Season four back on track after six-year cancellation
After being off the air for nearly a decade, Arrested Development has returned via Netflix with a hilarious fourth season. In the newest season, each episode addresses the story of a specific character since the show’s cancellation six years ago. The 15-episode season was released all at once on May 26.
The first episode starts with Michael Cera’s character George Michael, the second episode focuses on George Bluth Sr., and so on. Each character sees the same set of events from their own perspective as the story evolves. This causes a Tarantino-esque intersection of events within the lives of the Bluth family and hilarious overlapping problems begin to pile up as the season progresses.
Overall, Mitch Hurwitz has done a fantastic job in reviving the series after its six-year hiatus. By creating the character-by-character episode format, he is able to address the progression of each member of the Bluth family since the show’s cancellation, while still creating new plotlines in the process.
While some diehard fans of the show may be critical of the plot’s direction, the series is able to maintain the comedic dynamics between each of the Bluth family members.
This is what makes the character-based episode format so brilliant. If Hurwitz and his writing staff had attempted to address the issues of the whole cast of characters at one time, so much of the story could be missed out on. Instead, Hurwitz chose to create a complex series of intersecting story arcs that allowed him to focus on each of the characters, providing dense amounts of content to starved fans.
In addition to the main cast of characters, many celebrities appear in the newest season. Ron Howard, a producer and director of the show, plays himself as Michael becomes involved in Howard’s production company, Imagine Pictures. Other guests include Kristen Wiig, Seth Rogen, Isla Fisher, John Krasinski, Conan O’Brien and the cast members from Workaholics.
It is clear that since the show’s cancellation in 2006 there has been a rallying of support not just from fans of the show, but within the entertainment industry. In past seasons, the show’s featured guests were made up almost exclusively of B-list celebrities. Season four however has shown that the time off may have actually given the show’s viewership time to expand.
Unlike many other shows that were forced to revive themselves, Arrested Development managed to retain all of the original cast members, even including those who had a relatively insignificant role in previous seasons.
Ultimately, season four of Arrested Development will definitely not disappoint long time fans of the show. The newest season does a great job at developing main characters and answers the big plot questions that were posed at the end of season three. Some of the show’s characteristics have evaporated over the cancellation period, but the show has retained its hilarious and sometimes unsettling style of comedy that will continue to entertain people for many years to come.