Of all the original programming Netflix has debuted this year — “House Of Cards” (already slated for a second season), “Orange Is The New Black” (kicking off tomorrow and already renewed), “Hemlock Grove” (yep, same deal) — “Arrested Development” seemed the least likely to immediately return. Getting the gang back together was a well documented ordeal due to the varying schedules of the ensemble, and as the new season revealed, there were only a handful of scenes containing the entire cast, while it mostly stuck to character driven episodes. Indeed, the future of the show has been hazy thus far. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings previously said it was “up to the talent,” while creator Mitch Hurwitz has been mostly non-committal about whether the much talked about movie be would next, or simply more episodes. But it looks like it’s going to be the latter.
Variety reports that producer Brian Grazer has revealed that negotiations are now underway for a second Netflix season — fifth season overall — for “Arrested Development.” And well, that seems to be all the intel for now, but the news at least indicates that fans probably won’t have to wait another eight years for more wacky antics with the Bluths. There is no doubt that audiences tuned in to watch the latest season in droves, though critical response wasn’t unanimously positive. But there is so much goodwill — and many people really enjoyed season four (though the consensus seems to be that the latter half is better than the first half) — that new episodes would undoubtedly we very, very warmly received.
The big question is: when? Scripts need to be written, schedules organized and more, so this could still be a couple of years off. Regardless, it looks like you’ll be able to blue yourself all over again.
