With the return of Arrested Development on Netflix — confirmed back in May — happening later this year, details of the zany ensemble comedy’s Season 5 have been slowly trickling out. The latest news pertaining to Mitch Hurwitz’ brainchild is that the new episodes will revolve around a murder mystery of sorts.
In speaking to EW Radio, Jason Bateman confirmed the news, sharing a few key details of the forthcoming season with listeners:
“The central spine of that story is the death of Liza Minnelli’s character, and a bit of whodunit… who may have done it, who had something to do with it. But, again, that’s sort of a central thread around which [Hurwitz] is going to braid in all the colorful plot complications that he knows how to do.”
The mystery follows the aftermath of the Season 4 finale, where Buster (Tony Hale) is seen getting hauled off in cuffs, accused of murdering Minnelli’s character, Lucille Austero aka Lucille Two.
As confirmed by the show’s producer Brian Grazer back in 2015, Arrested Development Season 5 is expected to feature 17 episodes in all. The gang will begin shooting in the next two weeks and, according to Bateman, the cast will all be together in these new episodes as opposed to Season 4 which, due to scheduling difficulties and “budgetary constraints,” saw the Bluth family and friends sharing a less than desirable amount of screen time with one another.
Season 4 of Arrested Development debuted on Netflix back in May of 2013, more than seven years after the series’ initial three-season run ended on Fox in 2006. Season 5 will feature the series’ first new episodes in approximately five years.