Welcome Back 'Arrested Development'

Every once in a while a television show comes along that has all the potential to make a great series, but for some reason doesn’t catch on with a regular viewing audience. Some of these programs, such as Freaks and Geeks and My So Called Life, developed a subsequent cult following, further asking the question of why they were ever cancelled in the first place. Arguably the show at the top of this list is the critically acclaimed and award winning Arrested Development, being foolishly cancelled by Fox in 2006 after fifty-three episodes. There were initial rumors that the show was going to be picked up by another network, but the show’s creator Mitchell Hurwitz felt he had taken the series as far as he could at the time, not wanting to disappoint fans with a lower quality product. After 7 years, the Bluth family has finally returned, with fifteen new episodes being released on Netflix beginning May 26^th.

The last time we were tuning into the Bluths, the wealthy family that lost everything, their unheralded leader Michael and his son, George Michael, were escaping on a yacht to Cabo to leave the rest of the family to finally fend for themselves, after Michael did everything he could to keep his family together amongst all their bickering and selfishness. Matriarch Lucille was taking the fall for the family business’s legal problems after selling off a quarter of the company, and we learn that Michael’s twin sister, Lindsay, is adopted. In the new season four premier, Michael, after making a brief return to the family only to tell them off again, is living with George Michael in his college dorm room, while also being in debt $700,000.00 after his own business venture fails. Let the dysfunctional hilarity begin.

The return is long overdue for a show that should not have gone anywhere. Since its cancellation, Arrested Development has been heralded by some as one of the funniest shows of all time, and DVD sales and Netflix has allowed it to catch on with a new audience. It brought Jason Bateman back to the mainstream, and helped launch the careers of Michael Cera and Will Arnett. It also has undoubtedly left its mark on comedies of the modern generation, showing that intelligent and quick joke delivery without a laugh track can be successful. Its disciples, such as 30 Rock and Community, have thrived in this model.

Although there are only fifteen new episodes, the talk is that they are a set up for a potential movie. Regardless of the show’s future and that of the Bluth family, this brief resurrection is a welcome comeback. Only a show of its quality could demand a warranted return. It’s just a shame that Arrested Development was taken from us in the first place.