Netflix plans to roll out Arrested Development all in one shot

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Fans of watching an entire season on DVD will rejoice at this news. Show creator Mitch Hurwitz and Netflix Chief Tad Sarandos have confirmed that all ten episodes of the new season will premiere at once on the streaming service. 

Originally, show creator Mitch Hurwitz intended to make the fourth season an anthology that focused on a single character, but has since changed lanes, stating that it “is now kind of evolving into becoming more like the old show again.”  He added, “There’s something exciting about trying to break the form again.”

“There’s going to be some mystery sprinkled throughout this [but] instead of watching one a week and try to get ahead of it, the hope is [fans] will watch them all together and then go back and look for clues and connections,” Hurwitz explained. “We’d also like to use the technology to provide additional material, where you might be able to access another part of the story.”

In terms of releasing the entire series at once, Hurwitz wasn’t concerned about spoilers or twists being revealed en masse, stating that, “It’s comedy. The twists really aren’t as important as the characters.”

Hurwitz also said that he’d like to see a season five or six happen. “We would love this to be the first first of many visits,” Hurwitz said. There are plans to shoot a movie directly after season four, but that doesn’t necessarily close anything out.  Interestingly, Hurwitz also said that Showtime had been in negotiations to acquire the show, but ultimately Netflix had a better business model and an already established fanbase.

“The show’s audience has grown over the last six years because of [viewers streaming it],” Hurwitz said. “It’s been like putting jokes in a bottle and then having them come back years later to say, ‘Ha ha.'”

I’m pretty stoked to see the Bluth family back in dysfunction yet again.  My first viewing of the series was on DVD and I watched every episode of all three seasons all in succession.  Mind. Blown.  It’s a great comedy series and well worth checking out if you’ve never seen it.

What do you guys think about releasing an entire season all in one shot?  Which format do you prefer; serialized or all-in-one?