Previously On… Arrested Development

“There’s always money in the Banana Stand” is one of the most memorable, (and slowly developed) jokes in the beloved three-season comedy series, Arrested Development, which originally ran from 2003 to 2006. Whether there was ‘always money’ in the show itself, however, is an entirely different question, as the Netflix revival of the show is often completely ignored by fans, with most refusing to add it to the end of their rewatches. So, considering that the entirety of the main cast returned, alongside most of the original writers, why is it that the show failed to make a successful comeback?  

After I had watched the first three seasons of the show, I was elated to learn that a reboot had been made, especially with the entire Bluth family, notably siblings Michael (Jason Bateman), Gob (Will Arnett), Lindsay (Portia de Rossi), and Buster Bluth (Tony Hale) returning, alongside some fan favourite side characters. I was hoping to watch the hilarious misjudgements and characters of the Bluth family and the Bluth Company for a bit longer, but unfortunately, my expectations for season four (and five) were almost immediately crushed, through a combination of some questionable writing choices, but also some issues that were very much out of the hands of the creators. 

Having an immense budget is not always a good thing

Despite the fact that that all major characters made an appearance at some point in the show’s first 15-episode reboot run in 2013, due to the work schedules of the now very famous cast, particularly the likes of Michael Cera (who played George Michael Bluth) who became a highly-regarded comedy star in the years between the show, many either did not appear in some episodes, or were (quite obviously) edited into scenes using CGI. Creator Mitchell Hurwitz attempted to get around this problem by focussing on a different character in each episode to avoid a disjointed story. For example, Maeby’s (Alia Shawkat) episode is about the repetition of her final year of high school and the subsequent spiralling of her life. Or her Father, Tobias’ (David Cross) episode, focusing on him trying to build his acting career, by attending what he believed to be a method acting class – it was in fact a Methadone clinic. Unfortunately, this left behind the already-established comedic chemistry between the Bluths in the original run.  

Another notable issue with the rebooted series was the considerably bigger budget provided by Netflix, taking away the charm, and even in some cases, the comedic genius of the show. As seen by a number of television series that have started their runs as a niche, hidden gem, and eventually exploded into a ‘cult-classic’ with a huge fanbase, having an immense budget is not always a good thing. Working on a low budget in seasons one to three pushed the writers to prioritise the unique comedy and style of the show to appeal to viewers.

The show’s reboot ultimately felt like a poorly thought-out money-grab

With less financial pressure, they had more creative freedom, without needing to tailor themselves to a wider, mainstream audience. With Netflix, this was the opposite – the larger viewership that would come with a streaming service release, alongside pressure from the higher-ups to maintain this audience, could definitely have been a contributing factor to the clear quality gap in the rebooted show. A prime example was the decision to cast two comedy legends, Kristen Wiig and Seth Rogen, as the younger Lucille Bluth (Jessica Walters) and George Bluth Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor) in flashback sequences. In the original run, however, Tambor simply wore a (very) low-quality wig to signify a younger version of his character.  

One aspect of the reboot that prevented it from being a complete failure, however, was the return of quite a few beloved recurring characters to the series. The return of huge names to the reboot, including Ben Stiller as Tony Wonder, Gob’s ‘magic’ rival, and Liza Minnelli as ‘Lucille 2’, Lucille 1’s enemy, and Buster’s significantly older lover, as well as Judy Greer as Kitty Sanchez, the flirty Bluth Company Assistant, arguably saved the show. In particular, the revival of Gob and Tony Wonder’s rivalry storyline is perhaps one of the only good things to come out of season five – with many fans (including myself) choosing to believe they ended up together.