Arrested Development Image: 20th Television/Disney
One of the biggest Netflix Original outings yet was scheduled for March 2023. arrested development five seasons were due to leave in the middle of the month, but now its future seems uncertain. Is the show still going? This is what we know.
Created by Mitchell Hurwitz, arrested development follows the dysfunctional and bizarre Bluth family picking up the pieces after patriarch George Bluth Sr. (played by the now-disgraced Jeffery Tambor) is sent to prison.
The cast includes Jason Bateman (ozark), Michael Cera, Will Arnett (Murder), Tony Hale, the late Jessica Walter, Portia De Ross and David Cross. Additionally, legendary actor and director Ron Howard serves as executive producer and all-knowing narrator.
arrested development it has been the cornerstone of Netflix original programming for eight years. The series initially aired for three seasons on Fox before it was canceled in 2006. Netflix revived the show in 2011 as a «Netflix Original,» and the maligned fourth season finally premiered in May 2013. At the same time, they acquired No exclusive rights to the first three seasons.
Image: Netflix / Television 20
When Netflix first released the 15-episode fourth season, it was panned by critics and fans alike.
Due to the experimental format, they tended to work around the actors’ busy schedules; characters are divided into stories with minimal overlap. Each episode focused on one of the Bluth family members during the same time period, with events sometimes occurring without proper context. After the controversial response, Netflix and 20th TV moved the initial cuts to the «Trailers & More» section of the front page and replaced the episodes in 2018 with 22 episodes that spliced multiple episodes together, cut out other parts entirely, and featured things on the front page. reality. chronological order. this new Season 4 Remix: Fateful Consequences, it received better reviews, but still fell short of the popularity of the first three seasons.
The re-edited episodes resulted in problems with the Actors Requesting Additional Compensation for what they considered additional work. Some of the re-edit used alternate shots or footage, not in the initial 15-episode version. 20th Television wanted to sell the series in global distribution after the Netflix window ended. Whether they will continue to do that now that Disney owns 20th Century Fox remains to be seen.
In May 2018, after years of juggling many actors’ schedules, an 8-episode two-part fifth season was released. All the actors were present for the episodes this time, and the storylines became more intertwined, but the show still brought back the magic of the first three seasons. The final batch arrived on March 15, 2019, and that started the countdown to the end of the Netflix window, which now expires four years later.
Is Arrested Development still leaving Netflix?
Now, the time has come to mourn the loss of one of the first Netflix originals because Netflix notified everyone in February that arrested development leaves on March 15, 2023. That means your last day watching Arrested Development on Netflix was March 14.
This news was widely reported by other outlets such as TVLineFor example.
Removal Date at Arrested Development
This removal date was then pushed back a week, with the actual removal now scheduled for March 25, 2023, with the last day to watch being March 24.
It is not known why the removal was delayed, but it could be signs that they are trying to work out a deal behind the scenes. We have seen this happen with lilyhammer and Medici, For example.
New takedown date at Arrested Development: March 25
That removal date has since no longer shown on Netflix for the title, and the companion message now reads, «Watch all seasons now.»
So is the show still going? Netflix did not respond to a request for comment, but we’re told the expiration date is still set for March 25. If we were to speculate, we’d suggest that Netflix is negotiating to keep the show on the service.
More to come.
As we’ve seen with other originals, there’s a chance Netflix might get a renewal. Still, given the Netflix series’ release in other regions, including Netflix Australia in 2021, the likelihood of that seems slim.
You can see all of Netflix’s March 2023 removals in our extensive US list here, and keep an eye on our release section soon for a full list of March 2023 removals as we get them. Also, we’re tracking the removal of remaining Disney content on Netflix here and all Netflix Original removals.
This report contains additional writing by Kasey Moore.