Netflix plans on removing all five seasons of Arrested Development next month.
The show’s landing page now features a notification informing subscribers that March 14 will be the last day to watch. According to Variety, last year the streamer had a similar scenario with its 2012-14 series Lilyhammer, announcing its eventual departure only to strike a licensing renewal deal before the date arrived.
Could the same thing happen to Arrested Development? If not, the outlet notes, “it will be one of the few times Netflix has scrubbed its own original content, which has previously occurred with other series co-owned by outside studios.” Variety points to Marvel’s suite of series, which have since migrated to Disney+, as an example.
The comedy originally aired on Fox for three seasons before getting cancelled in 2006 due to low ratings. Showtime was looking to pick up Arrested at the time, but all hopes of a return were shut down when creator Mitch Hurwitz decided to end his involvement.
“I had taken it as far as I felt I could as a series,” Hurwitz explained. “I told the story I wanted to tell, and we were getting to a point where I think a lot of the actors were ready to move on.”
Six years later, Netflix revived the show, releasing a Rashomon-style fourth season in 2013, followed by a fifth season split between 2018 and 2019. The former season was later repurposed to reflect the more traditional 22-episode format seen on network TV.
Not only was Arrested Development’s initial revival novel for its time, it was among the first original content commissioned to air on the streamer, along with the aforementioned Lilyhammer and—all launching in 2013—House of Cards, Orange Is the New Black, and Hemlock Grove.
According to TV Line, the first three seasons of Arrested—which features a star-studded cast that includes Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, Alia Shawkat, Tony Hale, David Cross, and Jessica Walter—can also be seen on Hulu. The original version of Season 4 was given a DVD release, but Netflix is the only place where Season 5 and the re-cut version of the fourth season can be viewed.
