Image Credit: Justin Stephens/Fox
Since news broke last week that Netflix officially picked up Arrested Development for a 2013 run, fans have been taking a victory lap around the Internet that the five-year will-they-or-won’t-they revival roller coaster appears to be finished once and for all. EW landed an exclusive chat with Buster Bluth himself, a.k.a. Tony Hale. Of the long wait for Arrested‘s return, Hale laughed, “In this situation, Buster would have been in the hospital medicated.” What else did Hale have to say about everyone’s favorite seal-phobic, over-educated MotherBoy? Will Lucille 2 (Liza Minnelli) return? And what was Hale’s favorite Buster moment so far? Keep reading…
First and foremost, Hale made sure to give credit to “the fans that have kept the show alive. We have the fans to thank for it coming back. Their support is really what has kept the engine going, so that’s the foundation of it all.”
Though details of the Bluth-Fünke reunion haven’t been set in stone, Hale assured us that there would be plenty of surprises up creator Mitch Hurwitz’s sleeve. “The big thing about the show was that every week we were surprised,” he said. “You never knew which direction it was going to go.” With this new phase of Development finally reached, Hale said, “I’m most excited about seeing what Mitch is stirring up — where he’s going to take these people. What has happened in the past five years of their lives?”
What would be on Hale’s wish list for Buster? “Hopefully he has not left his mother’s side,” he said. Also, “I’d love for Liza Minnelli to come back. I’d love for Buster to see his girlfriend again.” Hale also would like to see Buster keep up with the times in addressing his missing hand. “I want him to go bionic,” he said. “Maybe he connected with Apple, and there’s some sort of iPod attachment. Maybe he’s got like an iPad as a hand? … Surely, with the advances of technology, something interesting has happened.”
Since more than half a decade passed since he last stepped into Buster’s khakis, Hale plans to take a trip down Memory Lane with his own Arrested marathon. What moment is he most excited about seeing again? “When Buster went off on his mother in a cuss fest,” he admitted. “[There was] so much pent-up anger… and that was his opportunity to let it rip.” (See evidence of Buster’s potty mouth below.)
So how will the Bluths fit in with today’s TV landscape, home to “family” shows like American Horror Story and Revenge? “The thing about the Bluths is that they were dark even when people didn’t know they were dark,” said Hale. “I’m sure coming up there will be some hidden treasures. They might be pretty on the outside, but on the inside there’s a lot going on.”
Buster and Co., will be returning exclusively to Netflix starting in the first half of 2013. If you need a fix before then, Hale is starring alongside Julia Louis-Dreyfus in the new comedy Veep from Armando Iannucci (In the Loop). Said Hale, “It’s a super-funny behind-the-scenes look at the political world of D.C.” starring Louis-Dreyfus as the Vice President of The United States. Veep premieres on HBO this spring.
Read more:
‘Arrested Development’ officially back! Revived series coming to Netflix
‘Arrested Development’: Which Bluth-Funke family member is your favorite character?
The Return of ‘Arrested Development’ Is No Illusion
