The Wrap reports that Arrested Development almost landed at Showtime rather than Netflix when Fox made what some fans might consider a huge mistake and killed the series after three seasons of low ratings. Showtime President David Nevins—who was still an executive at Fox at the time—says that Showtime made a “really aggressive” play to give Arrested Development anustart after the show was cancelled in 2006. The premium cable network could offer the creators more flexibility than Fox ever could: “They were offering all the freedom that we didn’t have,” Nevins said. “‘You can do 10 episodes one season. You can do 12 episodes another season. You can do 23 minutes. You can do 29 minutes…’ And for a variety of reasons—largely deal-driven—it never quite came to be.” Come on, Showtime!
That’s when Netflix pulled a Gene Parmesan, appearing as if from thin air to say “annyong” to a fourth season, which debuted in 2013. After many promises that a fifth season would indeed be forthcoming sometime in mid-2016, Ron Howard confirmed earlier this month that a new 17-episode season of Bluth family dysfunction is indeed already in the writing stages.