Arrested Development

From ArticleWorld

Arrested Development is the multi-award winning American television comedy, based around the dysfunction that occurs within a family who have lost much of their wealth. The show is shot in an unconvential nostalgic documentary style, using original historic film footage and photography along with a meandering commentary by the shows producer Ron Howard.

Series Background

The series was first aired on 2nd November 2003 and has since gone on to create a cult status in not only it’s native US but also in countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. Centred around the eccentric and wildy different members of the Bluth family and headed by disgraced former company CEO George senior, the Bluth’s are an ecclectic mixture of personalities. From the posessive materialistic wife to a struggling magician as son every member of the family is in stark contrast with the other, causing the tension which makes the show. But the true star of the show is the level-headed ‘normal’ son Michael, who overcomes the inherant problems within the family in an attempt to galvanize the mismatched collective to create at least a small sense of harmony.

Critical Success

The show has been lauded by critics since Arrested Development first aired on the Fox Network in late 2003. Along with the critical acclamation came the appraisal of major television award judges, picking up an impressive haul of 6 Emmys and a Golden Globe in its short life on television. But despite the accolades and critical praise the show has struggled to gain the vast audiences of other mainstream US comedies, instead it enjoys the cultish following of a dedicated collection of around 4 million viewers.

Production and Distribution

Arrested Development was created by Mitchell Hurwitz; the man behind other television successes like The Golden Girls, The Ellen Show and The John Larroquette Show. The Academy Award winning director and actor Ron Howard, who also provides narrative for the show, is an executive producer of the show along with creator Mitchell Hurwitz, Brian Grazer and David Nevins. The show has been sold to numerous worldwide broadcasting networks. In the United States and Latin America the show is aired by Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Network. Elsewhere the series is shown on the BBC in the United Kingdom, The Comedy Channel and the Severn Network in Australia and in Canada on the Global TV station.