Tag Archives: episode count

The new season of ‘Arrested Development’ gets its spring release date

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Arrested Development returns with all-new episodes on (drum-roll please) May 26, 2013.

Netflix issued a press release on Thursday expressing the long-awaited news. In addition to announcing the release date, the streaming company increased the episode order to a grand total of 15, way up from the originally planned 10 installments. Just like it did with its last premiere of original programming in House of Cards, Netflix will make all 15 episodes of Arrested Development available at the same time precisely at 12:01AM PDT on Sunday, May 26. Take note: the new season premieres Memorial Day weekend so fans will have plenty of time to marathon it all before the work week/school resumes on Tuesday.

Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer for Netflix: “Arrested Development is now widely viewed as one of the top TV comedies of all time and Mitch Hurwitz is bringing it to Netflix in a brand new way, crafted for the on-demand generation that has come to discover the show in the years since it last appeared on TV. The highly anticipated return of this show is sure to make history all over again.”

Series creator and executive producer Mitch Hurwitz: “Ted said that? Wow. Well don’t print this obviously, but he’s going to be immensely disappointed. In truth we are doing something very ambitious that can only be done with Netflix as partners and on their platform. Finally my simple wish for the show is coming true: that it be broadcast every second around the clock to every television, computer or mobile device in existence.”

In case you didn’t know… Arrested Development centers around Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman) and his eccentric family comprised of his son George Michael (Michael Cera), his father George Bluth Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor), his mother Lucille (Jessica Walter), his brothers George Oscar Bluth II (Will Arnett), Buster Bluth (Tony Hale) and sister Lindsay Funke (Portia de Rossi), and Lindsay’s husband Tobias (David Cross) and their daughter Maeby (Alia Shawkat). With the new episodes, each installment is dedicated to a different character’s point of view. And all of it is a major set up for a feature length film which is still in the works.

I don’t have a trailer for you yet (there may never be one since Hurwitz is keeping such a tight lid on the plotlines), but you can eye the first promotional poster above. I imagine the entire Bluth clan locked inside that bright orange shipping container with Gob trying his mightiest to bust them all out. It reads, “The Final Countdown Begins.” Celebrate with an appropriate scene after the break. Continue reading The new season of ‘Arrested Development’ gets its spring release date →

NBC decreases ‘The Cape’ episode count by three

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Things are not looking good for NBC’s new superhero drama The Cape.  On the heels of a series ratings low this week, today the Peacock decided to cut the season one episode count from 13 to 10.  All signs are pointing to cancellation, so I hope you’re not too invested in these characters already.  After the five episodes that aired thus far, I’ve stuck with it but news of the cut does not come as a surprise.  As easy as it might be to criticize the show’s cheesy dialogue, lack of top notch action sequences, and poor character development, what it all comes down to is ratings for the network.  Last night’s episode drew a meager 5.3 million viewers; that’s down 6% from the previous week.  The TV watching public doesn’t seem interested in it, and soon the network won’t be either.  According to Deadline, now that The Cape will bow out earlier than expected, fans of the serial sci-fi The Event can prepare for that show to make a return on March 7 in a two-hour block.

[Via Deadline]

Darabont confirms The Walking Dead season 2 [Update: Not so fast]

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I’m sorry I can’t contain myself. YES!  *Breath* Ok, that’s better.  Now where was I?  Oh, right…

Frank Darabount, showrunner/director/producer/writer of AMC’s upcoming horror drama The Walking Dead (based on the comic book by Robert Kirkman), told Fangoria magazine that a second season of the zombie apocalypse show is official.  Fans of the most anticipated new fall show must be teeming with excitement–The Walking Dead hasn’t even aired a single episode yet and the network gave it a green light to continue producing new content!  Filming for season 2 will begin February 2011.  Ready for some more good news?  Producer Gale Anne Hurd confirms that season 2 will expand the episode count.  While the first season will carry a short 6-episode arc, season 2 will contain 13 episodes.

Darabount hinted at what to expect in the second season.  Perhaps some of the “environmental elements” from volume two of Kirkman’s comics will play a pivotal role?  “It would be great not just to get out of the heat, but to present a different idea to the audience visually and tonally by having it be winter.  There’s some really cool stuff that Kirkman did, where they find the one zombie that’s frozen to the ground.  I’d never seen that before and that’s really cool.”

Yes, yes it is.  Darabont goes on to share his excitment about how the team plans on introducing a fan favorite from the comic book series.  “Or when Michonne shows up – and boy, is she a character I can’t wait to get to – when she comes striding out of the wasteland like a Clint Eastwood f***ing spaghetti western character cross-melded with some samurai movie, like the Baby Cart character with the f***ing sword, and there’s just a little drift of snow in the air.  I would love to put that on film.”

Hyped?  Me too.  The Walking Dead premieres October 31 at 10PM on AMC; it’s a two-hour episode so set your DVRs accordingly.

Update: Numerous sources say that Darabont spoke too soon.  According to AMC reps news of a second season is pure speculation and “rumor.”  Oh well.  It will be made official soon enough.

[Via ComicBookMovie; IGN]