Arrested Development returns in 2013

So there was money in the Banana stand the entire time!  Netflix has signed a deal with both Fox and Imagine Television to contribute part of the production costs to film and show the new series of Arrested Development exclusively on the streaming service, in the first half of 2013.

The show was cancelled in 2006 for poor ratings and performance in the weekly schedule; but has received a huge online resurgence of a following ever since (including all of us here).  Rumours were still rife via hints from the show's creator, Mitchell Hurwitz, of an Arrested Development movie, with the upcoming series being a pre-amble to the film.  “We’re basically hoping to do nine or 10 episodes, with almost one character per episode,” Hurwitz said at the time.

After that, logical ideas pointed to online exclusivity, and further speculation spread about the likes of Hulu, Netflix and Showtime engaging in a bidding war for the exclusive rights to present the show on their streaming service.  Hulu seemed likely, based off the numbers of views of the old episodes of Arrested Development; but Netflix has grasped the opportunity, probably in a PR "good karma" sense to regain some of their ex-customers since the price hike.

But that is all Stateside.  With Netflix coming to the UK next year, this maybe rather big news, and a defenite selling point for us.