Arrested Development Trivia | 50 facts about the sitcom

“Arrested Development” is an American television sitcom, that created a huge buzz and a big fans-cult.

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1. Arrested Development is an American television sitcom.
2. It was created by Mitchell Hurwitz.
3. It originally aired on Fox for three seasons from November 2, 2003, to February 10, 2006.
4. The show follows the Bluths, a formerly wealthy dysfunctional family
5. . It is presented in a serialized format, incorporating handheld camera work, voice-over narration, archival photos, and historical footage.
6. The show maintains numerous running gags and catchphrases.
7. Ron Howard serves as both an executive producer and the omniscient narrator.
8. Also, in later seasons, appears in the show portraying a fictionalized version of himself.
9. Set in Newport Beach, California, Arrested Development was filmed primarily in Culver City and Marina del Rey.
10. The series received critical acclaim, six Primetime Emmy Awards, and one Golden Globe Award, and attracted a cult following.
11. It has been named one of the greatest TV shows of all time by publications including Time, Entertainment Weekly, and IGN.
12. It influenced later single-camera comedy series such as 30 Rock and Community.
13. Despite the positive response from critics, Arrested Development received low ratings and viewership on Fox, which canceled the series in 2006.
14. In 2011, Netflix agreed to license new episodes and distribute them on its video streaming service.These episodes were released in May 2013.
15. Netflix commissioned a fifth season of Arrested Development, the first half of which premiered on May 29, 2018, and the second half on March 15, 2019.
16. In November 2003, the producers of the show were sued by the hip hop group Arrested Development over the alleged use of their name.
17. Rapper Speech from the group said “The use of our name by Fox is not only confusing to the public, but also has the potential to significantly dilute what the ‘Arrested Development’ name means to our fans”.
18. The lawsuit was quietly settled for an undisclosed sum.
19. This incident was alluded to in the episode “Motherboy XXX”.
20. The narrator claims the show is “legally required to make a distinction” between the “Motherboy” event happening in the episode and a band called “Motherboy”.
21. Neither David Cross’s nor Jeffrey Tambor’s characters were ever intended to be regular characters. It was not until the actors tested well that the writers ended up putting them regularly in the series.
22. Ron Howard’s role as the narrator was accidental. He was merely filling in on the pilot, but his voice just “worked.”
23. Will Arnett beat out Rainn Wilson for the part of Gob Bluth during the final round of auditions.
24. In the second season, the Bluth Company housing order is cut back from twenty-two to eighteen. This is a reference to FOX cutting back the order of episodes of the second season from the usual twenty-two to eighteen. In the third season, FOX cut the third season’s episode order from twenty-two episodes to thirteen episodes.
25. In “Arrested Development: Let ‘Em Eat Cake (2004),” Alessandra Torresani played George Michael (Michael Cera)’s girlfriend Ann, and her brief performance was singled out for praise by the rest of the cast on the DVD commentary for the episode. By season two, however, Ann was played by the very different-looking Mae Whitman. This casting change is possibly a joke, since Michael repeatedly forgets what Ann looks like, and Maeby (Alia Shawkat) jealously calls her “No Face.”
26. Michael Cera, who is Canadian, had problems with his work visa, and was almost unable to complete work on the pilot episode. Cera had to go to Tijuana, Mexico in order to obtain another visa. Michael Angarano was on standby to replace Cera, in case he was deported
27. Nearly every episode begins with “Michael” or “Michael Bluth” as the opening word(s)
28. Amy Poehler (Bride of Gob), was, in real life, Will Arnett’s (Gob’s) wife at the time.
29. In one episode Tobias (David Cross) is shown getting a license plate made for each role for which he auditions. One of the roles is the title character in Ιατρικές υποθέσεις (2004), for which David Cross auditioned in real life.
30. When a photo is shown of Rita (Charlize Theron) from before her plastic surgery, it is actually a film still from Monster (2003), for which Theron famously gained thirty pounds and underwent extensive special effects make-up regimens to make her look rougher and less advantaged.
31. Episodes end with scenes appearing “on the next Arrested Development.” Most of the time, these scenes do not appear in the next episode, but are part of the series’ continuity
32. In season three, the Bluths’ new lawyer, Bob Loblaw (Scott Baio), is brought in to replace their usual lawyer, Barry Zuckercorn (Henry Winkler). Loblaw proudly states this is not the first time he has been called on to replace Zuckercorn, a nod to the television series Happy Days (1974), where Baio was added to the cast, in the role of Chachi, to supplement Winkler’s teen idol status as Fonzie. Winkler was getting older, and the producers of Happy Days wanted a younger cool character on the show. The narrator, Ron Howard, also starred in Happy Days alongside Winkler and Baio.
33. The real-life inspiration for the Bluth Frozen Banana Stand was a chocolate-chip cookie business that Series Creator Mitchell Hurwitz and his brother Michael started in 1976, when they were thirteen and fifteen years old, respectively. With the help of their father, Mark, the boys rented and renovated a former taco stand in Newport Beach, California (the eventual setting for this show), and called their business “The Chipyard.”
34. In 2013, Hurwitz told interviewer Terry Gross that the cookie business paid for his and his brother’s college educations. The business continues as of 2018, with one physical location in Boston, and a nationwide online and mail order component.
35. In season four, Lindsay (Portia de Rossi) and Tobias (David Cross) go to Shuturmurg, India to rediscover themselves. In Hindi, shuturmurg means ostrich, which is a running joke throughout the season.
36. In one episode, Henry Winkler looks in a mirror, starts to comb his hair, then puts his arms out, just like Fonzie in the opening credits of Happy Days (1974).
37. A recurring joke within the series relates to the lack of knowledge the characters have of other countries and cultures. Portugal is regularly referred to as being in South America, rather than Europe, for instance. This is particularly noticeable in the season three episodes related to “Wee Britain”, a take on Little China and similar communities, in which virtually no non-U.S. cultural reference is accurate. Even the narrator states that Britain has three Houses of Parliament as a “fact”, which would be news to the House of Commons and House of Lords
38. Season four was not shot chronologically. The actors and actresses were not available through the whole season, so most of their scenes and plots were shot following each other, and then edited to fit the new structure, with which Mitchell Hurwitz had come up.
39. Uncle Jack (Martin Short) is based loosely on real-life ninety-year-old fitness guru Jack LaLanne. Speech mannerisms, style of dress, and even the dyed jet-black hair are all trademarks of LaLanne, who, unlike Short’s character, was extremely mobile and agile at the time the episode aired.
40. When the character Rebel Alley (Isla Fisher) is introduced, the narrator (Ron Howard) explains that she is Ron Howard’s illegitimate daughter, and like Howard’s (real-life) children, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jocelyn Carlyle, Paige Carlyle, and Reed Cross, she got her middle name (Alley) from her place of conception.
41. The additional joke, which the narrator does not explain in the show, is that “Alley” is also the maiden name of Ron Howard’s real-life wife Cheryl Howard.After its initial run on Netflix, season 4 was re-edited. It was initially shot to accommodate the various actors’ schedules, and they were not always available at the same times. The season ran as a series of the same events told from different points of view. The new season 4 is retitled a “remix” and “fateful consequences” and, because of the changes, increased the episode number from 13 to 22. As of May 2018, both versions of season 4 are available on Netflix.
42. Even before episode 1.16, Arrested Development: Altar Egos (2004), posters reading “Save Surely” can be seen on the walls when George-Michael (Michael Cera) and Maeby (Alia Shawkat) are at school.
43. FOX cancelled the show during its initial run after three seasons in 2005. Netflix revived the show in 2013 for a fourth season.
44. In episode 4.13, Arrested Development: It Gets Better (2013), George-Michael (Michael Cera) is seen watching a cartoon show. The show is actually Sit Down Shut Up (2009), starring Will Arnett and Jason Bateman, who are his dad and his uncle on this show.
45. Buster (Tony Hale)’s full name is Byron “Buster” Bluth.80 of 88 found this interesting | Share thisIn the season three episode Arrested Development: Prison Break-In (2005), there are several references to Απόδραση από τη φυλακή (2005), including a scene where Gob (Will Arnett) draws a map of the prison on his body, which is a reference to Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller)’s tattoos
46. A recurring joke has various characters named for adverbs. For example, the regular character, played by Alia Shawkat, is named Maeby, her phony alter-ego is named Surely, and George-Michael (Michael Cera)’s Ethics teacher (Heather Graham) is named Miss Baerly.
47. A recurring line repeated by many characters is “I’ve made a huge mistake” and “That was a freebie.”
48. The first season saw the show win the 2004 TV Land Award for “Future Classic”
49. Lucille’s (Jessica Walter) prison identification number is 07734. Upside down this reads “hELLO”, the real name of her adopted son Annyeong (Justin Lee). Annyeong is the informal Korean word for hello.
50. During the third season finale, a party is being held on the R.M.S. Queen Mary. Lucille (Jessica Walter) later tries to use the ship to escape from the S.E.C. In reality, the ship was converted into a hotel during the late 1960s, in which all the machinery and three of the four propellers were removed. Long Beach, California (where the liner is located) now considers it a building. It is also mentioned by one of the characters, that the ship was welded to the pier, so it can’t move.