Arrested Development star Jason Bateman has revealed why he thinks the cult sitcom is so funny. Arrested Development originally ran from 2003 to 2006, and though the comedy series received huge critical acclaim across the board at the time, ratings steadily declined over seasons 1 to 3. This led Fox to cancel Arrested Development, but over the years, the show became a cult classic, with many considering it one of the best sitcoms of the 2000s. This led to a revival of the series as Netflix picked it up for a season 4 and 5, the latter of which concluded in 2019.
Arrested Development follows the formally wealthy Bluth family as Micheal (Bateman), the only responsible Bluth, tries to keep them from going completely bust while desperately attempting to set a good example for his teenage son (Micheal Cera). The family includes imprisoned father George (Jeffrey Tambor), hypercritical matriarch Lucille (Jessica Walter), failed magician Gob (Will Arnett), spoiled sister Lindsay (Portia de Rossi), and man-child Buster (Tony Hale). Arrested Development has proved itself extremely quotable, and its unique sense of humor and well-crafted running gags have been credited with influencing many single-camera comedies like 30 Rock and Community.
Now, Bateman has explained the key to what makes Arrested Development so hilarious: how seriously the characters take their ridiculous lives. In an interview with The Guardian, Bateman states that the sitcom is actually more like a drama for its ensemble of characters. The comedy, he feels, comes from the fact that the Bluth family has no idea how funny they really are. Read the actor's comments below:
“This is not funny to anybody inside the show. This is a drama to them. Almost like an animal documentary, where you’re watching these freaks, and how they gather their food, and how they make their house. And let’s make sure we all whisper because we don’t want these folks to know how much we’re laughing at them."
Ron Howard’s omniscient narration, often timed perfectly to contradict and subtly mock the characters on screen, certainly works with Bateman’s view of Arrested Development as some kind of animal documentary. Arrested Development’s characters always seemed a little out-of-touch with reality, and them not knowing the genre of the show they’re in is a perfect explanation for why the sitcom continues to be so beloved nearly 20 twenty years since it first premiered. The Bluth family’s total lack of self-awareness and selfish behavior in almost every situation makes them perfect subjects for a documentary-esque comedy about the formerly rich.
Over the years, more creators seem to have picked up on what makes Arrested Development so successful. The sitcom’s approach to making fun of the formerly well-off Bluths seems like an obvious influence on the riches-to-rags story of Schitt’s Creek, as well as the morally ambiguous characters of the ultra-wealthy Roy family in dramedy Succession. Arrested Development may be officially finished, but new fans discover it every day; and its influence on 21st-century comedy is truly legendary.
Source: The Guardian