'Arrested Development' Season 5: What We'd Like To See

On Wednesday, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the full cast of Arrested Development will return for a fifth season on Netflix. New episodes will debut sometime in 2018, and we’ve already cooked up a few ideas for what we’d like to see from the Bluth family in Season 5.

Creator Mitch Hurwitz told THR, “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 Hurwitz. “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.”

News of a fifth season shouldn’t come as a complete shock to fans of the Bluths. Devotees will remember that last week Jason Bateman announced he would be doing Arrested Development Season 5 via Twitter.

Back in January, reports also claimed the cast was in late-stage talks for a fifth season. Executive Producer Brian Glazer told Deadline showrunners had a clear strategy in mind to manage the star-studded cast’s busy schedules. “I think we found a way to create the compensation structure for all the actors and create a work matrix so they can still make movies and do other things and it will all integrate. So we are really close — I think within a couple of weeks at the most.”

READ: 'Arrested Development' Season 5 'Really Close' To Happening, But Should It?

We’re of two minds about the news of Arrested Development Season 5, mostly because Season 4 was pretty underwhelming. (We aren’t alone in this assessment: Variety, The Wall Street Journal and The Verge offered similar takes.) AD spawned numerous imitators of its semi-improvised ensemble comedy formula, but Season 4 saw each main character siloed into one or more solo episodes with largely separate storylines. It’s not awful and certainly has some hilarious moments -- like Lucille’s cameo on The Real Asian Prison Housewives of the Orange County White Collar Prison System -- but it lacks that special something that makes the first three seasons infinitely rewatchable.

Oh yeah? Yeah?! You tell me you don't want to binge Arrested Development after watching this clip? COME ON! (via YouTuber nachoman182)

Here’s a few things we’d like to see in 2018’s batch of Arrested Development. These are just our raw opinions and hot takes, so feel free to chime in with a comment below!

• More scenes with the entire cast! For many fans and critics, this was the number-one weak point of Season 4. It’s great that Glazer and the showrunners have a “matrix” to accommodate Bateman’s latest potty-mouth romcom with Jennifer Aniston, but let’s hope they leave plenty of room for the cast to improvise and riff on each other. Even meticulous planning and a stellar script can’t take the place of authentic chemistry. If they have to come up with some ridiculous excuse for them to all share a house again, we’re okay with that.
• Abandon the whole election / wall / “cinco de cuatro” storyline. It wasn’t particularly funny or engaging, and the five-year gap between seasons will make it easy enough to explain with some throwaway dialogue.
• The end of Season 4 saw Gob become President of the Bluth Company (again). We think it’d be kind of delightful if it turns out, after the time gap, that he’s done a fantastic job. Really, we’ll take any excuse to hear Gob crowing about the cost of his suits. Extravagant dick Gob is way more fun to watch than mopey, sad-sack Gob.
• Don’t go overboard on the Trump stuff. Judging from Hurwitz’s quote above, this one might not be too likely. In our view, Season 4’s housing crisis references often felt kinda preachy instead of humorous. Our fave AD gags are the ones that happen to be more timeless: all the hand stuff, “I’ve made a huge mistake,” the chicken dance, blurring the lines between magic and prostitution…
• Speaking of which -- magic prostitutes? That could be Gob’s story, right there.
• The return of Anal-rapist Tobias. As much fun as his struggling actor story was in the show’s first three seasons, the whole Fantastic Four stage play plot of Season 4 was cringey to watch at times. Besides, who wouldn't want to see what Dr. Funke is like with a patient?
• No more Rebel Alley, Isla Fisher’s character who both George Michael and Michael pursued. No one cares. Bring back Julia Louis Dreyfus as Maggie Lizer instead. The Bluths will likely need a crack legal team to defend Buster, who was charged with the murder of Lucille Austero at the end of Season 4.

Arrested Development first aired on Fox from 2003 to 2006. During this time, the show won a Golden Globe and six Emmys, including one for Best Comedy Series in 2004. Despite critical acclaim and a rabid fanbase (several members of the iDigi team included), AD consistently suffered from low ratings on Fox. Netflix agreed to reboot the series in 2011, airing the 15-episode fourth season in 2013. Seasons 1-4 of Arrested Development are currently available to stream on Netflix.

What would you like to see happen in Arrested Development Season 5? Do you think some fans were too tough on Season 4? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!