I ve made a huge mistake. There s always money in the banana stand. Motherboy. If you don t understand why the people around you have lately taken to uttering these phrases and then simpering like they just said something clever it s probably because you never got into Arrested Development.
With Netflix Netflix releasing 15 brand new episodes Sunday at 3 a.m. EST cultural literacy demands that you get up to speed. Herewith an FAQ on some of the practical aspects of Arrested Development s revival.
Is there any point in trying to go online tomorrow if I don t have a fiber connection or is the entire internet going to slow to a trickle thanks to all those people binge watching Arrested Development
You have a point. Even on a regular day almost one third of the data flowing into American homes consists of Netflix streams. On a holiday weekend with cold rainy weather forecast for the Northeast and 15 new episodes of a cult show whose fans have been waiting seven years for its return forget about it.
On the other hand AD creator Mitchell Hurwitz says fans really shouldn t try to watch all 15 episodes in one sitting lest they exhaust themselves into stupor. So there s that.
If Arrested Development has so many rabid fans why did Fox Fox cancel it in the first place
Because it didn t have as many when the show was actually on the air. A lot of them have discovered the show since then thanks to Netflix it s because the show has been such a durable draw for Netflix subscriber that the video service was keen to bring it back. On the other hand the size of AD s audience on Fox about 6 million viewers on average for season two and 4 million for its third and final season would probably earn it a renewal by the more modest ratings standards of today. That 4 million viewers is about what Fox s Mindy Project drew last season.
How much did Netflix have to pay to get Arrested Development
It s spending over $3 million per episode according to Wired or around $45 million total.
And what is it getting for its money
Good question. Netflix is looking at original programming as a way to attract new subscribers and keep its existing ones loyal. But Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said that House of Cards it s first splashy original series had only a gentle effect on subscriber growth in the first quarter. The service has more than 29 million U.S. subscribers.
I m not an Arrested Development fan. In fact I find the whole phenomenon vaguely irritating. If I avoid reading anything and talking to anyone for the next 10 days or so will I be in the clear
First off listen I know all the hype is kind of grating. It would be nice if we could experience cultural moments around things like Arrested Development and Girls and Downton Abbey and so on without feeling like we re all being assimilated into some kind of viral marketing Borg. But don t hold that against the show itself. Arrested Development is pretty great.
To answer your question Yes in a couple weeks it should be safe to come out of your hole. One of the nice things about the all at once episode release model is that non fans don t have to hear people going on and on about a show for months on end. But don t get too comfortable. Hurwitz told Rolling Stone that these 15 episodes are definitely the first part of a bigger story. You can expect another AD season or possibly a feature film in another year or two.
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