Netflix has confirmed that a fifth season of Arrested Development is coming, with the cast and creator Mitchell Hurwitz all on board.
Here’s the press release with more details:
The Bluths are back. Again!!! Netflix today announced series creator Mitchell Hurwitz and 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 will return for a fifth season to premiere exclusively for Netflix members worldwide in 2018.
“In talks with Netflix we all felt 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 series creator Mitchell Hurwitz. He added, “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.”
“Arrested Development brings us structures, outerwear and choreography like no other comedy in history,” mused Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos, leafing through photos of the banana stand, never nudes and Chicken Dances. “Season Four marked the first foray by Netflix into original comedy programming and this time, the Bluths will collectively be spending more quality time with their millions of fans around the world”
“Arrested Development remains one of the iconic franchises we, Ron and Brian are asked about most,” commented Fox Television Group Chairmen and CEOs Dana Walden and Gary Newman. “It’s a testament to the brilliance of Mitch’s creation, the passion of his audience, and the love his cast holds in their hearts for his writing and characters that we have been able to ‘get the band back together ‘ not once but twice since the Emmy-winning original run. Get ready, America. The Bluths are coming back.”
“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 executive producer Brian Grazer.
“Whew! I can finally answer the question… Hell yes! Warming up my uncredited narrator vocal chords. Now the only thing I will have to be coy about is all the craziness the Bluths are going to face this season,” said executive producer Ron Howard.
Arrested Development centers around Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman) and his eccentric family comprised of his son George Michael (Michael Cera), his father George Bluth Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor), his mother Lucille (Jessica Walter), his brothers George Oscar Bluth II (Will Arnett), Buster Bluth (Tony Hale) and sister Lindsay Funke (Portia de Rossi), and Lindsay’s husband Tobias (David Cross) and their daughter Maeby (Alia Shawkat).
Mitchell Hurwitz, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Jim Vallely and Richie Rosenstock are executive producers on Arrested Development, and it is produced by Imagine TV and 20th Century Fox Television for Netflix. Arrested Development has garnered accolades from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Emmy®), AFI, the Golden Globes, Producer’s Guild Awards, Screen Actor’s Guild, the Television Critics Association and the Writer’s Guild, among others.
