Arrested Development star David Cross gave fans a look behind-the-scenes of the grueling process he and the cast endured while filming Season 5. Arrested Development is a one-of-a-kind sitcom. The story followed Michael Bluth as he tried to reign in his zany (yet wealthy) family and save them from the constant threat of economic collapse. It first aired on Fox in 2003 and only ran for three seasons. The show embraces a sense of humor similar to the past decade's meme culture, which caused the show's surge in popularity and inspired its revival.
Netflix revived it for Season 4 ten years after it was originally canceled by Fox in 2013. The series was criticized by fans and deemed inferior to the prior three seasons. Despite the backlash, Netflix ordered Season 5, and it was released on Netflix five years later in 2018. However, Jessica Walter, who played matriarch Lucille Bluth, accused her on-screen husband Jeffrey Tambor of verbally harassing her on set. Her cast members initially defended Tambor; however, Walter persisted and explained she had never worked with someone so verbally aggressive in her 60-year career, and some eventually backed up her claims. Tambor issued an apology at the time, but it seems the damage has been done.
Arrested Development Needs To End After A Disappointing Season 5
"It's over," Cross told Matt Wilstein of Arrested Development on Daily Beast's "The Last Laugh" podcast. Cross, who played socially awkward, aspiring actor Tobias Fünke, outlined the frustrating process of filming Arrested Development Season 5 with Netflix. He shared that he and the rest of the cast would not receive scripts until the day they showed up to set to film that scene. He also added that they would receive massive rewrites and have to refilm entire scenes that they had already completed weeks prior. The rewrites significantly prolonged the filming process, which he explains the actors, especially the older ones, found exhausting. He hinted that the conditions only heightened the tension between Tambor and Walter.
“I think it’s all the things that led up to those kinds of things becoming an issue on set. It was a difficult process for everybody—exceptionally difficult if you’re older. And it was, you know, not good. It wasn’t good for the actors, that’s for sure. We didn’t know what we were supposed to do, things weren’t making sense to us, and we were doing reshoots on things because somebody thought of a joke, you know, three weeks later, so we had to reshoot something for a story thing that we had no concept of what was happening. I mean, it was a terrible way for actors to try to do what they do, and there were a lot of frustrations early on, the shoot kept extending. And you know, you’re asking a lot of people, and especially older people who just don’t have the physical stamina that some younger cast and crew do. And it led to some tensions and it was just a very bad way to work.”
Cross believed that creator Mitch Hurwitz had the best intentions for Seasons 4 and 5. He admired Hurwitz's creative direction, which is why he described it as a "really cool trippy puzzle" and an "interesting experiment."
As Cross stated, Hurwitz did the best he could with what he was given. For Season 4, his actors were busy with other projects, so he changed the show's format. While many fans felt that the new structure was too far of a shift, it was an innovative solution to work with the actors' schedules. After fans' feedback, Hurwitz reverted to the show's original format for Season 5. However, due to the complications that Cross mentioned, Season 5 became a slowly sinking ship, which was evident to viewers.
However, cast and fans alike can agree that the show's revival was a failed experiment. Fans felt remorseful that Arrested Development's latter two seasons tampered with the show's strong legacy. Even though there was talk of a Season 6, many cast members were confident and likely hoped that it wouldn't happen. At this rate, the wisest decision for Arrested Development is to leave well enough alone.
Next: Arrested Development: Why There's Always Money In The Banana Stand
Source: Daily Beast