Netflix has released a new trailer for the long-awaited fifth season of Arrested Development, which reveals that it will premiere May 29 on Netflix. The announcement comes as a surprise and relief to fans who have been eagerly waiting for news on the new season ever since season 4 aired in 2013.
While the trailer leans heavily on references and nostalgia, a lot has changed since the most recent season. The trailer is a mere 1 minute and 44 seconds long, but there’s so much to unpack here. Here’s a quick rundown of the standout moments: Lindsey (Portia de Rossi) reveals she’s running for Congress; Buster (Tony Hale) has upgraded his hook to a robotic hand; Tobias (David Cross) has hair plugs; and Maeby (Alia Shawkat) shows off some of her own radical new hairstyles.
The rest of the family is here, too, including George Michael (Michael Cera), Lucille (Jessica Walter), and Bluth family patriarch George Sr. (Jeffery Tambor). We’re also graced with classic Gob (Will Arnett) outbursts and, as always, Michael (Jason Bateman), threatening to leave the family.
Lindsey’s political campaign and the Bluth’s bid for the “Family of the Year” award seem to be the main plot events here, but it all feels like classic Bluth. It’s exciting to see the show returning to its original format after the polarizing Rashomon-style storytelling of season 4, which had to make liberal use of cameos to account for the uneven and chaotic shooting schedule that made it difficult to get the entire Bluth family back together in a way fans were hoping for.
If you need a refresher of what happened in season 4 before season 5 shows up (it’s been five years, after all), you’re in luck. This new trailer comes just days after a re-edited version of season 4 debuted on Netflix. It remixes the season’s original, single-character-focused episodes into a more traditional format.
Speaking of traditional formats, it’s unclear whether all 17 episodes of the new season will be available all at once in a binge-friendly format, or if Netflix will opt for releasing just a few episodes at a time, similar to how its airing The Unbeatable Kimmy Schmidt’s fourth season one episode at a time, or how Hulu is releasing the new season of Handmaid’s Tale. Either way, we only have to wait until May 29 to find out.
