Arrested: Tambor, Arnett, Walters, Bateman, Shawkat. S. Volland/Netflix |
The one event I most wish I was at at this winter’s TCA press tour was yesterday’s reunion appearance of the cast of Arrested Development. Executive producer and creator Mitch Hurwitz, along with Portia de Rossi, Michael Cera, Alia Shawkat, Jason Bateman, Jessica Walter, Will Arnett and Jeffrey Tambor were all on stage at the Langham in Pasadena. Tony Hale and David Cross are in the new episodes, too, but were missing yesterday.
Off the air for six years, the comedy returns with 14 new episodes next May on Netflix. The service will offer them all at once, allowing for one, giant, seven hour “binge” viewing. (There are jokes about that in the tweeter feed, below.)
Critics LOVED the original series. I mean, we talk about it in hushed whispers. The next Seinfeld, declared Tim Goodman. Whenever something horrible like Gossip Girl or How I Met Your Mother lurches years beyond its best before date, we all go, “and Arrested Development only lasted two-and-a-half years? Why, God, why??”
The Bluths. Critics blue themselves |
So by all accounts it was a big wet kiss of a reunion Wednesday. You could apparently feel it right from the opening strains of the plunkity-plunk ukulele theme song intro. Even Michael Cera got some love.
Several reporters live blogged the event. You can read their coverage here and here and here.
Among the live reactions Wednesday on Twitter:
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