Netflix – who resurrected Arrested Development with season 4 this past Sunday – says they’re open to the idea of season 5.
While Arrested Development season 5 is likely still a long way off, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings spoke on CNBC about the possibility of it happening. “‘Arrested’ is unique, because that’s really up to the talent. If the talent were willing to do more, and interested in that, I”m sure we would be willing.”
In interviews conducted during the lead up to season 4’s release, the cast were quite interested in returning to create more episodes and/or a movie. We imagine the biggest problem for Arrested Development season 5 and an eventual movie would be the scheduling conflicts. The actors struggled to find time to all be on set at the same time for season 4. Some scenes even had to be shot on green screens so they could insert actors who couldn’t be on set that day.
In the same interview, Hastings discussed why they haven’t revealed how many people have watched the new season since its Memorial Day weekend release – a move they also made after House of Cards debuted earlier this year. “The reason we’re not doing ratings is because we really want to focus over the first year,” he said. “Netflix is about being able to watch when you want, not having to watch at a certain time like linear TV is. So we’re really not focused on the Day One ratings, it’s really over the first year.”
Reviews of the newest season have been mixed so far, with some saying it’s not as funny as the first three seasons that aired on Fox in the early 2000s. If Arrested Development season 5 were to happen, we think Mitch Hurwitz should wait until everyone’s schedules are more free so they can have everyone together on set more often.