After making Arrested Development fans’ dreams come true by reviving the cult hit for a fourth season in 2013, Netflix promised a season 5 as well — at some indeterminate point in the future. Fortunately, series creator Mitch Hurwitz was a little more specific about the timeline Wednesday. He revealed during a Television Critics Association press event that a fifth season could start shooting as soon as early 2017, reports Variety.
Hold off on that celebratory drink, though, because, as Hurwitz mentioned, details are still being worked out. The scenario he described still sounds uncertain, and season 5 may not be a given. “If it does happen,” he said, “it looks like the shooting will start at the beginning of 2017.”
What is promising, though, is Hurwitz’s enthusiasm for the project. He and writers have been hard at work on a fifth season, and he shared that they are “ready to go” with “a lot of the stories.”
“It’s the thing I’m really desperate to do,” he said.
Fans are definitely equally desperate, based on the way news broke about the latest details on the series. The inquiry about season 5 came during a press tour that wasn’t even centered on Arrested Development — the focus was supposed to be fellow Netflix comedies BoJack Horseman, F Is for Family, and Lady Dynamite. Hurwitz was attending as the co-creator of Lady Dynamite.
Whether or not Arrested Development begins shooting in early 2017, it sounds like both Netflix and Hurwitz are committed to bringing more episodes to fans eventually. It can’t be easy bringing together a cast that includes the likes of Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Portia de Rossi, Michael Cera, Jeffrey Tambor, Alia Shawkat, Tony Hale, David Cross, and Jessica Walter. It seems safe to say, at least, that we won’t have to wait seven years, like we did between seasons 3 and 4, for more of the crazy Bluth family.
