For a good long while Arrested Development has had a stable streaming home on Netflix. The service even ponied up for two more seasons! But all things must pass and on March 15, all 84 episodes will vamoose, at least for now.
The Mitch Hurwitz show was a groundbreaker when it bowed in 2003. Following the misadventures of the seriously screwed-up Bluth family, it was dense and breakneck-paced, each episode packed to the brim with oft-surreal jokes. It was never a ratings success, which is why it barely eked out a third season. It was one of those shows that really only took off when it was off-the-air, when people started obsessing over its DVD box sets. (Although Charlize Theron, who memorably appeared in a Season 3 stretch, credits it with saving her career.)
Netflix brought Arrested Development back in 2013, though the format was greatly changed. The show was still breakneck, but instead of telling its story in (mostly) linear order, most of the much-longer episodes focused on individual characters. Netflix later recut it for an alternate version that was more like the original run. The show came back once more, in 2018, but controversies involving Jeffrey Tambor, who played both George Sr. and his twin Oscar, tainted the show’s rep and it didn’t have the same cultural impact it once enjoyed.
Perhaps now that it’s all leaving Netflix, people might give that fifth and likely final season another try. You’ll have until the end of March 14 to hang with the bickering Bluths. At least they’ll still have Seinfeld.
(Via Deadline)