Arrested Development is an American television sitcom created by Mitchell Hurwitz for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers on the Bluth family, a formerly wealthy, habitually dysfunctional family, and is presented in a continuous format, incorporating hand-held camera work, narration, archival photos, and historical footage. Ron Howard serves as an executive producer and the series' uncredited narrator. Although set in Newport Beach, California, Arrested Development is primarily filmed in Culver City and Marina del Rey. Three seasons of the show were produced and aired between 2003 and 2006.
Since its debut on November 2, 2003, the series has received widespread critical acclaim, including six Emmy Awards and one Golden Globe, and it has attracted a cult following, including several fan-based websites. In 2007, it was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME." In 2008, the show was ranked No. 16 on Entertainment Weekly's "New TV Classics" list. In 2011, IGN named Arrested Development the funniest show of all time.
Despite approval from critics, Arrested Development has received low ratings and viewership since its debut. Fox aired the final four episodes of the third season in a block, as a two-hour series' finale on February 10, 2006. Rumors of a fourth season and a future film adaptation have persisted since the final episodes of the original series aired. In late 2011, it was announced that Netflix would exclusively license new episodes for release on its streaming video service. Ten to thirteen episodes will be released on the same day in early 2013. As recently as of 2009, the script of an Arrested Development film has been in development, with the main cast purported to reprise their original roles.