How do you resurrect a show 6 years later and expect it to be refreshing, and yet appeal to the fans that demanded you come back in the first place? That was the question that Arrested Development creator, Mitch Hurwitz had to answer as he embarked on bringing the fourth season to the cult-comedy television show to Netflix. He set out on a journey to premiere all 15 episodes of the series at once and yesterday, I binge-watched them all in order to write up my review for you Towelites.

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I’m not going to ruin the plot for you, honestly I couldn’t even if I tried. It’s VERY intricate and some of it goes no where because they are setting up for a movie, but overall I was satisfied with what happened for the fourth season. It was something that’s never happened on a television series before. Every character gets their own episode, and at first it’s a little frustrating.

The show with Michael trying to get his life back on track after losing a ton of money. He’s renounced his family (again) and needs to reconnect with his son and find a way to dig himself out of debt. From there it goes to George Sr., then Lucille, and so on. You don’t get to a full Buster episode until part #11; but by that time, the multiple plot lines and seeing one GIANT episode play out from multiple perspectives makes sense.

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The highlights of the season are the episodes involving Gob and the kids. No one really skips a beat though. It’s as if the family hasn’t really gone too far, and you’re right back with them. The only one who even looks different is Portia de Rossi, who had some obvious face work and it showed; though her new haircut was pretty fantastic.

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Hurwitz doesn’t reccomend binge-watching the fourth season because it could take away from the comedy. I will say that if you don’t, at least don’t spread it out too much. The plot has many twists and turns and it’s hard to keep track of at times. One story involving George Sr. (Jeffery Tambor) and Lucille (Jessica Walters) doesn’t really go anywhere by the end of the season, and therefore, those episodes suffer the most.

If I had to complain it’s that the season serves as a precursor to a movie. The end is left on a cliffhanger, with many of the plots unfinished and leaving you wanting more. It’s always been said that they would make a movie, but given that it’s taken 6 years to get a season back; I’m not going to cross my fingers.

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Given the scope of what went into writing this season, it’s worth a watch; especially if you’re an AD fan. You will see pretty much everyone whose ever been on the show, as well as a ton of new guest appearances. Kristen Wiig plays Lucille pitch-perfect, and the addition of Isla Fisher and Terry Crews only adds to the comedy. Heck, even Ron Howard gets his own episode; and it’s hilarious! Check out the fourth season of Arrested Development, and hopefully with enough fan support, we’ll see the movie we’ve all been wanting and Hurwitz has forced us to demand.

Rating: A-

~Chaz