Arrested Development Review!

If you are a fan of the Arrested Development series you are going to thoroughly enjoy the review below! Check out the review and share your thoughts after the JUMP!

(Source: enewsi via twitter)

Thanks to Netflix, I have spent the last 72 hours revisiting some old friends I haven’t seen in seven years, and I can officially say that the reunion was worth the wait.

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That’s right, folks: Arrested Development is back, with 15 new episodes for your binge-watching pleasure.

And binge-watch is the way to go for this, because if you thought the original series was intricate, this new season will surpass all expectations for what a comedy can cover in its allotted time. The show has always been known for its ability to pack an incredible amount of material into each half-hour, but Mitch Hurwitz and his team have entirely outdone themselves with this new season, meaning that viewers need to watch each episode while the events of the previous episodes are still fresh in their minds in order to catch as much of the humor–and surprisingly complicated plot—as possible. Unfortunately, while what they’ve managed to accomplish is no doubt impressive, it can get quite convoluted at times, which means that viewers might focus way too much on figuring out the plot instead of being able to enjoy the humor.

This new season—set, fittingly, seven years after the original series ended–is also quite a departure from the original series, as Hurwitz has chosen to spend each episode with one member of the Bluth clan, catching viewers up on their lives since their unceremonious cancellation.

Longtime fans will probably be divided about this new format, and I did miss the interactions between the family members that always brought some of the biggest laughs in the original series. Additionally, because each episode focused on one family member, we often didn’t get to see some of the most beloved characters for far too long—Tony Hale’s Buster, for example, didn’t have much material at all until the final few episodes.

Despite this, these new episodes prove why it was once heralded by critics as the funniest show on television, as each one provides viewers with the classic Arrested Development humor that has been missing from our lives for so long. This new season brings back Arrested Development’s signature interlocking jokes, self-aware style, zany pace, long-running gags, and pop culture references. However, these new episodes don’t simply rely on getting laughs by recycling jokes from the original series—instead, they reference old gags while presenting viewers with fresh, hilarious material, bringing new life to classics like Tobias’ work as an ‘analrapist’ and Ann’s (her?) inability to get noticed. They have also managed to work in quite a bit of contemporary material—for example, be sure to look out for a cleverly-placed reference to Rebecca Martinson’s insane email to her Delta Gamma chapter that went viral and a long-winded plot that echoes that of The Social Network.

The episodes also feature an incredible number of notable guest stars in some seriously funny roles. Viewers will get to see some recognizable faces from the earlier series, including Mae Whitman as Ann Veal, Henry Winkler as Barry Zuckerkorn, Judy Greer as Kitty Sanchez, and Liza Minnelli as Lucille Austero, as well as some new appearances by people like John Krasinski, Isla Fisher, Busy and Phillips.

Ultimately, these new episodes prove that even seven years after being cancelled, Hurwitz can produce some of the best comedy out there, and—especially since this new season ends without much resolution for the characters—hopefully, this won’t be the last time we get to see the Bluths in action. A