‘Arrested Development’ season five deal is just weeks away

By Mike Flacy Published January 12, 2017

As Netflix and the cast of Arrested Development discuss salary demands, executive producer Brian Grazer believes a production deal will close within the coming weeks. Due to the popularity of the actors and actresses on the show, it’s been difficult for Netflix to create a production schedule that would include the entire cast. The last season of the popular series appeared on Netflix during 2013.

Speaking about the upcoming deal, Grazer told The Wrap “I think we’re really close to pulling it off finally. All of the actors have agreed to do it and I think they’ve agreed to their compensation structure. That’s been the hardest–it’s all hard… But it should be happening soon.” Grazer previously believed that a deal was going to be solidified during 2015, but that didn’t come to pass.

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The entire cast includes Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Portia de Rossi, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter, Tony Hale, Will Arnett, David Cross, and Alia Shawkat. In addition, director Ron Howard serves as the narrator. It’s obvious that scheduling difficulties have been an issue since the cast has been quite busy. For instance, Bateman has appeared in multiple movies since 2013, Tambor is busy with the lead role in the Emmy-award winning Transparent on Amazon, and Tony Hale moved onto Veep on HBO.

Arrested Development originally aired on Fox during 2003 and continued for three seasons before cancellation. During that time period, the show won multiple Emmy awards including Outstanding Comedy Series. After Fox cancelled the show, Netflix added the series to the company’s streaming service. Due to the show’s popularity among streaming subscribers, Netflix made a deal to bring the show back for a fourth season which aired during 2013.

Interestingly, show creator Mitch Hurwitz stated last year that he completed a re-cut of season 4 that breaks the 15-episode season into 22 episodes that run 22 minutes each; ideal for television syndication. That re-cut includes previously unused footage as well as new narration from Ron Howard. It’s unclear if those 22-minute episodes will appear on Netflix at some point or be sold into syndication.

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