‘ ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT’
The gang’s all here for a chat about the long-awaited Season 5
NEW YORK – Unlike money in the banana stand, a new season of Arrested Development was never guaranteed.
“It was certainly never a given,” says David Cross, sitting with his co-stars ahead of the offbeat comedy’s return to Netflix Tuesday. Created by Mitch Hurwitz, Arrested has endured a rocky run: It aired for three critically acclaimed but low-rated seasons on Fox, which canceled it in 2006. The show was revived by Netflix in 2013 but was rejected by some fans who took issue with the fact that, because of conflicting work schedules, the cast rarely appeared together.
Five years later, it’s back for a fifth season of the formerly wealthy, highly dysfunctional Bluth family. Before the cast’s controversial New York Times interview was published Wednesday, USA TODAY sat down with seven key players: Jason Bateman (Michael), Will Arnett (Gob), Tony Hale (Buster), Jessica Walter (Lucille), Alia Shawkat (Maeby Fünke), Cross (Tobias Fünke) and Jeffrey Tambor (George Sr.), who was fired from Amazon’s Transparent following allegations of sexual harassment (after Arrested was filmed).
Question: Many viewers were disappointed that the whole cast didn’t share more scenes last season. Was it important to fix that this time around?
Jessica Walter: It was vital. We really missed each other.
Jason Bateman: The fun part of making the show is getting to do it with everybody. There were limitations and experiments with that season that had varying degrees of success, and this season, everybody was unanimous in wanting to go back to the familiar formula.
Q: How do you feel about the Season 4 “remix” that was just released?
Will Arnett: It’s a more linear telling of the story, and I enjoyed it a lot. But I also really enjoyed the original fourth season because it was very ambitious, and I don’t think it was appreciated for what it is when it initially came out. It is very dense. ... I remember someone describing it as the “Ulysses of comedy.”
Q: The show is coming back to a very different political climate but also a culture more sensitive to jokes that could be perceived as racist, sexist or homophobic. Do you think it’ll be received any differently in 2018?
Arnett: It will be received however people want to receive it. We don’t live in an age where there’s any real conversation: It’s just people talking at each other and throwing their opinions at each other. Humor is super-important to try and open up dialogue, and sacred cows are always the funniest. That’s just always the way it’s been.
Bateman: You have a very “progressive” or “left” or “edgy” type of humor on our show, and if that makes you uncomfortable, there’s tons of other stuff for you to watch. Just change the channel.
Q: In Season 4, George Sr. and Lucille tried to profit from a government contract to build a wall on the U.S.Mexico border, years before Donald Trump pledged to build one in his presidential campaign. Do you think he got the idea from you guys?
Walter: I try not to think about Trump.
Arnett: We’re not on Fox anymore. (Laughs.)
Alia Shawkat: Mitch actually had to change some stuff (this season) once Trump got elected, because all of a sudden the humor was too real.
Q: Do you think the Bluths would be Trump supporters?
Walter: Oh God, yeah. It would be better for them tax-wise, absolutely.
Q: Is there still more story to tell? Tony Hale: It’s always been kind of open-ended. Ever since we started, we’ve always wondered what’s going to be happening next. We’re used to living in the uncertain.
Q: Would you like to come back for another season or a movie?
Bateman: I’d spend every day of my life with these guys if everything worked out. The movie idea has somewhat sailed, but there’s something nice about revisiting them every few years, kind of like that Michael Apted 7 Up series. You see how much further these people have dug their hole or poured cement over any sort of ethics or moral qualms. It becomes more fun than having it be continuous.
Q: What’s the one line that fans quote back to you most?
Walter: The one that I always get is, “I’d like to cry but I can’t spare the moisture.”
Arnett: What about from the show, though? (Laughs.)
Q: Jeffrey, you recently admitted that you’ve been “difficult” and “mean” to your co-stars on both
Transparent and Arrested. Is there anything you regret or wish you had done differently?
Jeffrey Tambor: Absolutely. The death of Maura (on Transparent) has been like a death. It’s like a grief, but in grief you learn. And I’ve learned that I need to be more patient. I need to be more of a gentleman in how I interact with my castmates and not lose my temper. (This past year) has been a real wake-up and I’m, in a way, grateful for that. It’s informing my life right now.
Q: Alia, you’ve spoken about feeling conflicted in wanting to stand behind Jeffrey but also support the women who have come forward. Has that been tricky to navigate?
Shawkat: It is difficult, but the truth is that this (Me Too) movement is more powerful than anything I could say and I would never stand against it. I know people who are victims of sexual harassment, and it’s important that their voices are heard. But sometimes, I think because we’re entertainers, (the media) want us to choose these very black-and-white sides, and sexual harassment isn’t black and white. There’s a huge gray area that’s never discussed; it’s not just about bashing and dragging people through the mud.
Walter: Let me just say one thing: I think that harassment of any kind — verbal, sexual, physical, emotional — is wrong. I have great empathy for these people that come out and have the courage to talk about it. I also have great empathy for people who have been falsely accused. It’s a very hard thing all the way around.