May 26 will mark the fifth anniversary of the release of season four of Arrested Development, which arrived in 2013 on Netflix. Over the past half-decade, the hit comedy’s creative team has consistently hinted at the eventual launch of a fifth season of the show. Though the development of that season long seemed to be, well, arrested, those rumors are now solidifying. In an open letter posted through the Arrested Development Twitter account, series creator Mitch Hurwitz said that season five of the Bluth family’s saga will be hitting Netflix “very soon.” In the meantime, viewers will be able to enjoy a re-cut version of the lukewarmly-received fourth beginning on Friday, May 4.
Hurwitz’s announcement of the impending season follows up previous reports that said season five was due to arrive sometime in 2018. “A new fifth season of Arrested Development will be coming back to Netflix soon,” Hurwitz wrote. “Like real soon. Like, if you knew when, you would not be wrong to be thinking ‘why are we all just hearing this now?'”
On the next… Arrested Development pic.twitter.com/NjP26k9KE7
Subscribe to get the latest creator news
— Arrested Development (@arresteddev) May 1, 2018
Meanwhile, Arrested Development fans can check out Hurwitz’s re-cut version of season four, which will arrive on Cinco de Cuatro (a holiday in the world of the Bluth family) and will be titled Arrested Development Season Four Remix: Fateful Consequences. When the show’s fourth season first came out, it was criticized for both its jarring narrative structure and the long length of its episodes. Hurwitz, who has long expressed a desire to re-cut those episodes, wrote that Fateful Consequences will consist of 22 22-minute episodes and will tell the Bluth family’s story in chronological order.
It’s been a long five years for Arrested Development fans, but it looks like the wait won’t be much longer. The next step toward season five is the announcement of a premiere date, which should happen soon.
