Arrested Development Season 5 Review: 6 Ups And 3 Downs
There's (still) always money in the banana stand.
Arrested Development is one of the greatest sitcoms of the century - perhaps, even, of all time - and yet it's also one of the unluckiest.
Never popular when it was actually on air, the show fought and eventually lost against cancellation over the course of its brilliant three-season run on Fox from 2003-06, and was maybe a show ahead of its time (see how similar meta-comedies like Community and 30 Rock arrived in its wake).
That led to the series gaining a cult following, and eventually a little streaming service called Netflix picked it up for a revival. The fourth season, which came back in 2013, was actually quite ambitious in how it tried to utilise the then unknown advantages of streaming, but also, ultimately, a huge mistake.
Five years on they're back again, with creator Mitch Hurwitz recognising the errors of the past and attempting to get things back on track. Is Season 5 as botched an attempt as one of Gob's magic tricks, or will it have you shrieking as if you've just seen Gene Parmesan? It's a little of both, but thankfully more of the latter.