“How to watch Arrested Development” can be interpreted in several different ways – and in the excessively-thorough nature of this site, this article will attempt to cover all of them.
WHERE CAN I WATCH ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT?
WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO WATCH ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT?
SHOULD I BINGE WATCH ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT?
WHY ARE THERE TWO EPISODE ARRANGEMENTS FOR SEASON 1, AND WHICH ORDER IS CORRECT?
SHOULD I WATCH THE REVIVAL SEASONS?
WHY ARE THERE TWO CUTS OF SEASON 4, AND WHICH ONE SHOULD I WATCH?
WHY ISN’T SEASON 5 AVAILABLE ON DVD?
WHERE CAN I WATCH ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT?
There are several ways to watch Arrested Development. The first four seasons are available on dvd and pay-on-demand. The full series is also available to stream on Netflix in some regions, and the original three seasons are available on Hulu/Disney+ in some regions too, though the best way to verify this is to Google “where to stream Arrested Development in [your country]” – even if one laid out a complete list, licensing deals can change so streaming rights are never really set in stone.
Be forewarned, if you’re watching the show via a streaming service, not all the episodes will be in the correct order. The episodes will be in broadcast order rather than their intended viewing order, which creates continuity errors in season 1 – a point we’ll pick up on further down the page – but for now, this plethora of options leads us to the next question…
WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO WATCH ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT?
Honestly, if you’re to ask this devotee, the best way to watch Arrested Development is on dvd.
The first reason for this is that dvd is the only place where you can find the episodes in the correct order. This is only an issue for season 1; all sources have the same episode arrangement for the remaining seasons (there are, however, two cuts of season 4, and one comes heavily recommended over the other – this is covered further down – but if you’re watching on dvd, that won’t be an issue, the other cut never received a physical release).
Another reason the show’s best viewed on dvd is it has the best sound mix – when you’re watching something on a streaming service, it’s through that streaming service’s player, which is often putting additional EQ on the audio (this is particularly noticeable in season 4 which has a lot of dialogue over the top of other dialogue, all of which is meant to be heard at specific levels; season 4 has a far more palatable sound mix on dvd than it does on Netflix). In other words, the way the show sounds on dvd is how it’s meant to sound.
The dvds also have a slew of exclusive special features too, including deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, audio commentaries with the full cast on select episodes, and some other more specific extras (ie. the season 1 dvd offers up almost 30 original songs from the show’s soundtrack to listen to; many of which did not make the official soundtrack release, At Long Last…Music And Songs From Arrested Development).
There’s one major downside to collecting the show on physical media though, and that is that season 5 is not available on dvd. This means that if you want to watch the full series, the only way to (legally) see those final 16 episodes is with a Netflix subscription.
If you’re interested in purchasing the show on dvd, your best bet is online – sites like Amazon still have brand new copies on sale (and if you don’t mind second-hand dvds, there are no shortage on sale on eBay). And any stores that still stock tv shows on dvd may likely carry Arrested Development too. Here’s what the official dvd covers look like, if you ever want to keep an eye out:
(Should you encounter Arrested Development dvds that don’t look like these, they are not official commercial dvd releases; ie. they could be bootlegs, or you might be looking at one of those For-Your-Consideration Emmy nomination dvds that only contain a few episodes)
SHOULD I BINGE WATCH ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT?
This is a question that boils down to personal preference, though if you’re a first-time viewer, there are some things you should take into account before trying to clear an entire season in one sitting.
Yes, like any 22-minute sit-com, it is very easy to sit through multiple Arrested Development episodes at a time. It also has a far stronger emphasis on continuity than one would typically expect from a sit-com (particularly the revival seasons, where the show largely abandons all its episodic structure entirely in favor of a fully-serialized narrative), and as such, it’s often helpful to have the previous episodes fresh in your mind.
However, Arrested Development is also exceptionally dense – it’s fast-paced, bombastic, and doesn’t waste a moment of screentime (there are 9 main characters, and the writers try to give them all something to do in most Fox era episodes), packed to the brim with callbacks, background jokes, foreshadowing, and pop culture references that often skew esoteric. In short, Arrested Development can be a lot to take in – and generally needs some time to marinate in order to be fully appreciated. To that end, it’s a show that really warrants your undivided attention. You’ll want to find something else to fold laundry to.
The benefit of Arrested Development’s density is it pretty much always becomes better on repeat viewings. The writers were specifically slipping things in for the type of viewers who were recording and pausing The Simpsons so they could read the split-second sign gags. Arrested Development was designed to be rewatched, so if you enjoy the show the first time around, the good news is it’s the gift that keeps on giving; you’re almost guaranteed to find the next viewing more rewarding.
As for whether or not you should binge watch the show, it’s entirely up to you, though first-time viewers would be best off limiting their binges to a modest number of episodes on account of the above points.
If you are binge-watching the show, here are some recommended spots to take breaks:
Season 1, Episode 3: Bringing Up Buster (several multi-episode story arcs commence in the following episode, marks the end of show’s introductory act)
Season 1, Episode 8: In God We Trust or Episode 10: Pier Pressure (both are largely standalone episodes, episode 11 commences a story arc, episodes 12 and 13 are a two-parter best watched together)
Season 1, Episode 13: Beef Consommé (mid-season finale, multiple story arcs conclude in this episode, marks the end of season’s first act)
Season 1, Episode 16: Missing Kitty (several story arcs commence in following episode, episodes 17 and 18 are a two-parter)
Season 1, Episode 19: Best Man for the Gob (story arc concludes in this episode, new story arc begins in next episode)
Season 1, Episode 22: Let Them Eat Cake (season finale, marks the end of season’s second act)
Season 2, Episode 3: ¡Amigos! (major story arc commences in following episode) or Episode 6: Afternoon Delight (multiple story arcs commence in following episode, marks the end of season’s first act; note episode 8 commences a new story arc and episodes 10 and 11 are a two-parter best watched together)
Season 2, Episode 12: Hand to God (mid-season finale, marks the end of season’s second act; note episodes 14-16 are best watched together)
Season 2, Episode 18: The Righteous Brothers (season finale, marks the end of season’s third act)
Season 3, Episode 6: The Ocean Walker (marks the end of season’s first act, concluding several story arcs)
Season 3, Episode 9: S.O.B.s (several story arcs commence in next episode, the remaining four episodes of the season are essentially the “endgame” for saga #1 and are best watched together)
Season 3, Episode 13: Development Arrested (season 3 finale/final episode of Fox era, end of saga #1)
Season 4, Episode 5: A New Start (marks the end of season’s first act; best watched in same sitting as episode 3)
Season 4, Episode 10: Queen B. (marks the end of season’s second act; best watched in same sitting as episode 9) or Episode 11: A New Attitude (episodes 12, 13 and 15 are all closely linked and best watched in the same sitting)
Season 4, Episode 15: Off the Hook (season 4 finale, mid-point of saga #2)
Season 5, Episode 5: Sinking Feelings (marks the end of season’s first act, concluding several story arcs; best watched in same sitting as episodes 3 and 4)
Season 5, Episode 8: Premature Independence (marks the end of season’s second act, concluding several story arcs, with several more commencing in the following episode)
Season 5, Episode 12: Check Mates (marks the end of season’s third act, concluding several story arcs and setting up final act, the remaining four episodes of the season/series again serve as “endgame” for saga #2 and are best watched together)
WHY ARE THERE TWO EPISODE ARRANGEMENTS FOR SEASON 1, AND WHICH ORDER IS CORRECT?
For season 1, the episodes were not all broadcast in the order they were intended to be seen. This created several continuity issues across the season (hence why the dvds made a point of correcting it by restoring the episodes back to their intended order). Unfortunately, Netflix reverted the arrangement of season 1 back to its erroneous broadcast order.
If you want to check whether you’ve got season 1 in the correct order, you can refer to this site’s episode guide, which has all the episodes arranged as they’re intended to be viewed.
If you’re watching in the correct order (as per the dvds), then following episode 4, Key Decisions, the next batch of episodes will be arranged as such:
5. Visiting Ours
6. Charity Drive
7. My Mother, the Car
8. In God We Trust
If you’re watching in the incorrect order (broadcast/streaming), it’ll go:
5. Charity Drive (needs to be #6)
6. Visiting Ours (needs to be #5)
7. In God We Trust (needs to be #8)
8. My Mother, the Car (needs to be #7)
Similarly, later in the season, following episode 15, Staff Infection, the correct order for the next three episodes should be as follows:
16. Missing Kitty
17. Altar Egos
18. Justice is Blind
If you’re watching in the incorrect broadcast/streaming order, it’ll go:
16. Altar Egos (needs to be #17)
17. Justice is Blind (needs to be #18)
18. Missing Kitty (needs to be #16)
To amend the season to its correct order, there are three changes you will need to make:
Switch episodes 5 and 6 around (so Visiting Ours is seen before Charity Drive)
Switch episodes 7 and 8 around (so my Mother the Car is seen before In God We Trust)
Bring episode 18 forward in front of 16 and 17 (so Missing Kitty is seen before the Altar Egos/Justice is Blind two-parter)
This will fix up the continuity errors it creates in several story arcs (such as the Buster/Lucille 2 relationship, and the Tobias-in-prison arc; these continuity issues are elaborated on further within the episode articles above).
SHOULD I WATCH THE REVIVAL SEASONS?
Chances are likely you’ve heard bad things about the revival seasons, though the response hasn’t been entirely negative; vocal chunks of the fanbase hold seasons 4 and/or 5 in high regard, and critical reception to both was mixed, but there were some notably positive reviews, particularly to season 4. The more accurate way to describe the revival run is “polarizing,” so chances are you could fall on either side of the fence. If you are only interested in seeing the original, universally-acclaimed run, then the season 3 finale is the conclusive stopping point for you.
Narrative-wise, seasons 4 and 5 comprise a completely separate saga to seasons 1-3, so they are not “necessary” viewing by any means if you only have a casual interest level in the show (but this does mean, if you’re going to watch season 4 – which concludes on a series of cliffhangers – you ought to watch season 5 as well for narrative resolution). Series creator Mitch Hurwitz has often expressed regret season 4 was billed as “Arrested Development season 4” and not as a sequel/spin-off series as sorts with a separate subtitle (this is presumably why the “Fateful Consequences” title was added to the recut of season 4 when it was released years later, but more on that shortly), so it is best to go into season with the mentality “this is not a continuation of the same story, but rather, the beginning of a new one.”
While it’s true that season 4 is geared more towards the hardcore fanbase, you don’t have to be a hardcore fan to appreciate the revival seasons – but it really helps to go in having seen seasons 1-3 more than once. More importantly, it’s best to go into the revival run with an open mind. If you’re expecting more of the same, you will be disappointed, but if you’re willing to hop on and go along with these extra seasons for the full journey, you’ll hopefully find they have a lot to offer. The original cut of season 4 is an exceptionally rewarding piece of television if you engage it on its terms, which leads us to the next talking point…
WHY ARE THERE TWO CUTS OF SEASON 4, AND WHICH ONE SHOULD I WATCH?
The original cut of season 4 was released on May 26, 2013, and consists of 15 episodes. If you have a Netflix subscription, the original cut can be found in the “Special Features/Extras” menu for season 4 – which has been permanently replaced with the recut. It is also available on dvd (again, the recommended way to watch it).
Season 4 came with a major change in format to the show. One of the main hurdles in reviving the show was cast availability, and so season 4 was written to account for this: Each episode follows a different focal character (ie. episode 1 is centered around Michael, episode 2 around George Sr, episode 3 around Lindsay, etc.) across the same five-year timeline, giving the season a non-linear “puzzle box” approach.
While it was always intended as a one-off experiment (season 5 does not utilize the same experimental structural/framing device), many viewers were critical of the new format, with multiple linear fan-made cuts surfacing online over time. Another major change to the show’s format came with the episode lengths, that varied significantly, and often ran well over 30 minutes (a trend that does continue into season 5), consequently affecting syndication prospects for these episodes.
Leading up to the wait for season 5, a recut of season 4 was released on May 4, 2018 – something series creator Mitch Hurwitz had mentioned he was putting together all the way back in 2014. The recut, also known as the “season 4 remix,” has been dubbed with the title of “Fateful Consequences” and consists of 22 episodes, all running at about 23 minutes in length each.
If the drastically different episode counts aren’t enough of a giveaway, you can easily tell which cut you’re watching based on the intro. In the original cut, the focal character of the intro changes, affecting the captions on the other characters in the intro (and the narrator concludes with their name: “It’s Michael’s Arrested Development,” “it’s George Sr’s Arrested Development,” “it’s Lindsay’s Arrested Development,” etc.). It also begins with “Bluth family” and no additional text on-screen alongside the family portrait at the start, and ends with the standard logo that’s always closed out the intro, ie:
While the recut adds the words “season 4 remix” at the beginning, and stamps “fateful consequences” on screen at the end, ie:
If you want to be absolutely sure which cut you’re watching, check the episode guide, which lists the recommended original cut; ie. if you’re watching the original cut, the first episode will be titled Flight of the Phoenix (whereas if it’s titled Re Cap’n Bluth, you’re watching the recut).
The Fateful Consequences remix is often incorrectly described as a “chronological” recut, but it’s actually less linear than the original cut (in the original cut, we follow one central character in each episode in a mostly linear fashion, whereas in the remix, we’re often cutting between characters at drastically different points of their lives, the narrator even chiming in repeatedly with time markers of “years earlier/later” as we cut back and forth between different characters). The Fateful Consequences remix does not restore the events of season 4 to a linear timeline, it merely splits each character’s arcs across a larger span of episodes (for example, in the original cut, Buster’s story arc was largely confined to episode 14; in the remix, the scenes that comprised this episode are spread out across 11 different episodes – but they do not always take place at the same time as the other characters’ scenes in these same episodes).
If it’s your first time watching season 4, WATCH THE ORIGINAL CUT. The writing in season 4 leans more heavily into long-form setups and payoffs. In the original Fox run, narratives would split off, affect each other in various ways, and then dovetail back together for amusing, unexpected payoffs, and this would all happen over the course of a single episode. In season 4, the writers do this over longer stretches of episodes – as mentioned, it was essentially designed to be a “puzzle box” season. By recutting it into a more linear format, the Fateful Consequences remix actively gives you the solutions to the puzzle box without you having to do any work in solving it. So if you want to play along with this season like a puzzle box – the way it was originally written, and the way it was intended to be seen – you should do the original cut (and that last part is emboldened to emphasize: This is the cut you should watch if you value the concept of preserving art). You will completely lose the ability to ever play the highly rewarding puzzle game the writers crafted for you if you watch the Fateful Consequences remix first.
The recut is admittedly far easier to follow than the original cut, but it’s to a fault, with entire jokes being outright explained by the narrator now where they originally were not. Arrested Development is a show that usually respects the audience’s intelligence to a remarkable degree, and the original cut of season 4 does just that, but the Fateful Consequences remix dumbs down the season in a way that is antithetical to Arrested Development’s very essence (and unfortunately, some offputting editing quirks the show picked up in the season 4 remix make their way into season 5, too). In the original cut, there are several story arcs that deliberately mislead the audience into thinking one thing for multiple episodes, before finally delivering us a funny, satisfying plot twist – in the remix, some of these twists are given to us almost immediately, and we lose the entire experience we had of finding it out in the original cut.
But if “creative intent” and “too much handholding” aren’t strong enough arguments to dissuade you, you should know the Fateful Consequences remix is, well, pretty unwatchable by most reasonable metrics, and really should just be avoided at all costs unless you’ve seen the original cut multiple times over and are looking for a new way to experience it. The main thing that makes the Fateful Consequences remix so unwatchable is an overabundance of narration and recapping in every episode. As mentioned, there are 22 installments, each about 23 minutes in length, which should make for breezier viewing in theory. But most episodes feature extensive sequences in the 3+ minute range recapping events we’ve just seen in previous episodes – and quite often, already seen recapped in multiple previous episodes. It’s narration on top of narration, recapping on top of recapping, and really unclear who exactly any of it’s for (the recapping would really only be necessary if this season were being viewed on a one-episode-a-week basis, but even then it’s still aggressively long compared to the short single-sentence recaps we’d occasionally get back when the show was coming out on a one-episode-a-week basis).
Ron Howard’s voice dominates the recut to the point where you just want him to stop talking for a few seconds so you can actually watch the episode. There are episodes where he talks for over a quarter of the episode’s entire runtime, and it doesn’t just kill the momentum of all the accompanying scenes, it does worse by turning our beloved 10th character of the narrator into a downright nuisance (Fun Night, an episode around the midpoint of the Fateful Consequences remix demonstrates this perfectly; story-wise, a lot of characters are in the same place at the same time, so this sequence of events should flow together seamlessly, but instead we have the narrator repeatedly chiming in with “Meanwhile, across the room, so and so was talking to so and so,” etc. highlighting each and every already-evident cut, making it all too glaringly obvious that these scenes were not written/filmed with the intention of being stitched together like this). “Howard shut up” is the Arrested Development equivalent of “Hahn shot first” – you should choose to immortalize the cut where the narrator actually gave the mic to the characters once in a while.
While both cuts of season 4 are experiments in their own right, the Fateful Consequences remix should not be thought of as anything more than a failed experiment (frankly, it’s surprising this recut was ever deemed for for public release), and one can only hope it one day switches places with the original cut on Netflix’s episode guide, being relegated to the special features sub-menu where it belongs, while the original cut takes its rightful place in the official episode chronology. The thought that so many will see this cut and not the original is heartbreaking; plus, it stands to reason in this era of experimental television where non-linear storytelling is far more commonplace, modern audiences might actually be more receptive to the original cut of season 4 now than they were 10+ years ago when it came out. It certainly doesn’t stand a chance at ever getting the critical reevaluation it deserves if it’s buried in a sub-menu few will click on.
WHY ISN’T SEASON 5 AVAILABLE ON DVD?
When Netflix first started producing original content, many of their early flagship shows like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black received physical releases. However, this became less common over time, and come 2019 when season 5 was finally available to stream in full, Netflix had largely shied away from dvd/blu-ray production.
Now, eagerness on Netflix’s part may not actually be a factor here, as it appears the season 4 dvd was distributed by Fox Home Entertainment – it does not have any Netflix branding (admittedly, licensing/ownership of the revival seasons between Netflix and Fox is a little murky). But Fox don’t seem any more eager to release their full library of shows on dvd either, having ceased physical distribution for long-running flagship comedies like The Simpsons, Family Guy and American Dad! back in 2019 themselves; the same year as the Disney acquisition.
Furthermore, season 5 received a rather lackluster reception from critics and much of the fanbase, and was accompanied by bad publicity in the form of a sexual misconduct allegation against Jeffrey Tambor from one of his Transparent co-stars (which hit the news after season 5 had already wrapped filming, but before it had been released), and the infamous 2018 New York Times interview. When season 5 was released, it was split into two parts, and part 1’s release in May 2018 saw online discussion largely focused on these negative behind-the-scenes occurrences (in some ways, it returned Arrested Development to a similar status it had during season 1; most discussion about the episodes themselves was happening between online nerds in the quieter parts of the internet).
It all left a black cloud hanging over Arrested Development that killed subsequent press for the series, with the release date for part 2 not even being announced until a month prior to its March 2019 release, which received minimal fanfare. Critical reviews for season 5’s second part were sparse and proved to veer more negative than part one (although some of the online fanbase proved more receptive to 5B than 5A, as these two half-seasons are also known). Ultimately, when you add all these factors up, it’s doubtful Netflix/Fox are ever going to go to the trouble of giving season 5 an official dvd release.
It’s a shame, since physical media sales are actually one of the key things that led to Arrested Development’s popularity (and subsequent Netflix revival) in the first place, and a season 5 dvd – or a “complete series” dvd collection with all 5 seasons – would be a lovely way to honor the series. It’s certainly something this fan hopes for, but it seems like a very long shot at this point (if it ever does happen, it’ll more likely be through a third-party distributor acquiring the licensing rights, ie. the way Olive Films did for Better Off Ted and King of the Hill after Fox Home Entertainment stopped releasing additional seasons on dvd… but that was back when there was still relatively high demand for the format, so don’t hold your breath).
Deconstructing Arrested Development 