Ladies and gentlemen, make sure you have a sick day to spare in 2013, because it looks like the new season of "Arrested Development" -- yes, all ten episodes -- are going to premiere all at once next year on Netflix.
Yes, there are going to be a lot of A.D. fanboys and fangirls calling in sick with TBA (or perhaps Graft vs. Host?) when the cult favorite comes out. Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos confirmed the plan to release all ten episodes of the fourth season of "Arrested Development" at a National Association of Broadcasters event in Las Vegas.
Vulture reported on the plans and also added that "Arrested" creator Mitch Hurwitz is open to doing a season 5 and season 6 of the show on Netflix and that Bob Loblaw, the attorney-at-law with the eponymous law blog, will make an appearance in season 4.
The biggest news from the NAB convention, however, is the single-day release plan. It's similar to what Netflix did with its first exclusive show, "Lilyhammer," a mobster dramedy with Steven Van Zandt: That crime saga also made its entire first season available in one fell swoop back in early February. Though Netflix hasn't released viewing numbers for that show (and has previously told HuffPost that it will not, ever), it apparently did well enough that Netflix will be airing a second season of the show, according to Vulture.
This likely means that Netflix's other upcoming shows may also get all-at-once releases. Among those shows are the David Mamet-Kevin Spacey drama "House of Cards," currently filming in Baltimore, and the just-announced Eli Roth horror series, "Hemlock Grove."
Though Netflix has been busy acquiring and greenlighting original content -- it's got "Lilyhammer," "Arrested," "House of Cards," "Hemlock Grove," and "Orange Is the New Black," a prison comedy -- that's not the streaming site's long-term goal, per Netflix spokesman Steve Swasey (in an interview with HuffPost a couple months ago). All of these first-run shows are more of a pilot program than a new business plan; the focus is still on acquiring big-name movies and television shows to fill out its (oft-bemoaned) library.
The fourth season of "Arrested Development" is a little different than a new show like "Lilyhammer" or "Hemlock Grove," of course, in that it comes with a built-in set of fans and viewers from its TV (and especially DVD) days. The Hollywood Reporter noted that fan activism on the Internet -- the petitions, the tweets, the emails, the tributes -- spurred Mitch Hurwitz and the show's executive producers into producing a new batch of episodes.
Well, mission accomplished, "Arrested" fans, because the Bluths will be back soon, and when they do come back, it'll be all at once. Ready your favorite couch, recliner or hand chair.
Season 4 of 'Arrested Development' to Premiere All at Once on ...
'Arrested Development' New Season: Netflix to Release Episodes All At Once
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The Huffington Post | By Jason Gilbert Posted: 04/19/2012 10:57 am