Line #86 Trivia/ArrestedDevelopment


1	* ActingForTwo: Jeffrey Tambor plays both George Bluth Sr. and Oscar Bluth. This is even lampshaded in a season 4 episode when George encounters Oscar at the country club:
2	-->'''George:''' I'll just sit across from you [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall so it doesn't look bad]].
3	* ActorAllusion:
4	** Henry Winkler, who plays Barry Zuckerkorn, also famously played Fonzie on ''Series/HappyDays''. In reference to this, Barry is once seen replicating Fonzie's arm-spread pose in a mirror, and another time, is seen jumping over a shark lying on a dock.
5	** The presence of ''Happy Days'' cast members Henry Winkler and Scott Baio and jokes about ''Series/TheAndyGriffithShow'' crop up due to the common denominator of both series, Creator/RonHoward, being the narrator of the show and later appearing as a version of himself.
6	** Tobias is at one point shown to have a very presumptuous habit of buying custom license plates for his car with the names of roles he hoped to secure, only to flip them down with despair every time he was turned down. One of the plates reads "[[{{Series/House}} DRHOUSE]]", a role Tobias' actor David Cross was considered for but not cast in.
7	* ActorInspiredElement: When asked to come onto the show, Creator/CarlWeathers requested that he portray a cheap, sleazy version of himself, as he wasn't interested in simply acting out as a ''Rocky'' parody, and wanted to demonstrate his comedic chops. Mitch Hurwitz later commented that [[SerendipityWritesThePlot this idea ended up being much better than what they had originally planned]] (which was, yes, a ''Rocky'' parody, but which Hurwitz was too embarrassed to bring up after Weathers' suggestion).
8	* AccentDepundent: There's a joke based around the idea that "The Gothic Castle" (an English-style pub) would be pronounced identically in a Cockney accent to "The Gothic Asshole" (a [[WhereEverybodyKnowsYourFlame gay bar]]).
9	* AuthorsSavingThrow: The fourth season received a ReCut called "Fateful Consequences" that rewrites and re-edits the entire season to be more linear and in line with the shorter, punchier episodes of the first three seasons. While ostensibly intended to shop around for regular network syndication, it was only released in the lead up to season five. Hurwitz has all but admitted the fragmented writing, filming and editing of the fourth season was a mess that no one was able to keep straight and much of the fifth season was trying to rebuild the tone of the show and fix a number of ill-conceived characterization and plotlines of the fourth season.
10	* CareerResurrection: Creator/JasonBateman had only been getting minor roles since his turn as a 1980s TeenIdol (''Series/TheHoganFamily'') before landing the lead as Michael Bluth, which resurrected his career and led to a string of other leading roles.
11	* CastTheRunnerUp: There is a photo of Creator/DavidCross and Barkhad Abdi playing as Tobias and Murphy-Brown. It was never stated why Barkhad did not end up playing the role but had he stayed, it would reinforce the fact that Tobias is actually a [[RunningGag pale skinned black man]].
12	* TheCastShowoff: Tommy Tune as Lucille II's brother inevitably gets to do some tap dancing, which doubles as CastTheExpert.
13	* ChannelHop: Hung with a [[LampshadeHanging lampshade or two]]
14	--> '''George Bluth, Sr.:''' Well, I don't think the Home Builders Organization is going to be supporting us.
15	--> '''Michael Bluth:''' No, [[FunWithAcronyms the HBO]]'s not gonna want us. What do we do now?
16	--> '''George Sr.:''' Well, I think it's Creator/{{Showtime}} -- ... we have to have a show during dinner.
17	* CreatorBacklash: Creator/DavidCross didn't particularly like having to wear a mustache as Tobias but endured it because it helped with the characterization.
18	* DawsonCasting: Averted in the original run, but becomes jarring in flashbacks in season 4. Events that took place right after season 3's finale have characters looking much older than they looked even hours before. Even Creator/MichaelCera is not immune, looking years older when confronting GOB after the Yacht party than he did when he confronted him not long earlier. In Cera's case, the show [[HandWave Hand Waves]] this with a bit of LampshadeHanging, saying that the recent events have taken such a toll on George Michael that he's noticeably aged.
19	* ExecutiveMeddling: Fox frequently tried to alter the show's content, coming to a head in the third season when it's frequently lampshaded. Among other incidents:
20	** Fox had a problem with the characters being so unlikable. Frequent episode plots have the cast pretending to be decent people, to hilarious effect.
21	** Fox suggested gimmicks like a 3D effect or a live broadcast of an episode. This in turn leads to a surprise, brief 3D sequence where GOB throws something directly at the camera, and a live sequence with the cast deliberately {{Corpsing}}.
22	** Most infamously, Fox demanded a series of [[SpecialGuest special guest stars]] playing Michael's would-be girlfriends. This culminated in Creator/CharlizeTheron (eventually revealed to put the [[StealthPun "special"]] in "special guest") and, most infamously, Jason Bateman's real life sister, Justine. Justine's casting so upset the executives at Fox that they stopped making requests altogether, for fear of [[HoistByHisOwnPetard the creative team further humiliating them.]]
23	* FakeAmerican:
24	** Michael Cera is Canadian, and it often shows from his accent (particularly his pronunciation of "sorry").
25	** Will Arnett is also Canadian, though only his pronunciation of the word "guy" lets this slip.
26	** Portia de Rossi is Australian, and her accent sounds strange several times an episode.
27	* FakeBrit:
28	** Rita is a British character played by white South African actress Creator/CharlizeTheron.
29	** Her uncle Trevor is played by Canadian Dave Thomas.
30	* HostilityOnTheSet:
31	** Creator/JeffreyTambor had a "blowup" with Creator/JessicaWalter. Walter said in a ''New York Times'' cast interview that Tambor had verbally harassed her. "He never crossed the line on our show with any, you know, sexual whatever. Verbally, yes, he harassed me, but he did apologize...In like almost 60 years of working, I've never had anybody yell at me like that on a set."
32	** In an aversion, David Cross was very nervous about acting alongside guest star Creator/JamesLipton, because of his unflattering portrayal of him on his earlier show Mr. Show (and public remarks of him being a pretentious windbag). Thankfully, Lipton was very gracious and they were able to work well in their scenes together.
33	** Narrowly averted in Season 4; the non-linear format required a consistent director for all the episodes, so they hired Troy Miller. Miller and David Cross butted heads on ''Run Ronnie Run!'', with Miller locking Cross out of the editing room and Cross having ''very'' harsh words for him in the press. In the name of crew solidarity, Miller and Cross called a truce and filmed the season without incident.
34	* IAmNotSpock:
35	** [[{{Typecasting}} Regardless of all the awkward-but-charming characters he's played since]], Creator/MichaelCera shall always be George Michael Bluth.
36	** If anything, Tony Hale and Alia Shawkat have been affected even worse. Though Hale has actually started to avert this in recent years thanks to his acclaimed two time Emmy winning performance in the hit show ''{{Series/Veep}}''. And to a lesser extent, Shawkat has found critical success with the show ''Series/SearchParty'', [[AcclaimedFlop though it's currently looking for a wider audience]].
37	* IncestuousCasting: Justine Bateman, sister of Creator/JasonBateman, plays a character who falls in love with Jason's character. It's also played with, where Jason's character believes that Justine's character is his sister [[spoiler:(which turns out to be false)]].
38	--> "Marry me!" (Pause) "That's weird on so many levels."
39	* InspirationForTheWork: Creator/RonHoward was amused at the rise of Reality TV, especially after his film ''Film/EdTV'' predicted the rise, but found the live camera work to be interesting and was interested in a show that emulates a {{Mockumentary}} style to create a denser narrative and comedic style. Creator/MitchHurwitz created everything else about the show around that idea.
40	* KeepCirculatingTheTapes:
41	** When the non-linear story-telling for Season 4 was poorly received, Mitch Hurwitz edited things into a more linear fashion and capped episodes at 21 minutes like on Fox. After spending several years relegated to the "Trailers and more" section of the show which one woud've gone out of their way to watch, the original version ended up unlisted entirely and is no longer available to stream.
42	** Narrowly averted globally after the news that Netflix would be removing the show, including the exclusive Season 4 Remix and Season 5, in early 2023. In March 2023 Netflix users [[https://www.reddit.com/r/arresteddevelopment/comments/11qic9v/it_seems_arrested_development_wont_be_removed/ reported]] that the mention of the show "leaving soon" had been removed.
43	** Despite the confirmation that the show would stay, it eventually got unlisted in its entirety even in some of the countries which weren't originally subject to NoExportForYou (e.g. France as of 2024), leaving the Season 4 Remix and Season 5 only available to watch with a VPN or using even less legitimate means.
44	* LifeImitatesArt:
45	** While the building of a border wall has been a political issue since at least 2012, it gained national attention with the presidency of Donald Trump, who made it one of his defining campaign promises.
46	** Following Trump's failed attempt to rush a health care bill through Congress, Politico writer Dan Diamond remarked on this over Twitter by [[https://news.avclub.com/the-trump-white-house-is-pretty-much-just-arrested-deve-1798259985 simply recapping the episode]] where [[Recap/ArrestedDevelopmentS2E2TheOneWhereTheyBuildAHouse Gob tries to construct a model home in two weeks]].
47	* LoopingLines: For some reason, this show features some of the most obvious looping on television. This is often in addition to splicing in line deliveries from different takes and camera angles into the middle of a line delivery. The show tries to hide it by cutting to a shot of the person listening, with only the back of the speaker's head visible. However, it's always obvious when the vocal tone and sound quality suddenly shifts in the middle of a line, and when the LipLock of a person not facing the camera doesn't match at all. The second half of Season 5 has ''very'' noticeable looping and use of body doubles for numerous scenes.
48	* NoExportForYou: Netflix is available almost worldwide, but the show isn't showing up in a lot of countries anyway, preventing many people from getting seasons 4 and 5.
49	* TheOtherDarrin:
50	** At least three different actresses played GOB's girlfriend, Marta. It doesn't help that one spoke perfect English while another had an accent...
51	** Two different actresses played George Michael's girlfriend, Ann, though [[TheNondescript it was harder to tell]].
52	*** This was originally meant to be a running gag, where Ann was played by a different actress every episode, or even replaced multiple times throughout a single episode.
53	** T-Bone is depicted as a fairly slender guy in the NextEpisodePreview of the pilot. The T-Bone in the next episode has a completely different body type.
54	** While in earlier seasons, the young George Sr. was portrayed by Jeffrey Tambor with a toupee, in Season 4, young George and Lucille are played by Creator/KristenWiig and Creator/SethRogen. In Season 5 they were recast with Creator/CobieSmulders and Creator/TaranKillam ([[RealLifeRelative who are married in real life]]).
55	** Young Michael and Young Gob are played by two different actors between the flashbacks with J Walter Weatherman, and in the scenes from the "Boyfights" movies. This is especially noticeable in Season 3 episode "Making A Stand", which contains scenes of both.
56	* PermanentPlaceholder: Producer Creator/RonHoward wasn't originally going to be the narrator. He simply recorded the narration as a placeholder until they found someone else. However, his voice over worked so well, they kept it.
57	* PlayingAgainstType: Creator/ZachBraff has a role in one episode as the sleazy producer of a series of ''Girls Gone Wild''-esque erotic films--a far cry from the [[{{Adorkable}} dorky]] {{nice guy}} roles that he usually plays.
58	* PlayingTheirOwnTwin: The Bluth Senior twins and all the Richters are played by one person each.
59	* ProducedByCastMember: Creator/MichaelCera joined the writers' room for the last two seasons, which earned him a Consulting Producer credit in Season 4 and a Producer credit in Season 5.
60	* PromotedFanboy: Creator/CharlizeTheron was an incredibly vocal fan, leading to her getting a guest arc in Season 3.
61	* RealLifeRelative:
62	** Jason Bateman's sister Justine (most famous for ''Series/FamilyTies'') appears in an episode where Michael thinks she is his sister as a LongLostRelative, and is a prostitute who propositions him. She isn't really related, and he ends up joking "Marry me!" only to comment on how wrong that still was.
63	** Will Arnett's then wife Amy Poehler plays a woman with NoNameGiven who ends up marrying GOB after a series of dares while on a blind date with him.
64	** Tony Wonder and Sally Sitwell are played by the actually-married Creator/BenStiller and Christine Taylor, and they share scenes together in season four.
65	* RealitySubtext:
66	** A number of examples. Besides several ActorAllusion(s), there's the fact that Portia de Rossi is a lesbian and her character on the show is married to TransparentCloset resident Tobias (while David Cross, ironically enough, is straight). There's also frequent references to the show's declining ratings coupled with BitingTheHandHumor toward Fox. The episode "S.O.B.s" is one of the more blatant examples. Finally, the character Nellie, whom Michael [[spoiler:apparently erroneously]] believes is his long-lost sister, is played by Creator/JasonBateman's sister Justine.
67	** More examples: the Season 2 subplot about the development being cut from 22 houses to 18 refers to the second season order being cut to 18 episodes, and the several references to musicians having rights to certain titles ("Motherboy," "Use Your Illusion," et cetera) is in regards to a lawsuit from the band Arrested Development.
68	* TheRedStapler: Certainly the intention was to do this to "Maeby" the same way Jason Bateman's sister did to "Mallory" [[Series/FamilyTies back in the '80s.]] It has become somewhat popular... for dogs.
69	* SavedFromDevelopmentHell: Production on the fourth season took years to get together, in part because the show accelerated the careers of half the cast and scheduling was impossible, and becoming a Netflix exclusive with the entire season filmed and dropped at once. The fifth season had similar issues. The irony with the title was not lost on anyone.
70	* SeparatedAtBirthCasting:
71	** It's easy to see Creator/JasonBateman and Creator/MichaelCera as father and son. Bateman, Arnett and Hale also pass really well for brothers. [[spoiler: The fact Portia de Rossi looks nothing like the rest of the family ends up being intentional, as Lindsay is revealed to be adopted and not [[HalfIdenticalTwin Michael's twin sister]]]].
72	** In the fourth season, Creator/KristenWiig is uncanny as a younger version of Jessica Walter's Lucille.
73	** Creator/IslaFisher looks enough like Ron Howard's real life daughters that she could easily pass as their half sister.
74	* TheShelfOfMovieLanguishment: The season 4 remix, "Fateful Consequences" was worked on in 2014 with Creator/RonHoward doing new narration. The original plan was to shop it to network tv which is why the episodes were cut down to tv length, but nothing ever came of it. It was finally released in 2018 on Netflix ahead of the Season 5 release.
75	* StarMakingRole: For Creator/WillArnett and Creator/MichaelCera in particular.
76	* ThrowItIn: David Cross stutters at the beginning of Tobias' community theater audition, singing "I'm a Bad, Bad Man". Though unintentional, the stutter take was used.
77	* TroubledProduction:
78	** The show got greenlit under the hope the {{Mockumentary}} style would make it relatively cheaper to film, but the heavy amount of location filming and 5 second scenes actually made the show more expensive than many hour-long dramas. The cast and crew in turn were famously ''easy'' to work with, which is how they got a lot of big name guest stars, but at the network level no one knew what to make of it and was buried under a random schedule or pre-empted by other events. Even after winning an Emmy for best comedy the network was only flustered by rising costs and floundering ratings.
79	** Many of the cast and crew, Creator/DavidCross being more vocal, has said that Season 4 and 5 had one of these as the actors had limited time on set and had to be called back in whenever the writers came up with a new joke. Because of these problems, he does not see a Season 6 in the making any time soon. Furthermore, the passing of Creator/JessicaWalter in 2021 may have closed the book on any sort of Season 6.
80	* UnCanceled: Season 4 was created for and by Creator/{{Netflix}}.
81	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
82	** Mitch Hurwitz planned for Ann to be played by someone new each episode to lend a meta-element to her characterization as TheNondescript.
83	** Tobias was intended to only be in the opening episode before [[PutOnABus leaving Lindsay and Maeby to pursue his acting career.]] Cross' improv skills and chemistry quickly led to him joining the cast as a major character instead.
84	** George Bluth was originally intended to be [[SmallRoleBigImpact a minor figure in the overall series]], serving as the impetus for the family problems but behind bars and out of mind. Creator/JeffreyTambor was so beloved by the cast and crew they enlarged the role.
85	** Mitch Hurwitz had originally toyed with the idea of there being a fifth Bluth sibling tentatively named Mark who hadn't given his permission to be filmed for the show and would therefore have his face constantly blurred out. He later used this idea for Emmett Richter.
86	** At first, Portia de Rossi didn't want to come back for Season 5 at all, as she had decided to quit acting in order to focus on political activism. In the end, Mitch Hurwitz was able to talk her into coming back, but with Lindsay almost totally OutOfFocus for much of the season; had he not been successful, however, they would likely have been forced to resort to a TimeSkip and having Lindsay PutOnABus by establishing she won election to congress in-between seasons, which would have resulted in a very different Season 5.
87	** Creator/RainnWilson originally auditioned to play the role of Gob.
88	** Tobias was apparently going to appear on ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' as Sacred Heart Hospital's in-house psychiatrist, but because it was too complex a deal to negotiate (between different studios, producers, etc.) it never happened.
89	* WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants: Mitch Hurwitz was constantly re-writing scripts for Seasons 4 and 5, which made filming extra complicated due to the limited availability of the actors. Hurwitz later said he put his process before the actors' process, and David Cross straight up said it was "not cool" in the press.
90	* YouLookFamiliar: The actress who played a nurse in a brief UsefulNotes/WorldWarII flashback in "[[Recap/ArrestedDevelopmentS3E4Notapusy Notapusy]]" later plays Buster's nurse.

Context Trivia / ArrestedDevelopment