Despite The Cast Fallout, ‘Arrested Development’ Is Coming Back Very Soon
Netflix have been holding onto Part 2 of Season 5 for a while now.
When Arrested Development came back for Season 5 last year, it was overshadowed by controversy and a disastrous PR circuit. As a result, the second half of the season, slated for release in 2018, was quietly put aside.
Today, Netflix has announced they are wiping away the dust: the eight remaining episodes of Season 5 will be released in less than a month, on Friday March 15. They have been teasing an announce for the past day on Twitter, but previously, had remained mum on the show.
As per Vulture, here’s part two’s log line:
“In the second half of Arrested Development’s fifth season, pressures mount on the Bluth family as Buster heads toward a murder trial. The Bluth company is on the hook to build a ‘smart’ border wall that puts them in debt and risks exposing a software hoax perpetrated by George-Michael. Soon the gay mafia is involved and it appears that even Michael can’t save the family this time. And Tobias becomes a Golden Girl.”
The season’s first part debuted in May last year, but was marred by multiple sexual harassment allegations surrounding Jeffrey Tambor on the set of Transparent, with that show announcing in February he would not return for the show’s final season.
Prior to AD‘s launch, Tambor was profiled sympathetically in The Hollywood Review, where he suggested “lines were blurred” on the Transparent set. In it, he also referred to a “blowup” with Jessica Walter, who on AD plays his wife Lucille Bluth.
When the New York Times asked the cast about this, a train-wreck unfolded. Walter cried as she detailed Tambor’s aggressive behaviour, while her co-stars Jason Bateman, Tony Hale and David Cross defended Tambor and talked over her, as heard in the Times’ released audio file of the interview.
In the time since, all three men have apologised to Walter. Actress Alia Shawkat — who is in both AD and Transparent — has repeatedly stood behind Walter, creating an uncomfortable (unsurprising) gendered dynamic to the issue.
In addition, Season 5 Part One’s reviews were also lukewarm, with critics saying it “lacked focus”, and that the allegations sucked the air out of scenes, given Lucille and George’s hostile relationship on-screen.
Part Two of Arrested Development Season 5 will be available Friday March 15.
Check out banner! March 15. pic.twitter.com/Jsn7LZYQKy
— Arrested Development (@arresteddev) February 19, 2019