Interview: Arrested Development

Let us give thanks. The new series of Arrested Development is actually, finally, here. The latest season of the beloved show will be released on Netflix shortly, with 15 episodes available immediately for fans to devour in one hungry, belated binge.

Originally screened on Fox between 2003 and 2006, the cult comedy stars Jason Bateman as the ill-fated Michael Bluth, at the epicentre of a quirky, dysfunctional family. The cast also includes comedian David Cross, Portia de Rossi, Jeffrey Tambor, Tony Hale, Michael Cera and Alia Shawkat.  
Despite winning the Emmy for outstanding comedy in its debut season, Arrested Development was never a ratings smash. Receiving little support from Fox, it limped its way to a shortened third season. The final episodes were broadcast opposite the opening ceremonies of the 2006 Winter Olympics. The in-jokes, the surreal comedy, the never-nudes – all were gone.
But even after the cancellation, word of mouth kept Arrested Developmental alive. It was a DVD and download hit, with smarter viewers drawn to its wit and subversive humour.
The cast never gave up hope that they’d one day return to their roles.
“Pretty early, there was a very strong online presence,” explains David Cross, who plays the effeminate and never-nude Tobias. “There was a protest involving Barack Obama and one guy had a sign saying ‘Bring back Arrested Development’. And that was early.”
Cross puts the cancellation down to Fox’s now outdated way of measuring ratings, which failed to take online viewing into account.
“Arrested Development was unfortunately the victim of bad timing, in that networks were still behind, in figuring out how people were watching TV. We knew, because we were amongst fans and they were always telling us, ‘I couldn’t see it when it was on. We DVR or TiVo or get a bunch of people and watch it together, or get the DVDs’. We knew that then. It just took all of network TV to start figuring out how to assess how people were watching. They were still in that antiquated way that started in the ‘50s, those Nielsen blocks.”
The network wasn’t subtle about letting the actors know that their time was limited.
“Outside of the first season, it didn’t feel warmly received,” says Cross. “We understood we were a burden to them. Someone very involved with the show said, ‘The worst thing that happened to Fox was Arrested winning the Emmy – because they had to keep it on.’ And in their defence, it was not a cheap show. They’re a business. And when I say Fox, I really mean network TV. They’re not in the business of making great TV, they’re in the business of making as much money as they can for Rupert Murdoch – which is all of our goals (laughs).”
Jeffrey Tambor, who plays Bluth patriarch George Snr, admits Fox’s lukewarm feelings were palpable.
“Those last six weeks were painful. It was like dating a girl that doesn’t quite get you.”
Though the cast have immediately snapped back into the mindset of their quirky characters and the comfortable, easy rapport they share with one another, they admit that by the time the show was cancelled, the set had become a very unpleasant place to be – even the show’s creator was growing desperate.
“Mitch was writing stuff into the final episodes that was a little gimmicky,” Cross proffers. “If you look carefully they were really very urgent flares, saying, ‘We’re going to get cancelled if more people don’t watch this show’. For several months, we were going to work not knowing if it was going to be our last day. And that’s a stressful way to do your job.”
By the time the show was cancelled, the stress had overtaken the joy.
“Not to be insensitive,” Cross continues, “but it was kind of like the death of somebody that was dying, in that it was seemingly inevitable and everyone’s going through this tortuous process. Then it was that sense of getting on with your life and moving on. So it was a bit of a relief. The writing was on the wall early in the third season.” The youngest member of the cast, Alia Shawkat was a relative unknown before she played the stubborn Maeby. She was not slow to criticise Fox’s handling of the affair.
“My mother was furious with me!” she recalls. “I did this one interview where I was talking about how Fox were shit, they didn’t advertise at all and my mother was like, ‘Alia, you’ll never get hired by Fox again!’ And I haven’t since! So while I don’t feel the backlash too much, it is present.”
For Shawkat and co-star Michael Cera, returning to Arrested Development now as seasoned actors was an interesting experience. As well as launching their comedy careers, the show also saw them experience a lot of personal milestones – at 13, Shawkat’s first ever kiss was with Cera on-screen.
“God, I regret admitting that!” the actress laughs. “Coming back, I definitely felt like I snapped back into being an insecure teenager. I wanted to prove myself just a little too much. It’s like when you go home and start acting inappropriately like a kid. We’re just one big, dysfunctional family.”

15 brand new episodes of Arrested Development will be available on Netflix from May 26. For extended Alia Shawkat and David Cross interviews , see hotpress.com