Arrested Development Season 4

Now the story of the show whose future got abruptly cancelled, and the one company who had no choice but to bring it back.

It's Arrested Development.

What We Know Going In

Arrested Development has been off the air more than twice as long as it was on it. Debuting in 2003, the story of the uptight, out-of-touch, obnoxious Bluth family hit home-runs with critics everywhere for its clever screenwriting. In the great tragedy of good art, though, what appealed to critics was hopelessly ill-suited for the general public, and the show was axed at the end of its third season. This was due to two factors. The first (according to Internet groundswell) was that Fox is the reason we can never have nice things. (See Firefly, Futurama, and Wonderfalls). But it was also due to Arrested's singular format: unlike the standard sitcom, viewers simply could not jump in at any point, and they couldn't appreciate it without paying fierce attention. Littered with subtle sight-gags, Easter eggs, stunningly inappropriate double entendres, and near-infinite self-referential humor, Arrested rewarded nothing less than devotion. Unfortunately, that wasn't a stellar business model back in the 'Naughts (cue sad music).

To the delight of many fanboys (of which I am one) and fangirls (of which I am not one), Netflix breathed new life/dollars into the franchise, purchasing a fourth season that would debut only on Netflix, and debut all at once—freeing fans to watch the entire season in a single sitting, if they so desired (and had 8 straight hours to burn). The Internet went gaga over the announcement, since Arrested works best on a binge-watching schedule. So, did they succeed, or were they too chicken?

What We Found Out

Season Four tackles the adventures of the Bluth family five years after their ill-fated boat party at the end of Season Three. Utilizing a very LOST-like flashback/flashforward structure, it flits between "5 Years Ago" and "Currently." Additionally, every episode deals with only one character in particular, following his or her capers as they brush against everyone else's (savvy fans will catch onto this quickly and start noticing every time another character invades someone else's plot). The touch-and-release-and-touch-again storytelling technique turns the season into something like a jigsaw puzzle, with the full picture only coming into view halfway through the season.

The new season of Arrested does, indeed, work better in the new format. While Fox aired the show, Hurwitz worked with a slew of constraints, from time to content to complexity. The Netflix format has removed every single one of those. Season Four's episodes average more than 32 minutes and are unfettered by commercials or the FCC. Plot-lines diverge and intersect and then intersect again (two or three or fifteen times), in such a way that the story only makes complete sense with all the context, because almost every single development begins and ends with the Bluth family. It's a twisted, complicated sort of Rube Goldberg machine, all designed to ruin the Bluths.

That, in fact, is where this story most notably diverges from the first three seasons of Arrested Development. In the original run, the Bluths—though hopelessly inept and generally despicable—survived through shady deals and plot-armor. Like scum on the top of a pond, they were universally despised, but impossible to drag off the top for long. 

That rule is off the table for Season Four. Every one of the Bluths is entering the lower ends of their downward spirals. Michael, formerly the only sane man in the family, has descended into full-fledged neuroticism. His siblings are enslaved even more powerfully to their vices, and Mama and Papa Bluth have reached the end of their respective ropes. Even Maeby and George-Michael get in on the grown-up fun, digging themselves deeper and deeper into the self-destructive traditions of their ancestors. The show gets steadily darker as the characters burrow into their strident flaws, and ranges from rollicking hilarity to cringe-inducing.

I won't go into detail about every episode, because—contrary to many other shows—most of the enjoyment results from the surprises, rather than the meat in between them. (Due largely to its status as a comedy, I suspect. Knowing the punchline often ruins a joke, whereas a story can be enjoyed even after you know the ending. Arrested Development is a story, sort of, but it's much more of an extended, complicated joke.)

I will note, though, that this season strides bravely into territory it hasn't explored yet. Rather than cashing in only on old jokes, it spends lots and lots and lots of time laying groundwork for new ones. The characters are thrust into situations we've never seen them in, and boots that have been hovering over everyone for three seasons have finally thumped down on them.

What's Good?

The new season is brilliant. There's no denying it. It takes some time to get there—as with the former seasons, Arrested still rewards nothing less than long-term investment—but when we finally reach the mid-season mark, all the payoff finally starts arriving. The caricatures are just as extreme and delightfully absurd as they used to be. The show still finds innumerable giggles in irreverent wordplay and ridiculously intricate in-jokes, and it is absurdly good at that.

What's Bad?

As I mentioned, it does take quite a long while for the season's payoff to arrive. Viewers who aren't into the obsessive-fan gimmick will not enjoy it very much, because Arrested requires dedication. It's labor-intensive. You've got to work to enjoy it.

In addition, the show has exactly no moral boundaries. Some jokes are relatively innocent wordplay ("My bees are dropping like flies, and I need them to fly like bees"), but they descend quickly into depraved and uncomfortable subjects. It's not a family show in even the loosest sense of the term.

Perhaps the objectively worst aspect of the new season, though, is that nothing is resolved by the end. Every single character is left out on a limb (or drunk at the bottom of the tree), with no particular ending in sight. It's shameless sequel bait, and will leave many viewers dissatisfied, especially if Hurwitz doesn't get to make a movie like he wants to, or if he can't arrange for a fifth season. (This season barely got made in the first place—not because of a lack of money, but because all its actors are involved in other things, which is what forced the unusual "focus on one character per episode" structure. You'll get to know the backs of their heads like never before!)

So, then...

Is it quality? Yes. In terms of comedic storytelling, Arrested Development's newest season is nearly peerless. Its earlier seasons still beat it out in terms of quality, but it's leagues better than most comedies on the market today.

Is it family-friendly? Not by a long way.

Is it daring? 100% yes.

What's the rating? 7/10. Would watch again, but only to catch what I missed.

Her?