‘Arrested Development’ Season 5: Netflix Already Bringing Back the Bluths?
And lo, the fourth season of 'Arrested Development' debuted on Netflix this past Sunday to worldwide fanfare, though by Tuesday the excitement had faded. The experimental 15-episode season greatly polarized fans and critics alike, but now that Netflix has attained the "huge" numbers it sought, is 'Arrested Development' guaranteed a fifth season, or even a movie?
It's incredible to think how quickly many 'Arrested Development' fans went from unbridled excitement to bemoaning that season 4's character-centric, 'Rashomon' style narrative killed the series, but -- regardless of how fans feel -- Netflix is happy with the results. The streaming service refuses to share specific numbers, but CEO Reed Hastings told CNBC this morning "it’s been huge, just as we had hoped.”
The question naturally turned to whether or not Netflix would seek out a fifth season, or perhaps even the feature-length movie season 4 unquestionably built toward, to which Hastings claimed “‘Arrested’ is unique, because that’s really up to the talent. If the talent were willing to do more, and interested in that, I”m sure we would be willing.”
One expects that the cast would be up for another chapter, as their willingness to return for season 4 and the manner in which the new episodes purposefully left the story unresolved suggests everyone's ready for a sequel of some kind. Whether Netflix steps in to finance the project, or another studio reassembles the Bluth family however remains to be seen.
What say you? Has 'Arrested Development' season 4's unique format soured you on the possibility of a Bluth family movie? Will Netflix invest in another go now that the first has proven so successful?