Netflix casts doubt over a possible season 6 of Arrested Development. First airing in 2003, Arrested Development stars Jason Bateman as show protagonist Michael Bluth, who is forced to deal with his extremely dysfunctional family after his father is imprisoned. The series also stars Will Arnett, Jeffrey Tambor, Tony Hale, Jessica Walter, Michael Cera, and David Cross.
Its unique and quirky humor built Arrested Development up to be one of the most acclaimed comedies on television, and fans mourned when FOX canceled the show after only three seasons. Netflix eventually revived the sitcom, only for season 4 to be met with decidedly mixed reviews from fans. This year's season 5 sought to right the ship, but received only slightly better notices.
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Netflix revealed its doubt over the future of Arrested Development this weekend, during the Television Critics Association press tour in California. TV Line reported how Netflix’s Vice President of original content, Cindy Holland, was the one to shed light on the streaming giant’s thoughts concerning the comedy. When asked if Netflix would renew Arrested Development, Holland bluntly admitted, “I actually don’t know if [Season 6] is a possibility or not. We haven’t discussed it at all.”
Arrested Development’s arguably dwindling quality of episodes aside, there are more complex factors at play with Netflix’s debate over continuing the series. Back in May - right before the premiere of season 5 - a searing New York Times interview came out with the entire cast of Arrested Development. During the interview, Walter (Lucille Bluth on the series) accused her co-star and on-screen husband Tambor (George Bluth Sr.), of verbally harassing her on set many times. The interview sparked quite a bit of controversy, as many rallied against both Tambor’s actions and the subdued reactions of co-stars such as Bateman, whose comments explaining that “certain people have certain processes” were seen as poor justifications for Tambor’s abusive behavior.
This was, of course, the second recent controversy involving Tambor. The actor was embroiled in another heated issue back in November of 2017 when, as part of the then-just beginning #metoo movement, his former assistant Van Barnes and his Transparent co-star Tracy Lysette accused Tambor of sexual harassment. The allegations sparked an investigation of Tambor’s actions, which then led Amazon to drop the actor from Transparent’s upcoming season 5. The combination of these controversies together has created a bit of a black mark on Tambor, and this could conceivably be a major factor in Netflix’s hesitation about a season 6 renewal of Arrested Development. Only time will tell if Netflix takes a risk and renews the series once more, or if Arrested Development will be left to conclude with season 5.
More: 20 Hilarious Running Jokes on Arrested Development
Source: TV Line