Vulture recently interviewed Mitch Hurwitz, presumably during a break to allow Henry Winkler to tweet, and the Arrested Development creator discussed the first scene he and the cast shot after reuniting, dirty jokes that may or may not be made now that he doesn’t have to worry about broadcast regulations, and the state of the show’s many memorable props, including Gob’s Segway.
One of the lesser known realities of the shrinking TV [business] is that studios strip the walls and sell off the props when shows are cancelled. So many of the elements we’re revisiting have needed to be rebuilt or made. Some of the changes are subtle. For instance they discontinued the carpet we used in Lucille’s penthouse as well the one we cut Tobias’s moustache from. But we found a new paisley that works for both. Also the original Segway is out of production so we had to put some old pieces on a new one. (Via)
But the most interesting part of the chat is Hurwitz talking about all the good things that could result from Netflix’s Arrested Development revival going well…including more Freaks and Geeks and Twin Peaks?
You’ve said that the new episodes will all be made available at the same time on Netflix. Given AD’s status as one of the most Internet-celebrated shows ever, did you consider what you might be missing out on by releasing them that way? Like if they were released one by one each week, the Internet could watch them together “live” and an instant party would break out on Twitter. Releasing them in one lump sum seems like it might just overwhelm the Internet’s episode recappers and animated-GIF makers.
I actually think the strategy for release is up in the air. I know Netflix at one point was talking about streaming them all at once, because that’s how they’ve done it with other shows, and it’s their choice. I know it’ll be in the spring of 2013, or what the Mayans would call the spring of “1.” But I just love the opportunity we have to be creative with every part of this, from the concept to the delivery. We’re trying to embrace both the obstacles, like lack of cast at our disposal, and the advantages — storytelling freedom, lack of commercials — and it’s just great to be part of something that will hopefully become another option for original scripted material. If this works it could lead to a lot of other people getting a second shot. See if Apatow and Feig can squeeze out another couple Freaks and Geeks. Andy Richter could go back to controlling the Universe. Maybe David Lynch could make a third Peak. (Via)
Hurwitz is likely making a general point about companies like Netflix taking a chance on reviving great TV shows, and not really saying Judd Apatow and Paul Feig have been discussing making more Freaks and Geeks, but STILL: a man can dream, can’t he? Besides, he does have a point: if the AD experiment goes well, the risk of resurrecting, say, Better Off Ted or Terriers (ahem) would be minimized; to go off of the Tobias quote in the banner image, if Hurwitz can recreate something amazing, then good things will happen.
Plus, the world could use more coats with puppies in the pockets.
