Why Arrested Development Was Originally Canceled - CBR

The critically acclaimed sitcom Arrested Development followed Michael Bluth as he struggled to keep his perpetually awful family members together. During its original three-season run on Fox, the series was one of the most well-received sitcoms on television, winning several Emmys. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough for the network as the series was canceled in February 2006.

Despite its status as a must-see show, the ratings for Arrested Development were always low and Fox wasn't able to keep the show going for much longer. So, with that said, let's look at why the Fox series never caught on.

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Arrested Development's Unique Structure

The way Arrested Development was structured made it hard for it to gain a wide audience. Whereas most sitcoms had standalone plots each episode with some recurring running gags thrown in, this show was a serialized comedy with several overarching plot threads that lasted for several episodes at a time. The show was also shot handheld and heavily employed things like cutaway gags and meta humor, which was another outlier at a time when sitcoms relied mostly on punchlines.

Serialized storytelling always makes it harder for people to jump on a show's bandwagon, mostly because they don't know what is going on or understand what is being referenced in any given episode. Add in the unusual premise and a host of unlikeable characters, and you have a show that many people were hesitant to get behind.

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Fox's Constant Timeslot Changes

Though the executive at Fox clearly liked the show, they also weren't very helpful when it came to keeping the show around. Due to the first season's low ratings, Fox moved Arrested Development to Sundays after The Simpsons and cut the initial episode order down to 18. Even with a lead-in as solid as the longest-running animated series ever, the series still wasn't able to catch on.

By the time Season 3 was ready to air, the writing was already on the wall. With a lame-duck show on its hands, Fox moved it to an even worse timeslot, had its episode count slashed down to 13 and unceremoniously burned off the final four episodes in a two-hour block airing opposite the opening ceremonies of the 2006 Winter Olympics.

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Netflix Revival

Despite its cancelation, Arrested Development enjoyed new life on Netflix, going on to produce two more seasons for the streaming service in 2018 and 2019. Neither one of these seasons were as well-received as the originals, but fans still found plenty to love. Since then, many of the show's actors have moved on to other projects and there seem to be no plans for future seasons.

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Regardless, through all of the messy ups and downs that the show went through, Arrested Development's legacy will remain strong among fans and critics alike.

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