As we told you last week, it’s been confirmed that an “Arrested Development” movie is in the works, but for some reason the rest of the internet just seems to be hearing about it this week (This is why you need to get all of your news from Uproxx!) In reporting this (as new news) yesterday, Lost Remote made note of how instrumental the web (I swear, we do at least a post per week on AD here and they’re always wildly popular) has been in bringing the show back to life.
AD, as the kids call it, aired its last episode in February 2006, just 5 months before the launch of Twitter. Facebook was still a rather niche platform. If AD were canceled in today’s social world, you can bet the backlash would’ve either saved the Fox show or given it a new life somewhere else. A few current numbers to ponder:
– The static Arrested Development Facebook page has over 1.2 million fans
– Will Arnett is one of Hollywood’s most active on Twitter, with 286,000 followers
– The Twitter account @bluthquotes is still spouting quotes to 40,000 followers
– AD is one of the all-time most popular shows on Hulu (and likely, Netflix, too)
I can still remember how pissed I was when Fox canceled the show. I even wrote an email to a few of the heads of Fox television — still the only time I’ve done such a thing — and just let loose. I dug it up in my Gmail archives to share an excerpt with you guys, because I think it’s kind of funny looking back on it.
You do realize that you guys just canceled a show that hits right in the center of the demographic bullseye every advertiser salivates over…Young, smart people with disposable incomes. I don’t give a sh*t what your Nielsen ratings tell you, you’re making a mistake I’m convinced you’ll come to regret, perhaps when HBO picks up the show where it left off and sells truckloads of Arrested Development DVDs for decades. For the record, in the course of my life I’ve lived quite gregariously in areas both heavily populated and rural, so I’ve met a lot of people, but I’ve still yet to meet a single person with a Nielsen ratings box. But then again, I tend not to associate with dullards.
Looking back on it, I think that letter may have been the best thing I’ve ever written. Regardless, nice work, Internet. Pat yourself on the back for a nurturing job well done.
Long live AD!!!