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The whole Bluth family is on board for a fifth season of 'Arrested Development'

Rick Marshall
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Fans of Arrested Development began the year on a high note with news that a fifth season of the celebrated series was on the way and now star Jason Bateman has confirmed that things are moving along with the next arc of the show.

Bateman announced via Twitter that he was officially signed on for more episodes of the acclaimed series, indicating that he was getting ready to put a few more miles on the ol’ airline stair car in the near future.

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Look very probable I'm going to put some miles on the Stair Car this summer. Just officially signed on to more ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT today.

— Jason Bateman (@batemanjason) May 12, 2017

Earlier this year, Arrested Development executive producer Brian Grazer indicated that a deal with the cast was mere weeks away from being finalized, but it apparently took a little longer than expected for everything — and everyone — to fall into place for the fifth season.

Five days after Bateman gave every Bluth fan hope for a new season, Netflix officially announced season five of Arrested Development is coming. Bateman will have to endure his entire fictional family in the new season as the entire main cast is returning. But, this season may finally give fans what season 4 was glaringly lacking: More scenes with the entire cast together.

One of the major criticisms of Arrested Development‘s first season on Netflix was how each episode focused on a singular Bluth family member, leaving few scenes with the notorious family together. Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos seems to suggest that season 5 will fix that. “Season 4 marked the first foray by Netflix into original comedy programming and this time, the Bluths will collectively be spending more quality time with their millions of fans around the world.”

Season 5 of Arrested Development is set to be available for your streaming pleasure on Netflix in 2018.

Originally airing from 2003 to 2006 on Fox, Arrested Development followed the dysfunctional adventures of the Bluth family as they navigated the collapse of their family business and various other misadventures. Despite winning multiple Primetime Emmy Awards, the show was canceled after its third season, only to be revived in 2013 on Netflix with a new season that unfolded in a nonlinear format but featured much of the same cast and tone that made the show such a hit. Netflix has yet to indicate how many episodes the fifth season will run or what format it will be presented in when it does return.

Along with Bateman’s Michael Bluth, the show’s featured cast includes Michael’s son George Michael (Michael Cera), his father George Bluth Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor), his mother Lucille (Jessica Walter), his brothers George “Gob” Oscar Bluth II (Will Arnett), Buster Bluth (Tony Hale), sister Lindsay Funke (Portia de Rossi), Lindsay’s husband, Tobias (David Cross), and their daughter, Maeby (Alia Shawkat).

Updated on 05-17-2017 by Keith Nelson Jr: Added Netflix’s official announcement for season 5 and cast information.

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Rick Marshall
Rick Marshall
Former Digital Trends Contributor
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
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