Arrested Development Season 5 Review: 6 Ups And 3 Downs

1. Jeffrey Tambor Is Mishandled

Most of Season 5 had been filmed before the allegations against Jeffrey Tambor surfaced, which is part of the reason the actor is still in Season 5 (along with most of the cast and crew insisting their experiences of working with him were very different to the accounts of people on Transparent).

That's ultimately Mitch Hurwitz's decision, and for the most part Tambor's presence is a background one. He's part of the show's furniture but isn't put into the spotlight too much, yet there are still a couple of problems.

After the now-infamous New York Times interview, it's very uncomfortable to watch any scenes between George Snr and Lucille, knowing how Tambor treated Jessica Walter on set. Had that interview not been released (something Netflix couldn't account for) then it might be different, but the show doesn't exist in that bubble (and besides, it's on those involved with the show to ensure it is a safe and comfortable working environment, regardless of what does or doesn't surface).

Worst of all, though, is how they use Tambor in the opening episodes. We have detectives looking for a red-headed woman, only for it to be revealed it wasn't actually a woman at all, but "cis-male George Snr" in disguise. Then, Howard explains: "George Sr. soon realized his impression of a woman wasn’t going to win him any awards, so he took off in his trailer to Mexico to forget his shameful mistakes.”

That trip to Mexico involved George Snr realising his testosterone levels have plummeted, so he and Gob (still struggling over what happened with Tony) decide to overcompensate by going on a trip to "f*** our way through Mexico."

It may have been filmed before the allegations, but there's absolutely no reason - regardless of Hurwitz standing by him or not - that these scenes couldn't have been cut.

What did you think of Arrested Development Season 5? Let us know down in the comments.