Netflix Eyes Another Season of ‘Arrested Development’
After new episodes of Arrested Development surpassed expectations, Netflix is considering signing the show for another season. “We are in conversations with [Netflix] to do another,” Brian Grazer, co-chairman of Arrested Development‘s production company, Imagine Entertainment, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “They are interested in doing that.”
‘Arrested Development’: What We Learned From Season Four
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has said the new, long-awaited season of Arrested Development has exceeded viewing expectations but hasn’t revealed numbers. In February, Hastings seemed firm when he said the show’s latest season was “a fantastic one-off,” despite the heated anticipation. “Arrested is a unique property, we don’t anticipate being able to do Season Five, Six and Seven,” he said. “I think it will be amazing for us, but think of it as a nonrepeatable amazing.”
Hastings walked back those statements in May. “If the talent were willing to do more, and interested in that, I’m sure we would be willing,” he said. Grazer and co-producer Ron Howard also hinted at interest in bringing back Arrested Development to Netflix in an interview with Rolling Stone that month.
“We found that Arrested Development is a binge-viewing experience, and Netflix could provide us with a way to satiate that audience. They were the only outlet that could do that,” Grazer said. “Fox was really good to us. They stayed with the show as long as they could. Maybe it would have been better on cable, sure. Hard to say.”