options, the family turns to Michael, the middle son, giving him control of the company. To keep the family together, Michael convinces his son and twin sister Lindsay's family to live together in a Bluth model home.

Throughout the first season, different characters struggle to change their identities. Buster works to escape from his mother's control through brotherly bonding and love interests such as Lucille Austero (Liza Minelli). George Michael nurses a forbidden crush on his cousin Maeby while continually trying to meet his father's expectations. Lindsay's husband Tobias, a psychiatrist whose license has been revoked (and who might well be a closet homosexual), searches for work as an actor with the aid of actor Carl Weathers. Michael falls in love with his older brother GOB's neglected girlfriend Marta, and is torn between being with her and putting "family first." After he quarrels with GOB, Marta realises that they do not share the same family values and leaves them both. Later, through an escalating series of dares, GOB gets married to a woman (Amy Poehler, who happens to be Will Arnett's real wife) he knew for only one night but cannot get an annulment because he refuses to admit that he did not consummate the marriage. Kitty, George Sr.'s former assistant and long-time secret lover, tries to blackmail the company and survives the explosion of a yacht used in one of Gob's magic acts. After previous failed attempts, and a stint with Judaism, George Sr. finally escapes from prison by faking a heart attack. It is also revealed that George committed "light treason" by using the company to build mini-palaces for Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

Second season

Because of his father's latest lie about a heart attack, Michael decides to leave his family and company behind. Lucille appoints GOB to be the new Bluth Company president, but he proves incapable and the position goes back to Michael (although GOB retains the figurehead title of president for some time). George Sr.'s twin brother Oscar (also played by Jeffrey Tambor) moves in with Lucille in an attempt to rekindle a previous love affair. After faking his death in Mexico, George Sr. returns to the family model home, where he hides in the attic. Meanwhile, Lucille signs Buster up for the Army, but he escapes serving in Iraq when his hand is bitten off by a loose seal ("Lucille"). He bonds with his uncle Oscar, who is revealed as Buster's presumptive biological father. George Michael begins dating a pudgy, deeply religious girl, Ann Veal; his father never seems to notice her, yet still tries to disrupt their relationship. Michael fails to break them up, but George Michael sees a chance for his crush on Maeby to bear fruit, and the pair kiss while the living room of the model home collapses under them.

Maeby inadvertently cons her way into a position as a film studio executive. While helping her father spread the Fünke name around the studio to help him land a part, she bumps into Mort Meyers (Jeff Garlin) who mistakes her for the Fünke everyone has been talking about. Tobias repeatedly paints himself blue in a futile attempt to join the Blue Man Group, originally believing them to be a support group for depressed men. Throughout the season, various blue paint marks can be seen around the family's house and on the back of Tobias's neck when not in full makeup. After being kicked out of the house by Lindsay, Tobias dresses up as "Mrs. Featherbottom" to be around Maeby and prove to the family that he is a good actor. This is an explicitly-narrated reference to Mrs. Doubtfire. Although it is obvious to the whole family that it is Tobias in disguise, they enjoy allowing him to clean up after them. Kitty returns to steal a sample of George Sr.'s semen to make her own Bluth baby. George Sr., in revenge for twin brother Oscar's affair with his wife, exchanges appearances with an unconscious Oscar, who is mistakenly sent to prison in the place of George Sr., who flees again.

Third season

In the third season, Michael once again begins searching for his runaway father. GOB gets an invitation to a father/son reunion outing, and believes it to be George Sr. trying to contact him. In reality, the invitation was meant to reunite Gob with Steve Holt, son of Eve Holt, one of GOB's former intimate partners. Meanwhile, George Michael and Maeby deal with their previous kiss by avoiding each other.

George Sr., in an attempt to remain in disguise, joins the Blue Man Group. Michael discovers this, and arranges to have his father placed under house arrest. George Sr. claims that he was set up by an underground British group. Michael goes to Wee Britain, a fictional British-themed city district, to investigate, and in the process meets new love interest Rita (Charlize Theron). Michael and the audience are led to believe that Rita is a mole for the underground British group, working for a man named "Mr. F." In the end of the episode titled "Mr. F," it is revealed that Rita is actually an MRF, or "mentally retarded female." The unknowing Michael proposes to her, and the couple run off to be wed. Michael eventually finds out the truth, however, and the two decide to end their relationship just as they are about to walk down the aisle. Meanwhile, Tobias and Lindsay variously seek legal help from Bob Loblaw (Scott Baio) concerning their troubled marriage.

Disturbed by both Lindsay's and Tobias's advances, Bob Loblaw chooses to no longer represent the Bluth family. Attorney Jan Eagleman offers to represent the family, on the condition that they participate in a mock trial in a new reality courtroom show, presided over by Judge Reinhold. Meanwhile, Maeby and George Michael perform in a mock wedding which is accidentally conducted by a real priest, and the two become legally married.

The family members are afraid to testify at the mock trial and deposition, so Buster fakes a coma, Lindsay and Lucille fake entering rehab, and GOB flees the country to perform in a USO Tour in Iraq. All of the deceptions are uncovered by the prosecution, and in Iraq, GOB is arrested for inadvertently inciting an anti-US riot. Buster and Michael travel to Iraq to rescue GOB, and while there, uncover evidence that the mini-palaces George Sr. built in Iraq were actually ordered and paid for by the CIA for wiretapping purposes. After this discovery, the US government drops all of the charges against George Sr.

To celebrate, the Bluths throw a shareholders' party on the Queen Mary. During preparation for the party, it is revealed that Lindsay was adopted, meaning that George Michael and Maeby are not blood relatives. At the party, the Bluths' other adopted child, Annyong, reappears. He reveals that he is there to avenge his grandfather's deportation, an event orchestrated many years earlier by Lucille Bluth. Annyong has turned over evidence implicating Lucille in the Bluth Company's accounting scandals. Before the police arrive, Michael and George Michael flee on GOB's yacht, the 'C-Word', and depart to Cabo with half a million dollars in cashier's checks, finally leaving the family to fend for themselves. However, it is revealed in the epilogue that George Sr. is also on the yacht, having lured his brother Oscar into taking his place once again. Also in the epilogue, Maeby tries to sell the television rights to the story of the Bluth family to Ron Howard, who tells her that he sees it as a movie rather than a series.

In light of FOX's possible cancellation of the show, the first episode of 2006 parodied various gimmicks that other shows had used during November sweeps in 2005. Thinly-veiled allusions were made to the possibility of HBO or Showtime picking the show up in the event of its cancellation. The episode took shots at frequently cited reasons for the show's failure in the ratings, such as complex storylines that are hard to follow, obscure references that may go over viewers' heads, and unlikeable, unrelatable main characters.

Themes and other characteristics

The show focuses on the tension that developed between the members of the Bluth family, primarily from their diminished spending power. Each show pulls from a serpentine mix of sibling rivalries, unresolved oedipal conflicts, sexual incompatibilities, personal identity crises, adolescent trauma, aging, pride, miscommunication, lying, guilt, subterfuge, determination, manipulation, mutilation, social status anxiety, incest taboo, alcoholism, and countless other themes.

The family unit is depicted as necessary for the survival of the individual. Much of the comedy comes from the quirks of the characters and the patterns that developed within the family structure.

Unique presentation

Arrested Development uses several elements that are rare for American live-action sitcoms. Like a documentary, it often cuts away abruptly from scenes in order to supplement the narrative with material such as security camera footage, Bluth family photos, website screenshots, and archive films. Flashbacks are also extensively used to show the Bluth family in various stages of their lives. The show does not employ a laugh track, allowing for uninterrupted back-and-forth dialogue and permitting more time for plot development and jokes. An omniscient third-person narrator (producer Ron Howard, uncredited) ties together the multiple plot threads running through each episode, and provides tongue-in-cheek commentary. Wordplay is abundant, for humor and plot; a character may misinterpret an ambiguous phrase with embarrassing or disastrous results. Perhaps most startling for new viewers is the pace, which throws complex, often subtle humor and plot details at the viewer with little breathing room.

"On the next... Arrested Development"

Almost every episode ends with an epilogue segment called "On the next Arrested Development," in which lingering stories are wrapped up or extended humorously. These segments portray events that do not usually appear in the subsequent episodes, but remain part of the show's canon. However, on some rare occasions (typically in the first half of a two-part episode), scenes from these portions are worked into the following episode; also, the segment occasionally shows a significant plot twist (e.g. Maggie Lizer's deception, Buster's accident,^[3] Steve Holt's discovery^[4]). The second episode of season three reversed this by having "Previously on..." featuring the resolution of the cliffhanger and nearly an entire episode of plot changes within thirty seconds. The epilogue sometimes shows a several-second continuation of the previous scene, in comically direct opposition to the name of the sequence.

The first and second season finales changed the segment to "On the next season of Arrested Development…" and in the third season finale (which was also the series finale), it became "On the epilogue…".

Intertextuality and reflexivity

The show is highly intertextual and reflexive, features commonly associated with postmodernism. For example, Arrested Development often alludes to the past work of its cast and crew through the restaging of familiar scenarios, such as Henry Winkler's jumping the shark from Happy Days,^[5] and by casting former collaborators in small bit parts, including many cast members from Mr. Show. Guest stars frequently appear from other lauded television comedies such as The Daily Show, Seinfeld, Scrubs, The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Upright Citizens Brigade and The Simpsons. The show willfully employs the method of theatre; Verfremdungseffekt, a type of alienation effect on the story/audience relationship. Most of the show's intertextual flavor comes from television culture, but there are other examples, such as the famous falling wall stunt from Buster Keaton's silent feature Steamboat Bill Jr. reenacted by Buster Bluth in the episode "The One Where They Build a House".

The show's reflexiveness may be literal or subtle. In the episode "For British Eyes Only," Michael tells George Sr., who he believes is trying to convince him of a lie, "You're a regular Brad Garrett." This is in reference to the Emmy Awards that directly preceded the episode's original airing, where Garret beat out Jeffrey Tambor (George Sr.) for "Best Supporting Actor." The series has acknowledged its competition (Desperate Housewives), commercial sponsor (Burger King),^[5] its struggle to go after an "idiot demographic,"^[6] its use of dramatic moments as act breaks, and Fox's cutback of the second season to 18 episodes. The episode "S.O.B.s" made numerous references to Arrested Development's attempts to remain on air by parodying typical television ratings ploys and hinted at the attempts of other networks to purchase the series from Fox. In addition, narrator Ron Howard has made several references to his experiences on The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days. Other running jokes during the third season include characters telling the other characters not to refer to Orange County (where the show is set) as "The OC.", obviously a reference to and mockery of the FOX program The O.C., and repeated usage of the words "desperate" and "housewives", referencing the popular ABC soap by Marc Cherry, who even appears as himself in a second season episode.

Topicality

Arrested Development plays with divisive, controversial social and political issues. Writers have turned references to the Abu Ghraib prison scandal,^[5] the U.S. Army's recruiting crisis, the non-existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and George W. Bush's "Mission Accomplished" photo-op into jokes.^[7][8] In that same vein, George Sr. has appeared as Osama Bin Laden^[7] and Saddam Hussein. It has also poked fun at the decadence of American white collar criminals, religious protest campaigns, the Terri Schiavo debate, controversy over public display of the Ten Commandments, and the restriction of protesters to "free speech zones". Other references include "Girls with Low Self-Esteem"(a parody of Girls Gone Wild),^[9][6] low-carb diets, and "Star Wars Kid" Ghyslain Raza.^[4][7]

Callbacks

The plot regularly features callbacks to previous episodes (e.g., GOB's recurring use of the phrases "Come on!", repeated use of family members' "chicken dances," the use of "I've made a huge mistake", "That was a freebie", and the interrogative, "Her?") and will often use what creator Mitch Hurwitz has termed "call-forwards," wherein plots or events will be foreshadowed in extremely subtle ways, like when George Sr. laments Buster's imminent departure for Iraq, telling Michael that he "might never shake that hand of his again," moments before Buster's hand is bitten off by a loose seal. Much of the series finale is a callback to the pilot: both are parties to announce the new Bluth Company CEO, taking place on a boat, and the finale features narration and blocking obviously replicated from the pilot.

Music

Besides the short ukulele-based theme song composed by David Schwartz, which is also used as Lindsay's cell phone ringtone, a number of other songs are featured prominently in Arrested Development. GOB uses Europe's 1986 hit single, "The Final Countdown" in his magic acts, attempting to increase the audience's excitement through improvised dancing and rapid-fire magic tricks. The dramatic, synthesised chords, combined with GOB's high energy and overacting are a clear parody of modern magic acts. "The Final Countdown" is also GOB's ringtone. In the second and third seasons of the show, GOB's duet with his puppet Franklin, titled "It Ain't Easy Being White," has also become a repeated joke. The duet parodies Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney's "Ebony and Ivory."

"Free at Last," written by David Schwartz and Gabriel Mann, and performed by Mann and Maxayn Lewis, is used in conjunction with parties, protests, or other events involving gay men, transvestites, or male strippers. A recurring gay crossdresser holds a "Freedom" sign of various sizes under this music. An original song called "Big Yellow Joint," apparently written about the Bluth Banana Stand, sounds almost identical to Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" and is often used in scenes with aged hippie Oscar Bluth or his stash of marijuana. "Gonna Get Together," by Leroy, is used in many instances to convey a sense of excitement by George Michael about his cousin, Maeby. Nikka Costa's "Everybody Got Their Something" is also used in the score for energetic segues.^[10] In episode, "The Sword of Destiny", Tony Wonder (Ben Stiller), a magician, mentions "some band has got the rights to Use Your Illusion" referring to him not being able to use the name "Use Your Illusion" for a future video release of illusions performed by him, instead calling them "Use Your Allusion II". Guns N’ Roses released two albums named Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II.

Short clips of music are also used to highlight recurring comedic themes in the series. For example, during George Sr.'s stints with religion, or other religious experiences, whether real or feigned, a duduk moans in the background. "Christmas Time Is Here," Vince Guaraldi's piano theme from A Charlie Brown Christmas, plays when George-Michael Bluth is depressed. Mentions of Mexico get a Spanish guitar riff, and displays of Balboa Bay Window magazine are accompanied by upbeat elevator music. The same dramatic soap opera style music can always be heard (and abruptly cut off) whenever Oscar makes a hint about being Buster's father.

Response

Ratings

The show was critically acclaimed, but did not gain a sizable audience. According to the Nielsen Ratings system, U.S. ratings in the second season averaged about six million viewers, while the third season averaged about four million viewers.^[11] To promote their re-broadcast of the animated series Family Guy, FOX announced that it would halt the production of the second season at eighteen episodes – four episodes short of the planned season. Despite rumors that this was a prelude to cancellation, the network defended its actions, claiming that the show would fare poorly during network sweeps period, and that it was simply a procedural matter. For the third season, FOX positioned the show at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT and 7:00 p.m. CT/MT, directly opposite Monday Night Football in the Mountain and Pacific time zones, whereas MNF would not have started yet in the other two. Ratings were even worse than previous seasons. David Cross alluded to poor marketing of the show by FOX on the second season DVD. On November 9, 2005, FOX announced that the show would not be airing in November sweeps, and that they had cut the episode order for Season Three from 22 to 13. FOX ended up showing the last four episodes in a two-hour timeslot — directly opposite the opening ceremonies of the 2006 Winter Olympics. The show proved to be no match to the always highly rated Olympic Games.

Future

Despite months-long rumors of Arrested Development having been picked up by the Showtime Network, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on March 28, 2006 that creator Mitch Hurwitz will not be returning.^[12] As Showtime had made it clear that Hurwitz's involvement was a requirement for the continuation of the show, Arrested Development is considered by both its creators and fans as having reached its end on television. Rumors of a possible full-length film had circulated since the show's final episode, and in an August 2006 TV Guide interview, Michael Cera (George-Michael) indicated that he "[thinks] Hurwitz wants to [do a film]," and that he had been tentatively contacted about participating.^[13]

On July 27, 2006, it was announced that Microsoft's MSN.com [1] and the cable channels G4 and HDNet have purchased the syndication rights to the show, allowing it to be re-aired through 2009, despite only having 53 total episodes^[14] (the threshold for a show to be re-aired in syndication is generally considered to be 100 episodes). G4 bought the cable rights to the show, and on Monday, September 4, 2006, began a nightly airing of the show at 11:30 pm EDT. HDNet, which bought the exclusive HD rights to the show, will air back-to-back episodes on Wednesday nights, beginning September 2006.

On November 20, 2006, MSN announced that episodes of Arrested Development will be available on MSN Video at no cost to viewers. [2] All 53 episodes from the three seasons of the show will be rolled out within the next year.

Critical reviews

The show was generally well-reviewed by critics despite its low ratings.

"Is it beating a dead horse to once again state that this underappreciated gem is the best sitcom on TV? Too bad. 'Arrested Development' is the best sitcom on TV!"

—Tim Stack, Entertainment Weekly, 14 October, 2005, p.133^[15]

"If you're not watching this series on Fox, the least you can do is buy it on DVD. You'll love it, and it's such a dense show (in the best sense of the word) that it rewards repeated viewing. Like Scrubs and the British version of The Office, it's the sort of show that truly deserves to be seen uninterrupted, several episodes at a time, for maximum enjoyment. The laughs-per-minute quotient here is insanely high, making it great value as a home library purchase."

—David Bianculli, New York Daily News, 12 October, 2005^[16]

"As Hollywood agents worry about the demise of the town's lowing cash cow, the multi-camera, staged sitcom, here to save the day is Arrested Development, a farce of such blazing wit and originality, that it must surely usher in a new era in comedy."

—Alison Powell, Guardian Unlimited (UK), 12 March, 2005^[17]

"This lampoon about a wealthy American family trying to survive while its patriarch is in jail for fraud is one of the funniest shows on telly."

—Marc McEvoy, The Age (Australia), 17 October, 2005^[18]

"As oddball as Arrested is, it's also humane. A flawless cast — from Will Arnett's breathy, bombastic Gob to Jessica Walter's boozy Lucille — grounds it, aided by Ron Howard's affable narration. Of course, the center of sensibility is good son Michael (Jason Bateman) and his even better son, George Michael (Michael Cera). Bateman and Cera give the best reacts around — the former all weary exasperation, the latter adorably bunny-stunned. Together, they're the sweetest, awkwardest straight men on the smartest, most shockingly funny series on TV...which is likely canceled, despite six Emmy wins. It's a perversion not even the Bluths deserve."

—Gillian Flynn, Entertainment Weekly, Best of 2005 Issue naming Arrested Development the best TV show of 2005

Nominations and awards

For the first season, the show won five Emmy Awards in 2004, including "Outstanding Comedy Series," "Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series," "Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series" and "Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series," both for the pilot episode written by Mitchell Hurwitz and for direction by brothers Joe and Anthony Russo. In 2005, the second season brought eleven Emmy nominations in seven categories and one win, for "Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series" for the season finale "Righteous Brothers," written by Mitchell Hurwitz and Jim Vallely. For its truncated third season, the show received four 2006 Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (Will Arnett as GOB Bluth), Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series for the episode "Ocean Walker," and Outstanding Comedy Writing for the episode "Development Arrested."[3]

Other awards include:

• The 2004 TV Land Award for "Future Classic," the first recognition the series received. The award presentation is included on the Season One DVD release.
• The Television Critics Association 2004 Awards for "Outstanding Comedy" and "Outstanding New Program," and the 2005 award for "Outstanding Achievement in Comedy."
• The 2005 Golden Globe Award for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy" for Jason Bateman.
• The 2004 Writers Guild of America Award for best teleplay in an episodic comedy, for the first season episode "Pier Pressure," written by Mitchell Hurwitz and Jim Valley.
• In 2004, for season one, the Golden Satellite Award for "Best Television Series, Comedy or Musical," along with best performance by an actor/actress in a supporting role, comedy or musical awards for Jeffrey Tambor and Jessica Walter. In 2005, for season two, Jason Bateman and Portia de Rossi won best actor and actress in a series, comedy or musical. Jason Bateman also won the same award for the third season.

Broadcast history

The first season of Arrested Development premiered in the U.S. on November 2, 2003, on FOX. The time slot was repeatedly changed in attempts to increase its ratings. Three seasons, totalling 53 episodes, were produced. The final 4 episodes of season 3 of Arrested Development were shown back-to-back in a special two hour block on February 10, 2006 from 8-10pm ET/PT on FOX, opposite of the 2006 Winter Olympics opening ceremony on NBC.

The series also aired in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia, among others. In Canada, the show airs at 5:30 local time on CBC Television.^[19] The series began airing in the UK on 29 September 2004, initially on both BBC2 and BBC4. Mid-way through the second season, however, the show was dropped from BBC4, while the time slot for BBC2 was repeatedly changed. The second season typically aired on BBC2 on Sunday nights at around 11:30 p.m., and the third season was broadcast in a similar timeslot. Bravo has now picked up the UK repeat rights to the show, and will air them Fridays at 10 p.m. from 25 August 2006.

In Australia, the series premiered on November 30, 2004, on the free-to-air Seven Network at 10:30 p.m. on Tuesdays. It was later moved to the 11:00 p.m. timeslot on Monday nights on Channel 7, with the second season starting on November 28, 2005. Season 3 premiered on April 25, 2005 on Channel 7 at 12:00 a.m. with The Cabin Show. It is currently shown at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., Tuesday on Foxtel's Comedy Channel. It premiered on Foxtel in August 2005.

Other international markets which have aired the show include the following, listed here with premiere dates: Argentina, March 2, 2004; Italy, April 8, 2004; Ireland, August 5, 2004; Turkey, September 6, 2004; Finland, February 2, 2005; Sweden, February 14, 2005; Iceland, August 12, 2005; South Africaon etv Season 1 2004 and Season 2 14 May 2006 and the Netherlands, September 3, 2005.

DVD releases

Celebrity guests

Well-known actors appearing in guest roles and cameos include: