Tag Archives: Mitch Hurwitz

Mitch Hurwitz opens up about the future of ‘Arrested Development’ (video inside)

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Warning: Do not proceed if you haven’t finished watching the new season of Arrested Development. Spoilers ahead; you have been warned.

Netflix wants more, Imagine Entertainment wants more, and obviously so does series creator and mastermind Mitch Hurwitz. On May 26 Arrested Development returned after a seven year hiatus with 15 new episodes. The new season ends with without much resolution and this is by design, reveals Hurwitz. In a postmortem interview with Vulture, Hurwitz discusses exactly why so many plot points and character arcs were left up in the air.

The initial idea for these new episodes was to reset things. Let’s show what happens to this family, who were starting to make progress as human beings, when they decide to go it alone. Part of the theme of this thing is that we do need our families. Our families are attached to us whether we like it or not, in all these mysterious, invisible ways. It’s somewhat allegorical but we see that they’ve all affected each other’s lives in really profound ways for the negative because there’s no communication between them to speak of. So in one sense that was the theme, but in another way it really was just setting up the future. If the pilot was about their lives falling apart, then this was designed to be the first act of a larger story about winding everybody up, getting everybody to a point of peril and then having a jumping-off place for the next story where they all come together.

Whether it’s a movie or another season on Netflix, Hurwitz has a plan for what’s to come next. As far as we know, Lucille Austero aka Lucille 2 is dead and the impetus for the next Bluth adventure will be a murder mystery.

That really is the idea. Everybody’s gotten their lives into a state of peril and everybody said, “To hell with this family,” and Michael said “I’m done with all of you,” and then — Buster is arrested for murder! Now what do they do? Now they have to come together or let their baby brother go to the chair. We’re sort of resolving or ending the season with both an emotional story and a plot story. The plot is that Buster’s been arrested for the murder of Lucille 2. And think about it, all the Bluths have a relationship with her. One of the main reasons we were kind of obsessed with telling the story in the right order is because we wanted to slowly reveal not only that Lucille 2 was gone and that she died, but that they all had ways in which they were connected to her that could either look like motives or could exculpate some of them. But they’re all connected to this woman who disappeared … It’s always been a show that dealt with a lot of big plot points, stealing the Queen Mary and all these off-the-wall things. The more important stuff is really what’s going on in their hearts and minds. That’s what the Michael–George Michael thing is about.

When can fans expect the next chapter in the story? It’s all up to the talent and their inherently conflicting schedules.

Whatever the next step is, I will say that by design the Bluths will come together. They’re all going to be together. Now it’s a question of what’s the most efficient way to do that, how do we make that happen and when do we make that happen? It certainly won’t be another seven years. If we do it, we’re going to do it soon while we’re all still alive. While we’re all still sensate. A lot of it has to be worked around John Beard’s schedule.

I highly recommend you jump over to Vulture to read the Hurwitz interview in full; in addition to talking about the future of the show, he also discusses the intensive creative process behind making the new season, Franklin’s absence, the return of Ben Stiller as Tony Wonder, making Ann Veal a more substantial character, the idea behind the Fantastic Four musical, the many easter eggs, George Michael’s almost chicken dance, and why ostriches.

Also this week, Hurwitz spoke to the press at large about making more Arrested, responding to reviews, finally revealing Michael’s late wife Tracey Bluth in a flashback, going back on his idea of watching the new episodes out of order, the inspiration behind Terry Crews’ Herbert Love, and he shares a scene that didn’t make the final cut involving Mitt Romney and George Clooney. In fact, he also blurted out that there are tons of extra footage that he hopes will eventually see the light of day. “We have a lot of material that we’re planning on putting out on Netflix at a later time, probably, to tie in there.” Consume all the juicy quotes at Entertainment Weekly.

Bonus! Pop after the break to watch behind-the-scenes featurettes with Hurtwitz, Portia de Rossi (Lindsay Bluth), David Cross (Tobias Fünke), Jessica Walter (Lucille Bluth), and Henry Winkler (Barry Zuckerkorn). Also there you’ll find a Q&A clip with some of the cast and a look at the walk-on contest winners. Continue reading Mitch Hurwitz opens up about the future of ‘Arrested Development’ (video inside) →

TV reminder: ‘Arrested Development’ premieres this Sunday with 15 new episodes on Netflix

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We made it. Seven years after it was cancelled and banished from network TV, cult comedy Arrested Development is not making a huge mistake by coming back for another season consisting of 15 brand new episodes. All of them will be made available for streaming on Netflix at once when the clock strikes midnight (PT) / 3AM (ET) on Sunday, May 26. Creator Mitch Hurwitz recommends you watch the episodes in order, at least during your initial binge marathon. Each installment intentionally follows a single member of the Bluth clan but don’t fret–characters will weave in and out of other characters’ storylines and the entire bunch will congregate at least twice over the course of the season. Other things to look out for: you will witness the same scenes multiple times but they will play out differently and you will learn more context each time because they will be told from different character perspectives; also, these episodes serve as one giant setup for more AD in the future, whether it’s another season or the long dreamed about feature film.

Relive the journey of Arrested‘s anticipated comeback here. After the break, watch four teaser clips taken from the new batch; G.O.B., Lucille, Maeby, Lindsay, bees and an ostrich are all involved.

Ladies and gentleman, it’s the final countdown. Grab some bananas and blue paint and let’s (almost) break Netflix!

Update: AD creator Mitch Hurwitz (a man who obviously knows to always leave a note) posted to Facebook a picture of a handwritten letter made out to “friends, fans, supporters, detractors, haters, enemies, and arch enemies.” In it he acknowledges everyone who supports the show and he is thankful for the opportunity to bring these characters back to life. The note is posted in full after the break. Continue reading TV reminder: ‘Arrested Development’ premieres this Sunday with 15 new episodes on Netflix →

‘Arrested Development’ on Netflix: “IT’S ALIVE”

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We already know that the short-lived cult comedy Arrested Development is getting revived for a brand new 10-episode season on Netflix in 2013. But after years of speculation, some fans remain skeptical about the truth behind all this. Let this breaking news quell your fears and further ramp up anticipation. Renowned filmmaker and series executive producer Ron Howard took to Twitter to confirm that the ball has indeed started to roll on this thing.

First Howard tweeted, “Arrested Development for Netflix. IT’S ALIVE. This is what the writer’s room looks like.” Attached was a picture of conference room with tons of colored index cards clinged to walls with indecipherable episode ideas scribbled on them. (See the image of the the break.) A couple hours later Howard took another picture and tweeted, “Mitch [Hurwitz] let Jason [Bateman] and I in on some of the twists and turns ahead. hilarious.” This one features Howard, AD creator Mitch Hurwitz, and star Jason Bateman. (The image is embedded above.)

And to top things off, Bateman also jumped onto his Twitter account to share this exciting bit of news: “Taken at AD mission control, today! All systems are go. Filming for the new episodes starts in four weeks. Woo!” Another picture was attached, this one also starring Howard, Bateman, and Hurwitz in mid-laughter. (See the image of the the break.)

So yeah, Arrested Development is coming people. There’s no denying it, so detractors keep silent. IT’S ALIVE. Wink. Continue reading ‘Arrested Development’ on Netflix: “IT’S ALIVE” →

Mitch Hurwitz has a solid plan for ‘Arrested Development’s rebirth on Netflix

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Not that you have to be reminded or anything, but Arrested Development is making a comeback in a big way, with a brand new season and a feature film on the way. At this week’s National Association of Broadcasters convention, creator Mitch Hurwitz dropped some delicious nuggets pertaining to the smart comedy we’ve all missed so dearly. Netflix’s Ted Sarandos was on hand to confirm that all ten episodes that make up season 4 will be released simultaneous on the same day at the same time. So get ready for an Arrested Development binge…it’s not like you haven’t done exactly this at least once before with previous seasons.

Hurwitz went on to explain how he’s planning on taking advantage of all the episodes launching at once. “There’s something exciting about trying to break the form again,” he said. “There’s going to be some mystery sprinkled throughout this [but] instead of watching one a week and try to get ahead of it, the hope is [fans] will watch them all together and then go back and look for clues and connections.” He added, “We’d also like to use the technology to provide additional material, where you might be able to access another part of the story.” Curious. Is he worried about people spoiling important plot details the day and date the episodes come out? Nope: “It’s comedy. The twists really aren’t as important as the characters.” True dat.

Previously Hurwitz was planning to focus on “almost one character per episode.” This week, however, he admitted that the new season “is now kind of evolving into becoming more like the old show again.” Another reveal: Bob Loblaw Attorney at Law (played by Scott Baio) is coming back. “We will bring him back,” Hurwitz said. “It’s kind of a one-joke thing. But if you guys don’t mind bringing it back, we’ll give it to you.” Yup, we don’t mind. Also, STEVE HOLT!

Last, Hurwitz dropped this bombshell. This may in fact mark just the beginning of the return of Arrested Development. Though Hurwitz kept his mouth shut regarding the Bluths coming to the big screen, he did share that there’s a possibly that Development will live on to see a fifth and even sixth season on the streaming service. “We would love this to be the first first of many visits,” he said and a thousand fans screamed in joy.

Arrested Development is set to return sometime in 2013.

[Via Vulture]

Mitch Hurwitz says ‘Arrested Development’ returning to TV prior to movie release

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!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yup, that pretty much sums up what everyone is feeling right now. This afternoon at a New Yorker Festival event that reunited the entire Arrested Development cast, show creator Mitch Hurwitz announced plans to bring the short-lived cult TV show back to the air prior to releasing the highly anticipated movie that’s expected to bow, um, sometime in the future. The plan is to produce a “limited-run series” (think 9 or 10 episodes) that will shed light on what each of the Bluths have been up to since we lost them in 2006.

How did this all come about? In Hurwitz’s own words: “We don’t completely own the property, there are business people involved and studios and that kind of thing. Just creatively, I have been working on the screenplay for a long time and found that as time went by, there was so much more to the story. In fact, where everyone’s been for five years became a big part of the story. So in working on the screenplay, I found even if I just gave five minutes per character to that back story, we were halfway through the movie before the characters got together.” And thus the plan to return to TV was born.

As it stands now, Hurwitz wants to focus on “almost one character per episode.” He offered the giddy audience at the event an example of how this could work. The first episode might feature oddball Buster Bluth. “The latest joke we have is that it’s Cambridge, Massachusetts, and there’s all these scientists in lab coats and they’re waiting for somebody. Buster comes through the door in a white lab coat – ‘Let’s begin’ – and they say, ‘Oh, no, you don’t get to wear the lab coat. We’re experimenting on you.’ And then we go through his life and we meet the people in his life and maybe he goes to see his therapist who he’s getting a good rate on because it’s Tobias and he’s lost his license. We can do cross overs and things like that. But it’s an unusual style of show I think and we get him to a certain point of peril in his life and then maybe we jump over to like Maeby and she’s living with Cornel West … We’ll do this kind of thing that builds the peril in their lives until they all come together, really, in the first scene of the movie.” Ha! So you get it? Each of the 9 or 10 episodes will focus on a specific Bluth and catch us up on what they’ve been up to all this time. And then when the movie releases, we’ll know what’s up and Hurwitz will be able to tell a tighter story without wasting time catching us up on all the characters. It’s win-win for everybody!

That is, of course, if the studios play nice with one another. Hurwitz added that the project “requires studios to work together that don’t typically work together, film and TV.” It’s still up in the air as to whether or not the show will air on FOX again.

Now I bet you’re wondering about a time frame; when can we expect the Bluths to return to the small screen if the studios allow it? Jason Bateman, who played the family backbone Michael Bluth, said, “There’s business left to be done, but creatively we are all on board and have a very specific plan about how it would come out and what we would do and when we would shoot it. I think we’re targeting next summer to shoot it.” “Perhaps the series is in the fall. This isn’t my decision,” Hurwitz chimed in. Later in the day, Bateman took to Twitter and shared this: “It’s true. We will do 10 episodes and the movie. Probably shoot them all together next summer for a release in early ‘13. VERY excited!”

So there you have it. Arrested Development is on track to RETURN TO TELEVISION and then make it to the BIG SCREEN. AD fans ’round the world are crying tears of joy today, as they well should be. Let’s just hope it all pans out…because it will…right?

[Via NYTimes]

Mitch Hurwitz’s guide to getting a sitcom cancelled

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The name Mitch Hurwitz should ring a bell. He’s the brilliant mind behind the short-lived FOX series Arrested Development. Most recently he mistakingly teamed with FOX again to create Running Wilde, the Will Arnett-starer which couldn’t manage to air its initial 13-episode run before FOX canned it. Enough background. Hurwitz wrote this comically relevant Guide to Getting A Sitcom Canceled for the British newspaper The Guardian. As you’re reading it you’ll quickly pick up on Hurwitz’s intention behind writing such a guide; in essence he’s listing the reasons why Development likely got the axe. I won’t spoil it for you–start reading it here, then jump after the break to see the rest.

Have a confusing title

Come up with an unwieldy title that perhaps comes from the realm of psychology, so that the title of your show is almost instantly forgettable. For example, if you were to call the show Welcome Matt, an audience could immediately understand the concept: this must be a character named Matt and he must either be a welcoming person or stepped on. If you call a show Arrested Development it’s confusing and sufficiently disorientating to guarantee that a wide audience never discovers the fruits of your labor.

Continue reading Mitch Hurwitz’s guide to getting a sitcom cancelled →

Creator Mitch Hurtwitz aims to shoot and release ‘Arrested’ film this year

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That post title is music to your ears, isn’t it?  Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz told Digital Spy that he wants to shoot and release the long-awaited film based on the short-lived FOX series this year. But don’t take my word for it; here’s what the man behind The Bluths had to say:

Hurwitz: “We’ve started that process and it is our sincere hope to shoot it this year and get it out this year. That’s what we’re hoping, but a lot of things have to fall into place for that to happen. I want to keep whatever it is we end up with as a surprise, which kind of betrays the fact that we might not have the whole thing worked out! But I don’t like to toy with the affections of our fans. They’ve been so supportive and we’re so grateful, so I kind of hate to answer the question until I can say, ‘Yep, we’ve shot it, it opens next week’. Otherwise it feels like we’re toying with people and we do not mean to do that. It has just taken a while to get it going.”

The last time Arrested Development news hit, Hurwitz admitted he was “about halfway through” writing the script, and that was back in August 2010.  He continued, “We will make this movie.  The only stumbling blocks will be scheduling.  Everybody wants to play together.”  And, “It’s not going to be a big money maker.  It’s going to be fun, like a family reunion.”

If you’re not shaking with excitement, there’s something terribly wrong with you.  Not familiar with the show?  All three seasons are currently streaming on Netflix, so you’ve got no reason not to watch arguably the smartest comedy ever produced.  Five times over.

[Via Digital Spy]

Creator Mitch Hurwitz says Arrested Develpment movie script is halfway done

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Since Arrested Development executive producer and Narrator Ron Howard uttered the final line of the 2003-06 FOX series (“No, I just don’t see it as a TV series.  Maybe a movie?”), fans of the cancelled cult hit have been yearning for an official press release stating that a movie based on the Bluth family is a-go.  Though word has yet to escape from the mouth of a studio exec, AD creator Mitch Hurwitz has kindly updated fans on the matter.  Hurwitz was on hand this week at the Television Critics Association press tour (touting his new FOX series Running Wilde, starring AD alum Will Arnett and David Cross) and he gave this straight answer to the press: “We’re writing it [the script]; we’re about halfway through.”  He sounds very confident that the script will get picked up and things will move forward as planned.  “We will make this movie.  The only stumbling blocks will be scheduling.  Everybody wants to play together.”  That is true; virtually every actor from the ensemble cast has publically state they are willing and excited to reprise their roles for a movie.  Hurwitz added, “It’s not going to be a big money maker.  It’s going to be fun, like a family reunion.”  That is exactly what I am expecting it to be, nothing more.  To see Michael, George Michael, G.O.B., Buster, Lindsey, Tobias, Maeby, Lucille, George Sr., and Oscar together again, for one last hurrah, would be a wonderful treat.  Oh, and who could forget…STEVE HOLT!  The only information Hurwitz would divulge is that political references are being changed (from George Bush to President Obama) since the script was “started it awhile ago” and that “the Bluths may not be vacationing in the Gulf of Mexico anymore.”  Beyond the rewrites, completing the script, and recasting the Uncle Mel character, “we have a clear path”, Hurwitz reassures.  I will be keeping my ear to the ground with this one; as soon as a deal is struck with final script in tow you will be informed.

[Via Reuters; NYMag; MTV]

David Cross joins FOX’s ‘Running Wilde’

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Now this is fantastic news!  Actor David Cross is joining the new FOX comedy Running Wilde.  The show stars Will Arnett.  The show is created by Mitch Hurwitz.  Have you connected the dots yet?  It’s an Arrested Developement reunion!  In Hurwitz’s Arrested Development, Cross played doctor-turned-aspiring actor Tobias Fünke, the brother-in-law of Arnett’s Gob Bluth.  Cross will be featured in 7 of the initial 13 episodes as “the radical environmentalist boyfriend of Keri Russell’s character” according to IGN.  Hurwitz and Arnett serve as creators, writers, and executive producers.  Arrested Development directors Anthony and Joe Russo and executive producer Jim Valley are also on board.

FOX is giving Hurwitz another chance with Running Wilde, so make sure you tune in Tuesday, September 21 at 9:30PM.  We can’t give the network another opportunity to shun Hurwitz & Co. away from making great TV like they did with the prematurally canned Arrested Development.  With a handful of AD alum signed on, I have a good feeling this comedy will tower over other network premieres in terms of quality.  AD‘s theme was “family first.”  From the looks of the trailer (embedded after the break, along with the synopsis), Running Wilde will take a new yet familar path: Russell’s Emmy to Arnett’s Wilde: “I am going to make you a better man.”  Family, relationships, heart, hilarity.  Welcome back, Hurwitz.

[Via IGN] Continue reading David Cross joins FOX’s ‘Running Wilde’ →