Yesterday it was announced that Arrested Development will be returning with new episodes. I think that is great and fantastic news. I am a little bummed though. Apparently because Will Arnett is finally on a show that did not get canceled after the first 3 episodes there is a chance he might not be as willing to do the show as he was before. Ditto Portia de Rossi who also has a high profile show in the works. No offense to anyone, but you need to have those two to make the show really work. Another downside is that Netflix won the bidding war to stream the shows. What that means is the shows will only be on Netflix. Yep, you are going to have to subscribe to the service to watch. Finally, the news is that despite the announcement and contracts being signed, the soonest the show will start airing is the first part of 2013. Umm, we are in 2011 right now. And the early part of 2013 is the soonest which means the show will have been off the air for 6 years by the time it airs. Kids were born and are in first grade now who never saw the show on the air. Will it even be relevant anymore? Will people to pay to see it?
i LOVE this show, but if i were an actor/actress with other things going on, i'd be somewhat hesitant to do a show that would only be broadcast on Netflix too.
ReplyDeleteI didn't want there to be a movie. I hate when they turn TV shows into movies. i refuse to see any of them.
ReplyDeleteBut I do miss this show.
Relevance? Honestly?
ReplyDeleteI am fully prepared to eat these words, however...I don't think there's any way they're going to recapture the group dynamic they had during the first run.
It's been 6 years and multiple projects since.
I personally don't see them as actors being able to re-inhabit the characters.
While they're all talented, ain't none of them that good.
Jeez, this is as bad at Damages being on that channel no-one gets.
ReplyDeleteI consider us at the tail end of 2011, so early 2013 is only about a year away. I'd love to see this back on network tv again, I think perhaps it was too innovative and people didn't grasp the rapid pace of the show. When you have been fed a constant diet of Everybody Loves Raymond and King of Queens it might be difficult for some to understand what they were watching in Arrested Development.
I find 30 Rock in the same situation but not as bad as Arrested Development.
I think people would fork over the cash to see new Arrested Development, but what about the movie? Has that been cancelled in favour of this Netflix thing instead?
I think people who gave up their Netflix accounts while Netflix was going through that short but confusing weird adjustment issue and barely a few dollars a month increase (really people, freak out over nothing much?) will come back to Netflix for this.
ReplyDeleteLike The Black Cat said- when the U.S. population is treated like idiots and fed a stream of shitcoms with the same tired jokes and stereotypes of gender, race, class etc. it is like a lovely breath of fresh air when shows like AD are on the air.
I'm glad that Netflix won the bid too- I hate Blockbuster ever since I found out about their Mormon founders- not that Mormons are the deal breaker but rather Blockbuster had no porn nor lesbian/gay films and that is lame.
Netflix was the first to carry all those and more in their library- I've been a loyal customer since 2006 and I am glad this will maybe the the online company the boost it needs again after losing so many people.
Lastly, Enty you speak of our youth-obsessed and throw away culture when you question if a show will have an audience after 6 YEARS- sheesh! Contrary to what the culture wants you to believe there ARE people over the age of 25 who remember the show and can still keep their attention on something that's not contantly in our faces. It's not like were babies or animals and have to have something jiggling in our faces at all times to keep it in our minds.
whoa- tangent over :)
*this will maybe GIVE the online company the boost it needs again..
ReplyDeleteAlso, my point about the porn and the gay/lesbian films are not about whether or not I watch those films but rather that we dont have films that may be enacted to alienate or ignore or marganalize people. And I feel that there is a population of people- lesbians/gay- who have been ignored by Blockbuster as an audience and Im not okay with that. I think Netlfix offering films in this genre is actually more important than people realize- especially because they've been doing it long before it became en vogue to do so.
Glad I have Netfilx!
ReplyDeleteI still use Blockbuster (online), but I will probably get a Netflix account temporarily just so we can watch AD.
ReplyDeleteDidn't they just make the decision that everyone was definitely on board? I didn't know if the writers even had anything written?
@Jasmine - That must have been back in the day, b/c Bbuster def. has a Gay/Lesbian section, at least online.
I absolutely LOVED this show. The only other show that has come close in my heart is Parks & Rec.
ReplyDeleteMy fears for the new season (if you want to really call it that) is that the dynamic will be lost.
Enty is right about Will Arnett and Portia de Rossi. So yeah, will they still have the same steam they had when the show was absolutely flawless? Will any of the actors?
I don't think they could have gotten away with replacing ANY of these actors so I am glad its still the original cast but still..
Oh and Merlin D. Bear - you had me up until your last sentence. Only part I disagree with. I think each of them have phenomenal acting ability. Being able to suspend reality & believe these characters to be real people was one of the main reasons I liked this show so much.
ReplyDeleteAnd for the love of bacon, I hope Liza Minnelli reprises her role as Lucille 2.
So happy AD is coming back. I think the actors & actresses are talented enough to bring back the magic that was AD.
ReplyDeleteWhy would a 6 year old (or any child) watch this show? I can not imagine this show appealing to kids...
I don't think AD is coming back as a regular series, I think this is the set of shows that are tied to the movie, right? They were going to do a limited run with one episode for each character to get caught up on their lives. So I imagine some of the actors will be in more than one episode, but people with other shows like Will & Portia can just do their own episodes, or maybe do quick pop-ins on one or two others.
ReplyDeleteLelaina- good to know girl, thanks for letting me know:)) That's awesome news to hear.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, they did do this back in the day. And not to nit pick but just cause they're doing it now doesnt mean they're all that awesome-following the trends to make sales isnt the same as originating or initiating the acceptance of that particular genre ala Netflix.
I loved AD but I think the zeitgeist has passed. Let's all let it be a wonderful memory.
ReplyDelete