Orange County-ified Sitcom Returns

"Arrested Development," the canceled comedy series about a dysfunctional Orange County family, is coming back, but only on Netflix's video streaming service, producers announced Sunday.

Originally shown on Fox, the Emmy-winning sitcom was yanked from the airwaves in 2006, during its third season. Last month, creator Mitch Hurwitz said another 10 episodes would be filmed to complete story arcs for the characters. On Sunday, Twentieth Century Fox Television and Imagine Television announced the shows will be exclusively transmitted by Netflix.

The series chronicled the fictional Bluth family's fall from noveaux-riche luxury in Newport Beach to living in the attic of a model home in a barren subdivision called Sudden Valley. It won the Emmy award for outstanding comedy series in its debut year. It routinely features Orange County landmarks from Balboa Island to downtown Santa Ana and pokes fun at local politics and cultural events such as the Laguna Beach’s Pageant of the Masters.

Imagine Entertainment co-founders Ron Howard and Brian Grazer released a
statement saying "of all the projects we've been involved with over the years, we probably get more questions about Mitch Hurtwitz's brilliant 'Arrested Development' than any other. Everyone, ourselves included, seems to feel like the Bluths left the party a bit too soon.''

The exclusive deal for "Arrested Development'' comes after Netflix made a series of missteps that caused thousands of subscribers to defect.

-- City News Service

What was your favorite episode? Do you think the Bluth family is supposed to represent a particular prominent Orange County Family in the development industry? Tell us in the comments.