FOX made a huge mistake when they cancelled the television series Arrested Development. The show was smart, it was witty and, most of all, it was a comedy that made you think while subtly introducing outrageous plot lines. Arrested Development taught me about illusions and the importance of leaving notes. The cancellation in 2006 broke my poor, 14-year-old heart.
Fans of Arrested Development’s dysfunctional Bluth family — like me — were pleased when show creator Mitch Hurwitz announced at the New Yorker Festival that the cult favorite is returning for nine to 10 episodes (one season) and the long-awaited feature film is going to happen.
The film is something that had been rumored for a while. It had begun to feel like it was nothing but talk. Endless discussion and uncertainty made me side with the fans whose said, “I’ll believe it when it happens.”
At one point the hold-up was a casting issue: Michael Cera, who plays George-Michael Bluth, had not committed to the film.
Call me crazy, but it’s not like Cera is playing George-Michael the singer-songwriter, as referenced on the show. I wanted to shout to Cera, “Cut the diva antics, hermano!”
With the announcement of the new episodes and confirmation of the film, fans began to believe — reacting with countless “ZOMG”s over Twitter right after the news broke.
My inner fangirl personality wants to run around a convention, dressed in character Maeby Fünke’s Bluth Banana Stand uniform and quoting, “That’s gonna look good on a hat!”
This is clearly big news to fans of the show, but it’s also huge news to the entertainment community. The show was influential because it helped introduce a style of comedy that was not in the vein of a traditional, laugh-track laden sitcom. It was shot in a documentary format, complete with a narrating voice-over. Despite how innovative it was, the show got low viewer ratings. Low ratings equal cancellation.
In the time since its cancellation, the show’s gained a cult following — partially thanks to being available on DVD and Hulu. There are fansites and blogs; there’s even a Twitter account dedicated to tweeting lines from the show.
I remember seeing countless articles about how the show’s cancellation was terrible, how it was bad for the evolution of comedy and how America just wasn’t ready for a sophisticated show. (The highly-rated comedies at the time all had laugh tracks.)
With its return, fans new and old can “taste the happy,” as character G.O.B. Bluth once said.
And faster than you can say “Bob Loblaw’s Law Blog,” I’ll be in line to get my tickets. I’ll make sure to leave a note.
