‘Arrested Development’ Season 5: Jason Bateman Signs On
Is Arrested Development Season 5 finally on its way?
Fans of the dysfunctional family sitcom — which originally aired on Fox before its novel Season 4 move to Netflix — may have reason to celebrate. On Friday, lead Arrested Development actor Jason Bateman announced via Twitter that he has “officially signed on to more” episodes of the series. Bateman plays Michael Bluth on Arrested Development, the protagonist and “straight man” of the side-splitting Bluth family.
A possible Season 5 of Arrested Development has been rumored to be in the works since the unprecedented airing of Season 4 on Netflix. The show, after completing its three-season run on Fox from 2003-2006, made an uncanny resurrection on Netflix after nearly a decade of dormancy. The Netflix-aired Season 4 debuted on May 26, 2013, with resultant mixed critical reviews ascribed to the comedy show’s unlikely resurgence.
Will a new season of Bateman’s Arrested Development on Netflix regain the show’s critical praise or further tarnish its seemingly ailing reputation? As evidenced by certain fan discussion and online speculation, Arrested Development viewers were predominately let down by the format of Season 4, which mostly isolated each AD character into their own singular episodes as opposed to the previous ensemble cast story arc.
Regardless of whether probable new episodes of the series sink or swim, the good news is now official: Jason Bateman has signed on for Arrested Development Season 5.
As reported by Variety, Jason Bateman’s tweet was sprinkled with a little bit of in-universe Arrested Development humor. Prior to revealing that he had “officially signed on to more Arrested Development today,” Jason cheekily stated that it’s “very probable [he’s] going to put some miles on the Stair Car this summer.”
Look very probable I'm going to put some miles on the Stair Car this summer. Just officially signed on to more ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT today.
— Jason Bateman (@batemanjason) May 12, 2017
As mentioned, there has been buzz surrounding a proposed Season 5 of Arrested Development for quite some time. Two years ago, the show’s executive producer, Brian Grazer, teased that he was working on 17 new episodes for Season 5. Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer for Netflix, also promised a fifth season, depending on actor availability. “We’re plugging along. It’s a long, complex deal,” Sarandos reportedly said. “The talent is very busy… and it’s owned by Fox.” Last year, Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz said he was outlining Season 5, but wouldn’t promise a start date for production until the cast was signed on.
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So, just how “arrested” is the pending Season 5 production of Arrested Development? It remains to be seen what other AD actors will sign on for the new episodes. While Jason Bateman is seemingly raring to hop on the esteemed “Stair Car” with some new Arrested Development episodes, it has not yet been reported if other principal cast members have joined him. Will the new episodes reunite the entire Bluth family cast?
Should the entire Arrested Development cast reunite for Season 5, the scheduling logistics for the actors are still a hurdle to be overcome — seemingly one of the reasons for the multi-year hold-up on Season 4. All of the actors are quite busy with other work, including Jason Bateman.
Below, watch a YouTube fan edit of Arrested Development‘s beloved “chicken dance” scenes.
Are you excited that Jason Bateman has now officially joined the cast for Season 5 of Arrested Development? Were you let down by Season 4 of the show on Netflix? Do you think Arrested Development‘s other key actors — such as Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, and Tony Hale — will join Bateman for the new season?
Let us know what you think of Jason Bateman, the Bluth family, and the news of Arrested Development‘s forthcoming Netflix season in the comments section below.
[Featured Image by Jesse Grant/Getty Images]
