The revival of the Emmy-winning sitcom Arrested Development has taken another big step: According to series writer and co-exec producer Dean Lorey, the entire original cast is returning.
Lorey via his blog also wrote that he, Mitch Hurwitz and Jim Vallely are penning a new season to premiere next year, and that shooting begins in 2012, with “offices and parking spaces” already set up. The cast — Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Michael Cera, Tony Hale, Jeffrey Tambor, David Cross, Alia Shawkat and Jessica Walter – all expressed interest in reprising their roles and supported the idea during a panel back in October.
But two months after Netflix picked up rights to the series, there are still no formal deals between castmembers and series producer 20th Century Fox TV.
Lorey on his blog apologized that “even the schedule is being kept under wraps,” so he didn’t dish any more information on the series.
The exact number of episodes has not been determined, though Hurwitz at one point indicated the idea was to do a limited 9-10 episode series that would serve as a bridge between the original series and a long-gestating feature film.
