[Televisionary]

Fans eagerly awaited the return of Arrested Development , brought back from the TV graveyard by Netflix. Jace Lacob on why the show’s fourth season revival falls flat. At The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, " Arrested Development : Why Netflix’s Revival Failed," in which I review Season 4 of Netflix's Arrested Development revival, for which all 15 episodes were released yesterday. Unfortunately, despite my obsession with Arrested Development 's first few seasons, I didn't enjoy this at all. If you have an Internet connection, you know Arrested Development returned from the dead on Sunday, with all 15 episodes of the show’s fourth season available on Netflix on the same day. This strategy falls in line with the other original series rollouts that the streaming platform has launched this year, from House of Cards to the abysmal Hemlock Grove, given the belief that Netflix wants to offer the viewer “choice” as to how it consumes content: will yo...

Netflix has finally announced a launch date for Season 4 of Arrested Development , the beloved cult comedy which the streaming platform has brought back to life. Over at The Daily Beast, I've got a brief post up, " Arrested Development Finally Gets a Release Date," about the fact that Netflix has finally announced the launch of Season Four of Arrested Development . (Thank god.) Back up the stair car, there’s no need to be blue: Netflix has finally announced a return date for Arrested Development. Mitch Hurwitz’s oddball comedy, which aired on Fox between 2003 and 2006 and revolved around the Bluth clan of Orange County, was resurrected last year by the streaming video provider, which announced today that it will release the fourth season of Arrested Development to subscribers on Sunday, May 26. (That’s right, you can mark your calendars now: May 26 will be the day that the Internet will break in half.) All 15 episodes of Arrested Development will be available...

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Get your frozen bananas ready: it's official. Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz and Jim Vallely are working on script for the highly anticipated feature film version of Arrested Development . Film, which will be produced by Imagine and Fox Searchlight, will once again revolve around the eccentric and highly spoiled Bluth family of Orange County... that is once the producers can iron out what are likely to be numerous scheduling complications. Stay tuned... ( Hollywood Reporter ) Rachel Bilson ( The O.C. ) has been cast in a "potentially pivotal" role on CBS' How I Met Your Mother , leading several to wonder if Bilson will be playing the mom herself, though currently Bilson is signed to only appear in one episode. Or is that just a smokescreen? Hmmm... ( E! Online's Watch with Kristin ) Monet Mazur ( 40 Days and 40 Nights ) has been cast in a potentially recurring role on CBS' NCIS: Los Angeles , whe...

Now the story of a wealthy family who lost everything and the one actor who had no choice but to keep them all together. It's Arrested Development . Yep, Michael Cera has finally signed on to the big screen version of Arrested Development , according to E! Online's Watch with Kristin , and will reprise his role as George Michael Bluth. (Not to be confused with the singer-songwriter.) E! Online is reporting that cast holdout Cera will join Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, Tony Hale, Jessica Walter, Jeffrey Tambor, and David Cross in the feature version of Arrested Development , which is reportedly going to be written by series creator Mitch Hurwitz and directed by Ron Howard. Looking for details about a potential storyline for the Arrested film? You're sadly out of luck. Hurwitz, Howard, and the cast are said to be extremely tight-lipped about any plot points for the feature film, which will be produced by Fox Searchlight and may be filmed as early as this year...

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. I'm still recovering from the, er, excesses of the past holiday week and still have a stack of screeners to get through before the New Year. Paging GOB Bluth: Will Arnett is ready to reunite with his Arrested Development co-stars for the big screen debut of the Bluth clan as Ron Howard and Mitch Hurwitz rally the troops. "It’ll be fun to get back together with everybody and work on it,” says Arnett. “It’s been so long now, we almost have to do it. It’s like we have to finish the joke.” Arnett meanwhile offers his trademark comedic spin on the Arrested film in an amusing jab at the state of the economy. ( Entertainment Weekly 's Hollywood Insider ) Dexter 's Lauren Velez will guest star in a multiple-episode story arc on ABC's Ugly Betty this season; she'll play Elena, a nurse who becomes entangled in the lives of the Suarez clan. POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING: Details are sketchy but there is word that she is in...

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. I'm still depressed from yesterday's news about Pushing Daisies but another fantastic episode of 30 Rock (and the hilarious Nightman-laden season finale of It's Always Sunny ) helped remove some of the sting. One piece of good news: it seems like that Arrested Development feature film might actually be happening. After a host of rumors, there's finally some solid intelligence on the big screen adaptation moving forward. Series creator Mitch Hurwitz and executive producer Ron Howard have signed deals for the project, which would be released by Imagine and Fox Searchlight. Hurwitz will write the script and co-direct the feature with Howard. Me, I'm pleased as punch about this news. If there's one series that I feel could work on the big screen, it's Arrested Development . Hell, just think of the DVD sales alone. ( Hollywood Reporter ) Looking for a fix of Lost ? ABC has released a new promo for Season Five...

My spider sense was tingling this morning as I perused the latest casting listings. Imagine my surprise when I had a full on geek attack upon noticing that, just days after Baby Buster landed recurring roles on both Chuck and Samantha Who , George Bluth Sr. himself was just cast in one of the few midseason pilots that I am eagerly anticipating. Apparently, it pays to be an Arrested Development vets these days. Jeffrey Tambor was cast in Rob Thomas' ABC dramedy pilot Good Behavior (based on the Kiwi series Outrageous Fortune ), where he'll guest star as Hy, Jackie West ( Catherine O'Hara )'s sleazy partner at a low-end pawn shop. I cannot wait to see Tambor and O'Hara face off against one another and hope that he'll stick around in a recurring capacity should the pilot get ordered to series. Also joining the cast of Good Behavior : Desperate Housewives' Gary Cole, who will play Jackie's no-good husband who is sentenced to five years in prison, leadin...

I can't help but get excited when an Arrested Development alum drops by a current television series, so imagine my pleasant surprise when said alum joins the cast of one of my favorite series. It seems like it's been forever (well, January, in fact) since we've even mentioned NBC's action/comedy series Chuck , which I've missed terribly since the series wrapped its freshman year way ahead of the normal timetable due to the writers strike. While the series will relaunch on NBC this fall (complete with, one hopes, a massive marketing and promotional campaign that ties into a DVD box set of the first 13 episodes of Chuck ), there is one notable cast addition for the sophomore season: Arrested Development 's Buster Bluth himself, Tony Hale. Hale, who has turned up on other series since Arrested Development (most notably as a co-star on the short-lived Andy Barker, P.I. ), will recur on Chuck next season as Emmett, the new assistant manager at the Buy More (filling...

Her? In an inspired bit of casting, ABC has snagged Mae Whitman for drama pilot Good Behavior. Written and executive produced by Rob Thomas ( Veronica Mars ) and based on Kiwi series Outrageous Fortune , the plot revolves around the Wests, a Las Vegas family of thieves and low-lifes who are forced by their headstrong mother to become model members of society after their patriarch lands in prison with a five-year sentence. (For a more detailed look, here's my rundown of Thomas' hysterical pilot script .) Whitman, best known perhaps for her star turn as George-Michael's devout girlfriend Ann Veal (a.k.a. Egg, Yam, and Ann-Hog) on Arrested Development , will star in Good Behavior 's pilot as 16-year-old Roxy West, a plucky teen who creates a business out of selling the hall passes and excuse slips she has blackmailed from her high school's principal. It's a role that Thomas would have undoubtedly cast Kristin Bell in a few years ago and I think Whitman will be abso...

Is it too good to be true: a mini Arrested Development reunion? Well, sort of. Former Arrested Development cast members Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Henry Winkler will lend their voices to FOX's animated comedy pilot Sit Down, Shut Up! from creator Mitch Hurwitz. The project, based on a live-action Australian comedy series, revolves around the staffers of a high school who are more preoccupied with their own dramas and issues than those of their students. Also joining the cast: Cheri Oteri, Nick Kroll, Will Forte, Tom Kenny, Regina King, and Maria Bamford. While it's not quite the Arrested Development news I've been hoping for (say it with me: feature film, feature film), I'll take what I can get, especially if we can find a way to get Bateman and Arnett in a scene together, even if they're just animated...

Sure, there are more than a few television mothers who are forces for good: paragons of maternal instincts, positive role-models whose children are well-behaved and look up to them or misunderstood martyrs who are just plain unappreciated. But let's be honest: the TV mothers that are the most memorable tend to play their roles in a no-wire-hangers Joan Crawford kind of way. These moms, sometimes as eeevil as can be, are usually a hell of a lot more fun than their Pollyanna counterparts. So who made my list of TV's most memorable meanie moms? Let's take a look. Name: Julie Cooper ( The O.C. ) Actress: Melinda Clarke Likes: Power, money, powerful men with money, decorating large mansions, blackmail, her daughter's cast-off boyfriends, manipulating everyone around her, Newport Living . Dislikes: Ryan Atwood, downsizing, no-fault divorces, getting jilted, being blackmailed, Chino. Acts of Treachery and Wanton Evil: Sleeping with daughter Marisa's high school sweetheart ...

I guess there's no need to cue that melancholy Charlie Brown music. CBS' Innertube has signed a deal with Arrested Development 's Michael Cera (George-Michael, we miss ye!) to create and produce an original short-form series for the broadband service. First up for Cera is The Good Life , which he will write, produce and star in. Innertube has ordered at least eight installments of the scripted series and has retained an option for further episodes; it's the first scripted series at Innertube to be ordered with a talent deal in place. In The Good Life , Cera will star with Clark Duke as would-be television producers who are so enamoured of the project they're shopping that they're totally blind to the fact that the project is going nowhere fast. Hmmm, a self-referential project filled to the brim with self-absorbed, oblivious characters. I could almost pretend it's Arrested Development we're talking about, but I don't want to depress myself this earl...

Arrested Development 's Alia Shawkat (Maeby Funke) has told TV Guide that a feature film adaptation of Arrested Development is in the works. In an interview about her upcoming Lifetime Original Movie, Not Like Everybody Else (premiering tonight at 9 pm ET/PT), Shawkat said, "Mitch actually recently told us that there is a good possibility for a movie, and that he's talking to Ron Howard about it." (So there's hope yet for Arrested fans to see some continuing adventures of the Bluth Family.) As for that other burning question: Will Shawkat and fellow Arrested alum Michael Cera (George Michael Bluth) be returning to Veronica Mars ? According to Shawkat: "The creator [Rob Thomas] was a huge fan of Arrested , and he told us that he would love to have us back. But I know that Michael is busy and I'm in Vancouver right now, and we haven't officially been approached about anything. But it was fun to do." Rob Thomas, if you're listening, there...

It turns out that rather than make a huge mistake, Fox will release the Bluth family from their imposed jail sentence after all... at least on DVD. TV Shows on DVD announced today that Fox Home Entertainment will release the third season of Arrested Development , the sadly cancelled cult comedy, on DVD on August 29th, a full two months after its original planned release date (June 13th). The release will be a two-disc box set containing all of Season Three's thirteen episodes and as- yet-unnamed extras. TVShowsonDVD.com had the following information about the release: "In this Emmy-winning comedy's hilarious third season, Michael Bluth finally realizes that it's his Uncle Oscar serving time in prison, not his father. Reluctant to spring Oscar due to the effect it may have on the family business, Michael decides the only fair thing to do is to find his father and place him under house arrest. Yet once found, George Sr. insists he was tricked into working with the Iraqi...

I am still mourning the loss of Arrested Development , sadly and unceremoniously killed by FOX... and by the departure of creator Mitch Hurwitz, which did in any chance of an eleventh hour rescue from deus ex machina cable net Showtime. But, though the pain is deep, I can't help reminiscing about the good times I shared with Arrested Development 's irrepressible Bluth clan, times in which I was laughing so hard that many around me thought I was drunk. To that end, here are my picks--in no particular order--for my favorite episodes of AD . While there are only five (well, sort of... six) episodes I selected to discuss, there are honestly at least a dozen episodes that could have qualified for my best of Arrested list. So without further ado... "Pier Pressure" Truly one of the classic episodes of Arrested Development that helped further define the show (one other being the truly superlative second episode "Top Banana"). "Pier Pressure" is otherwise...

As if I didn't love Veronica Mars enough. Rob Thomas, writer John Enbom, and the entire Veronica crew not only turned in a simply fantastic episode last night ("The Rapes of Graff"), but also managed to snag Arrested Development 's Alia Shawkat (Maeby Funke) and Michael Cera (George-Michael Bluth) in guest starring roles. Which was especially comforting to me coming on the heels of yesterday's official announcement from 20th Century Fox Television that production would not be resuming on a fourth season of Arrested Development . So it was a particular pleasure then to see Arrested 's kissing cousins George-Michael and Maeby on Veronica Mars last night. Michael Cera was wonderful as affable-yet-bumbling Hearst College tour guide Dean and it was fabulous to see Alia Shawkat in a dramatic turn as rape victim Stacy. Theories abound on whether or not she actually shaved off her magnificent mane, but I can't see Shawkat allowing herself to be sheared; it ha...

For fans of Arrested Development , it looks like the fat lady just sang. Or at least the spokesperson for 20th Century Fox Television. The studio behind Arrested Development issued a statement earlier today that confirmed that the brilliant-but-not-yet-cancelled comedy about the exploits of a certain dysfunctional Orange County family would now unfortunately be referred to as merely brilliant-but-cancelled. A 20th Century Fox Television spokesperson told Variety this morning that the studio had no plans to continue production on the show, which ignominiously ended its third-season run last month with a glorious two-hour death that unfortunately no one watched as it was on up against the opening ceremonies of the Olympics (shame on all of you!). In an official statement printed by Variety, a studio spokesperson tried to cast some doubt that this was in fact the end of the road for the beseiged Bluth family: "While there are no plans to resume production at this time, we know all ...

Variety is reporting today that Arrested Development showrunner Mitch Hurwitz would not continue with the show, should a deal between studio 20th Century Fox and Showtime go through, putting a spanner in any potential deal to save the beleaguered comedy, which recently concluded its (truncated) three season run on Fox. Showtime president Bob Greenblatt had said in the past that Hurwitz was a crucial part of any deal involving Arrested Development . If Hurwitz is no longer part of the package, then there's no possible way for any deal to go forward at Showtime. The reason behind the split? According to Hurwitz, the decision was based on both financial and creative concerns. (Why, Mitch, why?) Hurwitz told Variety: "The fans have been so ardent in their devotion and in return... I've given everything I can to the show in order to try to live up to their expectations. I finally reached a point where I felt I couldn't continue to deliver that on a weekly basis. Of course...

Like the Bluth family, it seems like fans of Arrested Development can't catch a break either. Just a day after a Hollywood Reporter article made it seem as though saying a deal had been reached between Showtime and Mitch Hurwitz would be a stretch, TVShowsonDVD.com is reporting that the third season DVD release of the beleaguered sitcom has been postponed. While the Arrested Development DVD release hasn't been cancelled (thank you, 20th Century Fox, for that), the release of the third season has been pushed from its scheduled berth in June to an as-yet-undetermined date. While I can only keep pleading with Showtime to pick up the show for those 26 episodes (over two years)--and with creator Mitch Hurwitz to sign the deal--it seems as though dark clouds are gathering over the horizon for the show, which has in the past managed to escape death several times already. If that is the case, then all we AD fans have left are those treasured DVD releases. And with only thirteen epi...

Devotees of FOX's scandalously underrated comedy Arrested Development gathered around the box Friday night to watch the show's final four episodes, which effectively wrapped up some dangling plot threads from the last three seasons... while still leaving open the door for the show to possibly return (come on, Mitch and Showtime!). For me, the experience was definitely bittersweet. After waiting so long for any new episodes of Arrested , I devoured the two hours but couldn't quite fathom why FOX would unceremoniously dump the finale during the opening, er, ceremonies of the Olympics. (Haven't we Arrested fans been through enough already, FOX?) Meanwhile, I laughed, I cried, and I had to rewatch some parts over again several times because I was laughing and crying so hard. If you've never watched the show, more's the pity as the following will probably make no sense whatsoever, but to those Arrested -addicts among us, these are ten reasons why the finale rocked:...