"Arrested Development" saw a revival in 2013, years after Fox cancelled the show in 2006 after season 3. The show's fourth season was produced and distributed by Netflix, and it is now on its way to a fifth season.
During an interview on the "Adam Carolla Show" podcast (via the Wrap), producer Brian Grazer has confirmed that season 5 is now in development and will premiere sometime in 2016.
According to Grazer, the deal was sealed when he spoke to Fox Studios last Monday, June 29, and that he had just shared the news with "Arrested Development" creator Mitchell Hurwitz at the podcast's greenroom.
"Netflix is determined to do more episodes, so we're going to do more episodes," Grazer explained to Carolla during the podcast.
He then continued to explain that production for the new season will begin shortly after Jan. 1, 2016, with the premiere scheduled to air about four months after that, placing season 5 episode 1 to be shown around the middle of April.
In a previous interview with Bill Simmon's series "B.S. Report," Grazer had stated that the new season would encompass a total of 17 episodes. At the time, pressure was on the studios to continue with the long-gestating movie that would serve as a finale to the series, but it appears that they will press on with at least one season more.
"Arrested Development," an Emmy-winning comedy series, originally aired on Fox from 2003 to 2006 before it was cancelled due to low viewership ratings. During its original run, the series won six Emmy awards and a Golden Globe. Its popularity and cult following led to its revival by Netflix in 2013, leading to the production of a fourth season and now a fifth.
According to a report from IGN, the fourth season had to focus on individual characters instead of the usual large ensemble due to the conflicting schedules of the actors. The report cites that the series is attempting to return to the original ensemble format for season 5.
