New season of 'Arrested Development' coming to Netflix in 2018

WASHINGTON (Sinclair Broadcast Group) — The story of a wealthy family who lost everything and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together will continue.

It’s “Arrested Development,” and it’s coming back to Netflix in 2018.

Following a fourth season on the streaming service in 2013 that reunited the cast of the comedy series, which had been cancelled by Fox in 2006, there had been a steady stream of rumors that it would continue. Star Jason Bateman seemed to confirm that possibility in a tweet last week.

“Look very probable I'm going to put some miles on the Stair Car this summer. Just officially signed on to more ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT today,” he wrote Friday.

Netflix made the announcement Wednesday, revealing that the main cast and creator Mitch Hurwitz are all on board, though no details were released about how many episodes the fifth season will contain or when exactly in 2018 it will air.

“Arrested Development” tells the story of the eccentric and dysfunctional Bluth family, something Hurwitz suggested is particularly timely today.

“In talks with Netflix we all felt that that stories about a narcissistic, erratically behaving family in the building business -- and their desperate abuses of power -- are really underrepresented on TV these days,” he said in a statement, taking a very thinly veiled shot at President Trump. “I am so grateful to them and to 20th TV for making this dream of mine come true in bringing the Bluths, George Sr., Lucille and the kids; Michael, Ivanka, Don Jr., Eric, George-Michael, and who am I forgetting, oh Tiffany. Did I say Tiffany? — back to the glorious stream of life.”

"’Arrested Development’ brings us structures, outerwear and choreography like no other comedy in history,” Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said. “Season four marked the first foray by Netflix into original comedy programming and this time, the Bluths will collectively be spending more quality time with their millions of fans around the world.”

Ratings for the original Fox run were never great, but “Arrested Development” won many awards, including an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series in its first season. The show built a cult following on DVD and online in the years after its cancellation.

Though some fans were underwhelmed by the first season of the Netflix revival, which often focused episodes on specific characters rather than the whole family due to the actors' scheduling conflicts, the announcement that more episodes are coming still generated some excitement on social media.

The returning cast includes Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter, Will Arnett, Tony Hale, Portia de Rossi, David Cross and Alia Shawkat. Hurwitz, Brian Grazer, and the show’s uncredited narrator Ron Howard are among the executive producers.