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2:42 pm - 02/26/2013

Netflix still 'hopeful' for more 'Arrested Development' seasons, even after CEO's comments



"Arrested Development" stars Will Arnett and Jason Bateman in a scene from one of the upcoming Netflix episodes.

"Arrested Development" creator Mitch Hurwitz has made no secret of his desire to use the new Netflix season of his uncanceled comedy to drum up interest (and money) in making the long-discussed "Arrested" movie. So the idea that these might be the only new episodes ever isn't in and of itself a surprise.

What is a surprise is that the CEO of Netflix very bluntly told investors he didn't expect to make more than the episodes that will premiere in May.

As the Wall Street Journal reported, Netflix's Reed Hastings was speaking with investors and referred to the "Arrested" revival as a "one-off" and "non-repeatable" event for Netflix.

A Netflix spokesperson clarified those quotes as accurate, but suggested things weren't as cut-and-dried as Hastings was suggesting.

The discussion, the spokesperson said, spun out of Hastings discussing the difficulty in getting the entire cast from the FOX days assembled again, often having actors come in on their days off from their regular jobs. (As Hurwitz explained back at press tour, the new season will be structured differently, with each episode focusing on what each Bluth has been up to since the last FOX episode, with Jason Bateman as the only actor appearing in all of them, and with the episodes designed to be viewed in any order.)

"I think we all knew it was lightning in the bottle that we pulled it all together" for this batch of episodes, said the spokesperson, who added that Netflix's chief content officer Ted Sarandos has been the point person for the "Arrested" revival, and who hasn't yet given up hope of making more.

"We're hopeful there will be more seasons," the spokesperson said. "If anyone can pull it together, it's going to be Ted. But by no means is this the end of it. We're definitely planning to do more with them. We have first rights, so it's not like you'd see it anywhere else. We're absolutely hopeful there will be more.

Hitfix
landwarinasia 26th-Feb-2013 08:22 pm (UTC)
I love Netflix but their format sucks. I hate that I'm so reliant on the recommendations and I can't just look at all the movies they have in any given category.

Also I would kill to be able to queue titles. Right now I'm just keeping a list in a notebook.
metalheavy 26th-Feb-2013 08:49 pm (UTC)
You can queue instant titles, just go to the info page and there should be a button to add it to your instant queue. Also if you search for something, you see two buttons ("play" and "discs"), but if you hover over either of those buttons a third "add to instant queue" button will pop up.

I'm in the US btw, I'm not sure if the website is any different for Canada.

PS: instantwatcher.com is good for looking at all the titles in a specific genre. Netflix is absolutely awful for browsing what's available.
landwarinasia 26th-Feb-2013 09:07 pm (UTC)
I just looked around and apparently I don't get the queue or the disc options because I'm in Canada. I've managed to get the US title selection, but apparently not those other features. I can add titles to a list, but I have no idea what that means or where I can find the titles I've added.

Netflix is such a great idea but it's set up so terribly ugh.
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