'Arrested Development' Confirmed For Fifth Season On Netflix

Cult US comedy Arrested Development has been renewed for a fifth season, with streaming service Netflix — which rescued the show from cancellation last year, seven years after original network Fox had resigned it to the trash heap — and show star Will Arnett both confirming the deal.

Appearing on late-night talk show The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon over the weekend, Arnett gave a resounding "yes", to considerable applause, when asked to confirm an earlier report that Netflix had renewed the series.

"The truth is, the guy who's the boss, the big boss man at Netflix (Ted Sarandos), he announced it ... it's gonna happen; we don't know when, but it's gonna happen."

Sarandos' indication that the show was coming back came from a recent blink-and-you'll-miss-it quote to USA Today that "it's just a matter of when" before AD and the beloved Bluth family return once more.

Watch the clip of Arnett's confirmation below (skip to 0:56):

Arrested Development's original run lasted for three seasons, from 2003-2006, before laying dormant until last year. Despite the dedication of the show's fanbase, season four received a lukewarm response, with most criticism centering on the limited amount of time the show's ensemble cast — who objectively shine when in the same room — actually spent on-screen together, the result of conflicting shooting schedules and a shift in how the show was presented (the season covered the same period of time from different perspectives, rather than progressing through a season-long arc), which Sarandos has said is a "fair" assessment.

The good news is that, if Netflix is aware and accepting of those flaws, maybe we'll see something a little more in line with the Arrested Development we all know and love when it does make its return.