Two weeks after he locked the final cut of Netflix's Arrested Development revival, show creator Mitch Hurwitz is catching up on TV, traveling to New York and checking social media to gauge the reaction to the fruits of two years of labor. "Right now my hope is that the people who are interested in the Bluth family give the show a try," he says of the new episodes, which each focus on a different character yet are intertwined.
The 15 Arrested episodes were released simultaneously on May 26. Fan reaction has been decent, but critics were mixed, with some of those negative reviews reportedly hurting Netflix's stock price (although anticipation for the show previously helped boost the streaming service's stock).
Hurwitz tweeted on May 28 that critics were "resisting change." But in a lengthy chat last week with TV Guide Magazine, he clarified what he meant, and also discussed his future plans for the show. Hurwitz even addressed Internet chatter about star Portia de Rossi's appearance. An edited transcript follows.
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It's only natural for AMC's Mad Men to be consumed with thoughts of mortality as it heads further into the turbulent late '60s in its sixth and reportedly next-to-last season of existence. A year ago, the central set piece in the premiere was a surprise birthday party. This time, it's a similarly eventful wake. And that's not the only way in which Sunday's two-hour opener (9/8c), written by series creator Matthew Weiner, drives the death-comes-to-us-all theme home with such sledgehammer relentlessness and obviousness that for the first time, I began to think maybe it is time for this beautifully crafted series to start thinking about giving up the ghost. There's no denying the importance of a show that manages to win four well-deserved best-drama Emmys in its first four times at bat — I didn't hesitate to include Mad Men among the Top 10 in a recent "60 Greatest Dramas of All Time" package in TV Guide Magazine. But does it have to be this self-important?
read moreThe grumbling you've been hearing for the past two months has been the unhappy Happy Endings fans who have been waiting for the comedy's return to ABC's schedule. Yes, it's now on Fridays at 8/7c and yes, like a Xela dress, a move like that can turn a good girl bad. But according to executive producers David Caspe and Jonathan Groff, the show is coming back with a bunch of new episodes that are worth the wait. So spread the word, set your DVR, and tell your friends. Because it would totally sooook to lose this one now.
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