Ten new episodes sound a little too skimpy for your liking, “Arrested Development” fans? Today is your lucky day.
Series creator Mitchell Hurwitz shot more material than initially planned while filming the show’s belated fourth season, leading him to approach Netflix (which will stream the entire season in one fell swoop next spring) with ideas for additional storylines. These talks resulted in a greenlight for an additional 2-5 episodes from the online streaming service, with a grand total of 12-15 as opposed to the 10 that had originally been intended.
Production on the series, which was originally slated to wrap just after Thanksgiving, has now been expanded by several weeks – though it has paused temporarily while Hurwitz pieces together the additional scenes and figures out the best way to flesh them out and incorporate them into the show. The main cast members will then return for more filming as early as next January.
“We are thrilled with the direction of the show, with the footage we have seen and with the relationship between Mitch, Imagine, 20th and Netflix,” a Netflix spokeswoman told Deadline, which broke the story. “At this time, we are not confirming or announcing the final episode count but we are sure fans will be thrilled when we do.”
Will you be watching “Arrested Development”‘s new season? Let us know in the comments.