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Question: Why don't the broadcast networks produce comedy-dramas anymore? It was not more than 10 years ago when the networks were full of successful long-running dramedies like Ally McBeal, The West Wing and Gilmore Girls. But now all those dramedy show-runners have moved over to the cable networks: David E. Kelley has just produced Monday Mornings for TNT, Aaron Sorkin is with The Newsroom on HBO, and Amy Sherman-Palladino had (the great) Bunheads on ABC Family. And lots of successful ...
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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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"Maybe a movie" would have been a better option after all for continuing the gloriously twisted saga of the beloved cult comedy classic Arrested Development. Those famous last words, spoken by executive producer/narrator Ron Howard in a cameo in the 2006 series finale on Fox, continue to haunt the show's sprawling and rarely satisfying 15-episode reboot on Netflix.
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Mitch Hurwitz, you were wrong.
A few days before Arrested Development's fourth season premiered on Netflix, the showrunner said that fans shouldn't binge-watch all 15 episodes in one go. Since I'm such a rebel (and one with zero patience), I did so anyways, and Mitch should be grateful.
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A&E Networks, which is enjoying a banner year thanks to the success of Duck Dynasty, Vikings and The Bible, unveiled a slate of new projects at its upfront presentation Wednesday, including a miniseries about Houdini starring Adrien Brody in the title role and reality shows about the real-life Hatfields and McCoys and stay-at-home dads.
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