ALL IN THE FAMILY: The cast of “Arrested Development” in the show’s original incarnation on Fox. (
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‘Arrested Development” has done what The Beatles couldn’t do — reunite all its original members for a highly anticipated return engagement that’s taken on rock-star proportions.
The late, lamented Fox series, which ran for only three seasons (2003-2006) — but spawned a posthumous cult following that’s grown exponentially — returns to life very early this Sunday morning (3:15 a.m.).
That’s when Netflix will open the floodgates and release all 15 of the rebooted show’s new half-hour episodes — which is likely to trigger “Arrest Development” marathons around the country.
Adding to the intrigue surrounding the sitcom — which revolves around the wacky Bluth family — is that series creator Mitch Hurwitz was able to corral all the original core cast members into returning for a limited-run series unavailable on traditional television.
Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Ali Shawkat, Tony Hale, David Cross, Jessica Walter and Jeffrey Tambor are all back in their respective roles, as is offscreen narrator (and series executive producer) Ron Howard.
Also expected to pop up from time to time are family lawyer Barry Zuckercorn (Henry Winkler) and his successor, Bob Loblaw (Scott Baio), known for — what else? — Bob Loblaw’s Law Blog.”
The Bluths et al. are seven years older now, and Hurwitz has apparently written each new episode from each character’s point-of-view — some storylines are said to intersect — in an effort to bring viewers up-to-date since we last left everyone in 2006.
So why all the hoopla? Well, unlike other cancelled shows, “Arrested Development” took on a life of its own once it was dead and buried — thanks to its original loyal fan base, solid DVD sales, T-shirts, the Internet (sites devoted to the show, scenes posted on YouTube, etc.) and a generation of fans too young to appreciate its quirky humor the first time around.
Such was the outcry for fresh “Arrested” material that, at one point, there was talk of a big-screen movie — which gave birth to the Netflix series.
So the gang’s all here: Flustered Michael Bluth (Bateman); his son, George Michael (Cera), who’s madly in love with his cousin, Maeby (Shawkat); Michael’s wifty sister, Lindsay (de Rossi), married to flamboyant wannabe actor Tobias (Cross); Segway-riding magician Gob (pronounced “Jobe”), played by Arnett and immature Buster (Hale); their domineering mother, Lucille (Walter); and shady Bluth patriarch George Sr. (Tambor).
Let the games begin.