Arrested Development season 5 is officially a go for Netflix. No word yet on who from the cast will return, but either way, it’s a terrible, no good idea.
If you remember, Arrested Development first aired on TV for three seasons from 2003 to 2006. It was erroneously cut and has since gained a cult following. You know a sure-fire way to ruin that cult following? Bringing that show back.
And yet that’s exactly what Netflix did (because that’s apparently what Netflix does now. See Fuller House, Wet Hot American Summer, and Gilmore Girls for proof). The show returned for a fourth season and the results were… mixed. Fans were pretty split on whether they liked it or not. The show was kind of odd since they couldn’t arrange the cast’s schedule in order to get everyone in the same room at the same time.
Personally, I hated season four. So much that I couldn’t even get through it all. And now they want to come back for a fifth season.
Why can’t they just leave it well enough alone? I realize that Jason Bateman wants to squeeze every last dollar he can out of the show, but it’s just not fair to the fans. Continuing to produce sub-par episodes of a show that used to be universally adored creates a bad taste in fans’ mouths and can even ruin the original seasons. They are truly ruining their legacy and it’s not cool.
Like I said before, this seems to be Netflix’s M.O. Wet Hot American Summer was hilarious because all the stars were not actually stars at the time, and the whole thing just seemed so random. But the Netflix series First Day of Camp was pretty much the opposite. Not to mention that they had the same problem: the cast was too busy to be in the same room at the same time. So they supplemented with child actors. And not the endearing Stranger Things kind.
We just want our memories of Arrested Development left intact. Is that so much to ask? Much of the cast has done pretty well since the end of the show, so it’s not like they need to money or the publicity (cough, Will & Grace, cough). Jason Bateman has been in countless movies, Will Arnett has BoJack Horseman, Michael Cera had a few indie flicks, Tony Hale has Veep, and Alia Shawkat has Search Party.
Not to mention it’s been more than 10 years since the original series finale. It’s time to leave well enough alone.
