---
title: "Arrested Development"
year: 2003
kind: "series"
canonical: "https://film.one/tv/arrested-development"
fi1m_id: "arrested-development"
imdb_id: "tt0367279"
tmdb_id: 4589
wikidata_id: "Q11598"
fi1m_score: 87
critics_score: 74
critics_reviews: 7
published: "2026-09-13"
updated: "2026-09-17T21:41:01.161506+00:00"
region: "SG"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Arrested Development (2003)

Created by Mitchell Hurwitz · IMDA NC16 · Comedy

## Identity

Arrested Development

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/tv/arrested-development
- **Type:** Series
- **Fi1m ID:** arrested-development
- **IMDb ID:** tt0367279
- **TMDB ID:** 4589
- **Wikidata ID:** Q11598
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367279/, https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/4589, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11598

**Fi1m score: 87** · Critics 74 from 7 reviews

*In a sentence:* The Bluths need a narrator because none of them can be trusted to explain themselves

> A sharply funny family comedy whose performances reward close attention. The storytelling can grow tiring, especially in later stretches, but the Bluths remain worth the trouble.

## Synopsis

Financial ruin brings the Bluth family together in a model home, where their difficulties with one another continue under the same roof. Jason Bateman plays Michael Bluth, with Jeffrey Tambor as George Bluth Sr., Jessica Walter as Lucille, Will Arnett as Gob and Tony Hale as Buster. Portia De Rossi and David Cross play Lindsay Bluth Fünke and Tobias Fünke, while Michael Cera and Alia Shawkat play George Michael Bluth and Maeby Fünke. Ron Howard narrates this documentary-style comedy about a family trying to regroup after losing its money.

## Review

Financial ruin has brought the Bluth family together in a model home. *Arrested Development* makes a sharply funny comedy from their attempts to endure one another, though its crowded storytelling can occasionally become tiring. Writers including Mitchell Hurwitz and Jim Vallely take an ordinary family-comedy problem, the impossibility of getting everyone to behave, and give it an unusually capable cast. There is little comfort here, but plenty of recognisable bad behaviour.

The model home is a useful setting for people whose confidence seems so poorly supported by their circumstances. The documentary-style photography pays attention to faces, allowing a reaction to undermine somebody else’s account of events. Greg Harrington and James Hawkinson are among the cinematographers keeping the images plain enough for a small change of expression to matter. Ron Howard’s narration supplies a calm voice amid the competing demands for attention. His level delivery works because he sounds so much less aggrieved than the people he is describing.

Jason Bateman gives Michael Bluth the weary patience that helps us find a way into this company. He is particularly good at allowing a pause to suggest how much Michael would like credit for remaining civil. Jessica Walter’s Lucille has no such interest in making herself agreeable. We laughed hardest at the calm with which Walter dismisses other people; she gives the cruelty no more vocal weight than an ordinary remark. Her precise emphasis lets us hear the selfishness without needing an exaggerated expression to underline it.

Will Arnett’s Gob is more strenuous company, and Arnett gets laughs from the effort of maintaining his own importance. Tony Hale makes Buster’s awkwardness physical, so that simply occupying space among these relatives can look like hard work. Jeffrey Tambor gives George Bluth Sr. an ease that makes the family’s predicament still more irritating: he can seem comfortable when comfort is hardly warranted. Michael Cera and Alia Shawkat provide welcome changes of pace as George Michael and Maeby. Their smaller reactions stop the ensemble from becoming a competition to be the loudest person present.

The cutting is crucial to making all this company bearable. Editors including Steven Sprung and Stuart Bass give a reaction just enough time to register before moving on, and that speed makes a small look count. We have to watch faces as well as listen to the dialogue. David Schwartz’s score adds a cheerful bounce that makes the self-pity funnier. Sometimes the combined insistence of performance, cutting and music makes us wish the programme would leave a little more space.

Across five seasons, the returns are uneven. The later stretches are less reliable, and some jokes take more arranging than their laughs justify. Hurwitz and his fellow writers can seem too fond of familiar behaviour to notice that it has stopped surprising us. There are passages we would happily shorten, even with this cast.

We do not need a family sitcom to reassure us that everyone is lovable. Bateman and Walter keep us interested in the Bluths without making their company look desirable. There is enough recognisable hurt beneath the squabbling to keep the selfishness from becoming monotonous. Start at the beginning, and save the conversation for between episodes.

*Fi1m score 87, published 13 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics like it, and the warmth is concentrated on the original run. The reviews from its first years describe a comedy that sets out to mock the sitcom and largely gets away with it: the writing is called sharp and fast, the ensemble is picked out repeatedly, and the hand-held, documentary-style shooting is credited with giving the show its energy. The premise of a rich family stripped of its money and crammed into a model home is found to be a reliable engine, and Jeffrey Tambor is singled out more than once.

The reservations are almost all about the later seasons, so the spread is wide. The AV Club finds the fourth season bloated and hard to love, however ambitious. IndieWire thinks the fifth is worth it for the women and Gob but senses an ending. The Telegraph, the one outright dissenter, calls that season tired and smug and says the show has outstayed its welcome. Even The Guardian, broadly approving, admits it is fun rather than laugh-out-loud funny.

## Straight answers

**Is Arrested Development worth watching?**

*Arrested Development* is worth watching for anyone who enjoys a sharply funny family comedy with performances that reward close attention, and we scored it 87. Jason Bateman and Jessica Walter keep the Bluths interesting without making their company look desirable. The later seasons are less reliable, and the crowded storytelling can grow tiring.

**How long is Arrested Development, and what is it rated?**

*Arrested Development* is rated NC16 by the IMDA in Singapore. It is a comedy series.

**Where can I watch Arrested Development in Singapore?**

*Arrested Development* is streaming on Disney+ in Singapore. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Arrested Development, and is it suitable for children?**

*Arrested Development* is a UK 15 comedy about a selfish family, not a violent or frightening one. The certificate reflects adult humour and recognisable bad behaviour rather than anything to frighten a viewer, so it suits older teenagers and adults. Younger children would likely find little in it for them.

**How does Arrested Development compare to Fawlty Towers?**

*Arrested Development* and [*Fawlty Towers*](https://film.one/tv/fawlty-towers) both find comedy in people determined to preserve their own importance, but the earlier programme is the tighter and more consistent of the two. The Bluth saga runs five uneven seasons with a large ensemble and a narrator. Choose *Fawlty Towers* for precision and *Arrested Development* for a longer stay with a sprawling, recognisably damaged family.

**What should I watch after Arrested Development?**

After *Arrested Development*, try [*Fawlty Towers*](https://film.one/tv/fawlty-towers) (1975, Fi1m 90): For more comic damage caused by people determined to preserve their own importance. Then [*The Royal Tenenbaums*](https://film.one/film/the-royal-tenenbaums) (2001, Fi1m 84): Another damaged family, with more tenderness and elaborate arrangements for avoiding responsibility; and [*Schitt's Creek*](https://film.one/tv/schitts-creek) (2015, Fi1m 82): Another family loses its fortune, with rather more willingness to learn from it.

### Reviews we read (7)

- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Barry Garron (90/100, inferred): The critic calls it the smartest, funniest and most original new comedy of the season, praising its dysfunctional Bluth family and documentary-style approach. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/arrested-development-first-episode-thrs-816034/)
- **The Times** (85/100, inferred): The review praises the razor-sharp writing, rapid-fire jokes and one of the best ensemble casts on television, calling it the best American sitcom since Seinfeld. It highlights the strong characters and politically incorrect humour delivered with gusto. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/arrested-development-season-1-vk2c6rqcn7g)
- **Variety** (85/100, inferred): The series reinvents the sitcom with inspired goofiness and mocks conventions within the undernourished genre. It delivers terrific energy through its verite style, hand-held cameras, and a dysfunctional rich family dealing with corporate scandal. [Read](https://variety.com/2003/scene/markets-festivals/arrested-development-3-1200538261/)
- **The AV Club**, Emily St. James (B): The fourth season is a bloated boondoggle that is occasionally hilarious and sometimes boring but masterful in places. It is staggering in ambition yet hard to approach with real affection, more like loosely intersecting short films than the original series. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/arrested-development-the-complete-fourth-season-1798176925)
- **IndieWire**, Ben Travers (70/100, inferred): Season 5 is worth watching for the women and Gob even as an ending feels imminent. The best new bits come from great women and Gob amid complicated viewing due to recent events. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/shows/arrested-development-review-season-5-ending-spoilers-1201969167/)
- **The Guardian**, Nancy Banks-Smith (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the premise of the dysfunctional Bluth family living together in a model home after financial ruin engaging and lucid. The show is not laugh-out-loud funny but definitely fun, with strong performances especially from Jeffrey Tambor. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/sep/30/television.artsfeatures)
- **The Telegraph**, Ed Cumming (2/5): The critic finds season 5 an improvement over the disastrous fourth but still tired, smug and self-referential, with the show having outstayed its welcome. Some character dynamics and flashes of old energy are singled out positively amid the overall fatigue. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/on-demand/0/arrested-development-season-5-review-world-has-moved-and-should/)

## Details

- **Created by:** Mitchell Hurwitz
- **Creator:** Mitchell Hurwitz
- **Director:** Troy Miller, Mitchell Hurwitz, Joe Russo, Paul Feig, Anthony Russo, Lee Shallat Chemel, Jay Chandrasekhar, Lev L. Spiro, Peter Lauer, John Fortenberry, Robert Berlinger, Greg Mottola, Rebecca Asher, Chuck Martin, Danny Leiner, Patty Jenkins, Arlene Sanford, Jason Bateman, Jeff Melman, John Amodeo, Andrew Fleming
- **Writer:** Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely, Richard Rosenstock, Dean Lorey, Chuck Martin, Barbie Adler, John Levenstein, Brad Copeland, Richard Day, Abraham Higginbotham, Chuck Tatham, Brian Singleton, Caroline Goddard, Ron Weiner, Jim Brandon, Hallie Cantor, Evan Mann, Gareth Reynolds, Courtney Lilly, Jake Farrow, Maggie Rowe, Chris Marrs, Lisa Parsons, Tom Saunders, Karey Dornetto, Sam Laybourne
- **Story:** Mitchell Hurwitz, Richard Day, Courtney Lilly
- **Teleplay:** Jim Vallely, Barbie Adler, Chuck Tatham
- **Cinematography:** Greg Harrington, Patrick Alexander Stewart, Peter Lyons Collister, James Hawkinson, Chuck Ozeas
- **Editor:** Richard Candib, Seth Clark, Christopher M. Stewart, Kabir Akhtar, Robert Bramwell, A.J. Dickerson, Steven Sprung, Lee Haxall, Lane Farnham, Stuart Bass, Ruthie Aslan, Todd Zelin, Mark Scheib, Frank McGrath
- **Music:** David Schwartz
- **Producer:** Victor Hsu, Barbie Adler, Brad Copeland
- **Cast:** Jason Bateman as Michael Bluth; Portia De Rossi as Lindsay Bluth Fünke; Will Arnett as Gob Bluth; Michael Cera as George Michael Bluth; Alia Shawkat as Maeby Fünke; Tony Hale as Byron 'Buster' Bluth; David Cross as Tobias Fünke; Jeffrey Tambor as George Bluth Sr.
- **Certificate (IMDA):** NC16
- **Release (Singapore):** 2 November 2003
- **Genres:** Comedy

## Where to watch in Singapore

- Disney+: streaming, hd

*Checked 2026-09-13.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, DE, DK, EC, ES, FI, FR, GB, HK, HR, IE, IT, JP, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PT, RS, SE, SG, SI, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- SAG Awards 2014: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series (nominated); Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (nominated)
- Primetime Emmy Awards 2013: Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score) (nominated)
- Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Comedy Series 2007: Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Comedy Series (nominated)
- Costume Designers Guild Award for Best Costume Design – Contemporary TV Series 2006: Costume Designers Guild Award for Best Costume Design – Contemporary TV Series (nominated)
- Primetime Emmy Awards 2006: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (nominated)
- Primetime Emmy Awards 2005: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (nominated); Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (nominated)
- Satellite Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy 2005: Satellite Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy (won)
- TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy 2005: TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy (nominated)
- TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy 2005: TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy (won)
- Primetime Emmy Awards 2004: Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series (nominated); Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series (won); Outstanding Comedy Series (won); Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (won); Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series (won); Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (won)
- Satellite Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy 2004: Satellite Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy (won)
- TCA Award for Outstanding New Program 2004: TCA Award for Outstanding New Program (won)
- TCA Award for Program of the Year 2004: TCA Award for Program of the Year (nominated)
- Golden Globes 2003: Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *Fawlty Towers* (1975), Fi1m 90: For more comic damage caused by people determined to preserve their own importance. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/fawlty-towers.md)
- *The Royal Tenenbaums* (2001), Fi1m 84: Another damaged family, with more tenderness and elaborate arrangements for avoiding responsibility. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-royal-tenenbaums.md)
- *The Castle* (1997): A warmer family comedy, equally alert to the peculiar logic of a household.
- *The Dinner Game* (1998): Smugness and a badly judged invitation produce another thoroughly avoidable comic catastrophe.
- *Schitt's Creek* (2015), Fi1m 82: Another family loses its fortune, with rather more willingness to learn from it. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/schitts-creek.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/arrested-development