The life cycle of a new season of Arrested Development on Netflix is a delicate, beautiful thing, beginning with rumors—wisps of candyfloss and well wishes, spun out of talk show appearances, Twitter blurbs, and dreams—and ending in binges, thinkpieces, and cocktail party conversation. Along the way, the fragile creature slowly matures, adding concrete details to itself until it’s finally ready for the light of day.
To the delight of TV biologists and show-watchers everywhere, a new step in that accretion of reality has just occurred for the show’s planned fifth season, with producer Brian Grazer announcing this week that filming of the season is set to begin early in 2016. Grazer delivered the news during an appearance on The Adam Carolla Show, where he confirmed that both Fox Studios and creator Mitchell Hurwitz were on board for the project, and that the 17 new episodes that he promised back in April would arrive by the middle of the year.
It’s still possible that something could go wrong for the nascent season—predators abound for a young swathe of episodes, ranging from unavailable cast members to the cynicism of its target audience. But it does seem like things are moving forward, and that the season is getting closer to breaking free from its shell, when it can finally raise its beak and greet the world with a triumphant, “Coo-coo-ca-cha!”