It’s been 9 years…
Nine cold, empty, laughless years since the supposed end.
Sure, “The Office” was great with Steve Carrell and “South Park” never let us down, but the world longed for the reassurance that there’s still always money in the banana stand.
The world need not wait any longer. The Bluths are back.
The long awaited revival of “Arrested Development” was announced via Twitter this week. On May 26, Netflix will release a fourth season of the show in its entirety to stream online.
“Arrested Development” is a show that owes a great deal to the online video streaming service. While critics universally lauded it during its years on Fox, the show never attained the ratings it needed to be considered successful. It aired for only 3 seasons, from 2003 to 2006, before network executives gave it the axe.
Without the rise of Netflix in the last few years, what is, arguably, the funniest television show of all time could have been completely forgotten. Online streaming introduced the show to an entirely new audience, the college crowd.
Via: weknowmemes.com
Since my arrival at college, access to a Netflix account has been ubiquitous. I’m often shocked to hear somebody doesn’t have one. Those people, however, usually have access to a friend’s account. Through this universal access to Netflix, “Arrested Development” was able to infiltrate the minds and hearts of students and become one of the most beloved shows of a generation that was between the ages of 12 and 16 when it originally aired. I started watching the show during my freshman year, and immediately recommended it to my friends. Those friends thought it was hilarious and recommended it to new friends, who, in turn, recommended it to other friends. Popularity of the show grew in the most organic way, word-of-mouth. Without the constraints of a television timeslot, people were able to watch the show at their own convenience. It has become the best working model for entertainment to date.
People want well-written, intelligent television shows. “Arrested Development” is the epitome of such a program. In a traditional television setting, however, many of these shows often get overlooked. Many people can’t consistently watch a program every week, which means paying attention to intricate storylines and understanding jokes that play on past occurrences in the show become impossible. When the audience has the power to view the show whenever they choose, shows don’t get dismissed due to lack of understanding. The ability to choose one’s pace of viewing is essential. It’s something HBO picked up on very early and is a huge reason its shows become so successful (aside from the incredible production that goes into them).
It’s something Netflix picked up on as well, recognizing its ability to popularize programs through streaming shows online. The first show it produced, “House of Cards,” was met with a great deal of praise. The fourth season of “Arrested Development” will be its second attempt at producing a program. Considering the entire cast of the original series is on board, I’m certain that it will be a success.
Via: cinemablend.com
“Arrested Development” also teaches us that there are probably more television shows worth looking into that we’d never heard before. The idea that history filters out the bullshit and leaves what’s worth remembering is flawed in a number of ways, especially when the systems in place to produce and distribute entertainment are not perfect. It is likely that there are countless movies, albums, pieces of art that have been lost in time that deserve just as much praise and merit as anything we consider culturally and historically significant. Netflix may not allow us to preserve all of those forgotten pieces, but it’s one hell of a tool to start.
Image Courtesy of: tv-facts.net
