Arrested Development Season 3 Discussion Thread

[davepeck]

March 21, 2006

Still no \'Development\' in Showtime\'s future

By Ray Richmond

A cat has nothing on "Arrested Development," which has to be somewhere in the double digits when it comes to lives amassed. Simply surviving for the better part of three abysmally rated seasons on Fox was worth a good half-dozen life spans alone. And lately, the rumor mill has been working overtime to give the Emmy-winning comedy another handful or so.

The show\'s traveling to Showtime has been trumpeted in various media as a done deal repeatedly since late last year. And then, somehow, it doesn\'t get done, giving us all license to write cutesy headlines like "Showtime Can\'t Get \'Arrested\' -- Yet."

So fervent is "Arrested Development\'s" cult following that the mere possibility of Showtime\'s picking it up and producing more originals has proven a badge of enormous goodwill for the pay cabler. Arguably, the ongoing scuttlebutt is at least equally beneficial to actually ordering and running the show.

Never before has so much been written about and speculated upon with regard to a program that averaged a 6 share. It\'s the underachieving stalwart that we won\'t allow to die, an ongoing symbol of art triumphing over commerce. Yet for the moment, it remains simply another homeless property stuck in neutral.

Be that as it may, let\'s take a moment to separate "Arrested Development" fiction from "Arrested Development" fact.

n Fiction: The show has already been snapped up by Showtime to the tune of a 26-episode order, which will be announced any day. Fact: Showtime\'s hands are tied, pending a decision by "Arrested\'s" creator and executive producer, Mitch Hurwitz, who is said to be physically and mentally drained and undecided whether he wants to come back for more.

n Fiction: FX is also in the bidding for "Arrested Development." Fact: There is no bidding. ABC was once in the mix but is thought to have dropped out, leaving it a Showtime-or-nobody proposition.

n Fiction: Hurwitz can take his time making a decision because the actors and writers love the job so much they\'ll wait it out. Fact: Contractually, Hurwitz has basically until June to go forward (or not). After that, he loses most of the cast and writing staff.

n Fiction: If Hurwitz wants to keep the show in production, Showtime is on board no matter what. Fact: The word is that Hurwitz would require huge wads of cash to be lured back, and there are surely limits to Showtime entertainment president Robert Greenblatt\'s largesse (even at the "No Limits" network). But if a deal can be worked out, the cabler is apparently indeed on board to commit to 26 new originals over two seasons.

Hurwitz -- difficult to snare for interviews over the past year and pretty much impossible lately -- couldn\'t be reached for comment, while Showtime merely confirmed its ongoing interest in the property. But it\'s as easy to see this thing falling apart as coming together, given the guru\'s ambivalence and the fact an agreement would require Showtime to lay out upwards of $60 million for a series with iffy mainstream appeal at best.

Showtime would naturally be counting on "Arrested Development" to bring in scads of press and a sizable bump in its subscriber base so as to justify such a pricey proposition. But it has already shown it will put up big money to turn out projects it believes in, such as the drama "Huff" (which launches Season 2 on April 2) and the limited-run series "Sleeper Cell."

As Greenblatt has previously stressed, his network has the luxury of attracting a niche audience to a quirky show like "Arrested" and claiming it a major success. The bigger question in the meantime is whether the man who fathered it will ultimately succumb to the dreaded Bluth Burnout or answer the bell for Round 4. If he knows, he\'s not telling.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/columns/the_pulse_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002199854

[skalnbyc]

al,

unfortunately, the thing that makes this show so great is also the thing that puts up a brick wall for newcomers.. there are a TON of subtle \'inside\' jokes, which refer to previous episodes. i couldn\'t possibly expect someone to watch for the first time last night and fall in love with the show.

that said, pick up the first season dvds from Amazon, and go from there. you will NOT be disappointed.

Wow!!

Little bit of a laggard on following your advice from last fall, but I finally caught season 1 on Netflix last night.

That was a great show!!  I kept watching each successive episode and couldn\'t seem to shut the tv off.  Too bad people would rather watch all the garbage that is currently on tv.  Such an engaging show with a continuum of great scenes.  

Great suggestion, D.Peck!!


Best of Jason Bateman since \'Hogan Family\' and \'Teen Wolf Too\'

[OMS]

does anyone have season 3 on their comp that they\'d be willing to AIM over to me? thanks people

[Overexjoesure]

No news yet on the Season 3 DVD release

[skalnbyc]

Best of Jason Bateman since \'Hogan Family\' and \'Teen Wolf Too\'

[Me!]

Showtime to pick up Arrested Development?

Cable network reportedly picks up 26 episodes, but nets are mum on the truth.

The New York Post\'s Page Six gossip column reports that cable network Showtime has picked up 26 episodes of the canceled cult sitcom Arrested Development. The show was axed by Fox after three seasons of Emmy-winning hilarity due to perennially low ratings. Neither network had anything to say officially.

In January, Showtime president Peter Greenblat told reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour that his network was seriously considering picking up the show.

"I always thought it was probably a better fit on a cable network than on a broadcast network," Greenblatt said. "And you know, in fact, I think it really does fit in with a lot of the things that we\'re doing."

The deal was contingent upon the involvement of show creator Mitchell Hurwitz--at the time, he was having reservations about continuing with the show after three years of stressful dealings with Fox.

"I think he\'s the genius behind it, and he hasn\'t yet come to that decision to continue the show," Greenblatt said of Hurwitz.

Arrested Development averaged around 4 million viewers a week in its third and final season, paltry by broadcast TV standards but huge for a cable network like Showtime. In contrast, ****s, a popular Showtimes series, averages less than 500,000 viewers a week. Even king of the cable hill HBO commands only a few million viewers per week for its non-Sopranos shows--the Mafia-inspired drama, which returns March 16, garners 10 million to 11 million viewers a week.

source

[davepeck]

By Colin Mahan - TV.com
March 1, 2006 at 01:55:00 PM

it didn\'t happen.

[Spacey]

I thought Showtime passed on this a while ago, so they want it now? or was it Cinemax that passed on it?

[Me!]

By Colin Mahan - TV.com
March 1, 2006 at 01:55:00 PM

it didn\'t happen.

sorry was lookin for info about ****s season 2 which is supposed to start in August , but couldn\'t find anything but found that oh well sorry to get anyone\'s hopes up

[davepeck]

i think you should take a week off from the internet, mandler! :lol:

[Me!]

:shrug:

I just need to learn to think before I post.....
it\'s too early for that thinking shit though

[leith]

Picked up Season 3 today and discovered I had missed 2 episodes! Prison Break-In and S.O.B.\'s were an extreme delight to watch.

[OMS]

picked it up today too

[skalnbyc]

Aside from Jeffrey Tambor and Jason Bateman, did any of the other characters experience fame prior to Arrested Development?