Image Credit: Art Streiber for EW
Arrested Development’s journey back to the screen has been long and unpredictable. It has taken many turns, involved the use of many birds. And on this December evening, it has banked a hard right onto a Hollywood side street and pit-stopped in a magic club on gay night.
Inside the gothic lounge of mystery, patrons in leopard vests, Army fatigues, and assless pants groove about. Near the bar, series creator Mitchell Hurwitz studies Will Arnett and Michael Cera as they rehearse a scene that will play out in multiple episodes: Decked out in leather and chains, Arnett’s sleazy-cheesy illusionist Gob Bluth has lured his innocent-faced nephew, George Michael (Cera), here under false pretenses (naturally). He busts a move on a flustered George Michael and shouts, “Ow! You bit my lip!” before apologetically whispering to him: “Hey, thanks a lot. I owe you big-time. Not a lot of nephews would do this.” Loud, so the crowd can hear: “Now get out of here! I never want to sleep with you again!” Whispering: “I do. I would sleep with you, George Michael… I mean, I probably won’t…”
In between takes, Hurwitz offers scientific pointers like “When you say ‘hot little ass,’ put your hand here,” then scoots behind the monitors to survey the action. “This may be the creepiest thing we’ve done so far,” he observes.
With take after absurd take under his leather-daddy belt, Arnett catches a breather. “I did some disturbing things tonight,” he says. “I kissed Michael Cera no fewer than eight times.”
And how was it?
“It felt like… coming home.”
After an absence of seven years, three months, and 16 days, Arrested Development will give fans who prayed for its return the mother(boy) of all gifts on May 26: Fifteen new episodes will be released all at once on Netflix. Designed as a prequel for a not-yet-greenlit movie, these installments have been the source of great anticipation and speculation since Netflix announced the show’s resurrection 17 months ago. Our hearts and minds and Twitter feeds are about to tell us whether the wait for this moment of Bluth was indeed worth it. READ FULL STORY »
