Netflix stock falls 6% as Arrested Development garners mixed reviews

Netflix's stock fell by more than 6% as investors reacted to critics' mixed reviews over the weekend of the first new Arrested Development episodes since Fox canceled the TV series seven years ago.

The shares shed $14.55 on Tuesday to close at $214.19, marking the biggest one-day drop in the stock in nearly six months.

IDC analyst Greg Ireland characterized the sell-off as an over-reaction, given that it's too early to know whether Netflix's latest high-profile foray into original programming will be a hit or a flop. Netflix typically announces the number of subscribers it added during the April-June period in July.

Netflix declined to disclose any information about how many of Netflix's 29.2 million US subscribers have watched Arrested Development since all 15 new episodes were released Sunday.

Arrested Development is the third original series to debut this year on Netflix, but it has attracted far more attention because of its built-in fan base, Emmy awards and a popular cast, which includes Jason Bateman and Michael Cera.

The US-based company didn't make any of the new Arrested Development episodes available for advance viewing. Once they saw the resurrected Arrested Development, some influential critics panned it as a disappointment. The New York Times was particularly harsh, asserting that Netflix had "killed" the series.

Many investors have been betting that the series will accelerate Netflix's subscriber growth and provide further validation of the company's decision to spend about $200m annually on original programming in an effort to make its Internet video service as compelling as any broadcast or cable TV network.

Netflix credited the popularity of its original series "House of Cards" for helping its service add 2 million US subscribers during the first three months of this year, about 250,000 more than the same time last year.

The buildup to Arrested Development helped Netflix's stock recover from a backlash to price increases and proposed service changes announced nearly two years ago. The stock plummeted from nearly $305 in July 2011 to below $53 last August. Even with Tuesday's sharp decline, Netflix's stock has more than doubled in value so far this year.

The run-up has left investors paying about $144 for every $1 in Netflix's projected earnings this year compared with $23 for every $1 in anticipated earnings for Google, the Internet's most powerful company. Netflix's lofty valuation means the slightest stumble can cause many investors to dump their shares, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said.

"It's a stock that is priced for perfection," he said.

As of late Wednesday morning, Arrested Development had received a 72 rating on a scale of 100, based on 10 professional reviews analyzed by Metacritic.com. That compared with a rating of 76 for the political drama House of Cards. Metacritic considers a rating of 61 to 80 to be signifying "generally favorable reviews."

Source

New "Arrested Development" season will debut next spring!

We’re getting ever-so-much-closer to an actual date of the Bluths’ return. Netflix confirmed today that the long-awaited fourth season of beloved cult comedy Arrested Development, which was cancelled by Fox in 2006, will be unveiled next spring. Which means we’ve now narrowed down the release date from a year (2013) to a season (spring 2013!). Final third of March? April? May? First two-thirds of June? We’re coming for you next.

Tidbits of info about the rebooted series are beginning to leak out. Two weeks ago, series star Jason Bateman tweeted a photo from the first day of shooting, while yesterday his castmate David Cross told Rolling Stone the new season is ‘audacious and amazing’ and said that it would stretch 13 episodes instead of the previously announced 10 because “there’s too much story.” A Netflix spokesperson, however, would only say that Arrested‘s fourth season will consist of “at least 10 episodes.”

Source

All episodes of Arrested Development's new season to be released at once

Netflix plans to release all 10 episodes of the rebooted new season of Arrested Development at once.

The Bluth family’s latest adventures will begin streaming on the video service on the same day sometime next year, Netflix chief Ted Sarandos told reporters at the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas.

Sarandos refused to confirm this plan a couple months ago after the service’s first series, Lilyhammer, dropped all its episodes at the same time. But industry sources say Netflix has always planned to use the full-season release strategy as a way to differentiate itself from traditional TV outlets.

AD creator Mitch Hurwitz also told reporters that although he had originally planned to build each episode of season 4 around a different character, the scripts now more closely resemble the old show. There was no mention of the AD movie, but Hurwitz added that he wouldn’t mind continuing the show on Netflix.

I know a lot of viewers will love the Netflix approach, but is it weird that I like the slow rollout of traditional TV? Sure, it’s fun to binge if the show is an intense cliff-hanging drama like The Walking Dead. But waiting for the next installment is a practice that has excited audiences since… oh, since at least the days of Charles Dickens, when readers would wait on the New York docks for ships to bring in the latest installments his stories. There’s something about having that ongoing relationship with a show — “Did you see Arrested Development last night? — that’s appealing.

Source

Arrested Development revival confirmed with entire cast.

The entire original cast of "Arrested Development" -- Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Jeffrey Tambor, David Cross, Michael Cera, Portia De Rossi, Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat and Jessica Walter -- will be back for the new season on Netflix, according to writer Dean Lorey.

Lorey took to his blog to share the news.

"We're really doing this thing," he wrote. "Mitch Hurwitz, Jim Vallely and I are off writing the new season of 'Arrested' to premiere on Netflix in 2013."

To all the skeptics out there, Lorey confirmed that production is underway, even though the schedule is under wraps. "There are offices and parking spaces," he wrote. The new season is slated to debut on Netflix in 2013, with a film to follow.

"Arrested Development" creator Hurwitz first announced the series' revival in October 2011 at the The New Yorker Festival. "Arrested Development" originally aired for three seasons on Fox from 2003-2006 and movie rumors kicked off soon after cancellation; but now, more than five years later, the Bluths are officially returning.

The current plan is for a 10 episode series for Netflix followed by a feature film. Series star Bateman confirmed the news shortly after it was announced in October.

"'Arrested Development' is one of the finest American comedies in TV history and its return through Netflix is a perfect example of how we are working closely with studios and networks to provide consumers with entertainment they love," Ted Sarandos, Netflix's chief content officer, said in a statement in November.

Let the chicken dancing continue!

Source

Things that are cool to love again

1.

I’m sure we all thought that Neil Patrick Harris was doomed to be "Doogie Howser" forever. But thanks to his cameo in "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle," NPH is back on the map. Since his cameo, he’s starred in “How I Met Your Mother,” won an Emmy for his performance as Bryan Ryan in “Glee” and was even named one of Time’s most 100 influential people of 2010. This year, he received his very own star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. Now that’s a comeback!

2.

Since Sofia Coppolas' “Marie Antoinette,” this delicious treat has made a serious comeback, and in a big way. Many cities, especially in New York and Toronto, have recently seen a surge in macaron shops. Some popular Macaron joints include: Macaron Cafe In Manhattan and La Bamboche In Toronto.

3.

Long associated with nothing but moms, failure and antiquity, Hotmail has come a long way. With an improved way to tackle spam, virtually unlimited storage and an awesome set of new features, Hotmail is definitely back in the game.

4.

This may just be the comeback of the the year. After a 5 year break, we finally get the Bluths back for another season, PLUS A MOVIE. It really can't get much better than this.

5.

You may remember Jonathan as the cute, spikey haired smart alec in "Jerry Maguire." All grown up, he's ditched the glasses and joined the gym. And now, there's just that much more to love about Jon.

6.

It's no stretch to say that Converse has come a long way. From their introduction as a basketball shoe in 1917, to grunge scene staple in the '90s, these are some shoes with serious staying power.

7.

Although we never stopped loving this duo, it's awesome to say they're finally back. After nearly 15 years off the air, "Beavis and Butt-Head" have returned to their home on MTV, making "cool" cool again.

8.

Bikram Yoga, which first became popular in the 1970s, is making a serious comeback. Many people have begun to prefer Bikram over traditional Hatha Yoga since it allows for greater cleansing of the body and helps build increased stamina and endurance.

9.

We all remember animated gifs from back in the day, when everyone and their mom had a Geocities site. But with the launch of Tumblr in 2007, gifs have brought a whole new dimension to the art of photography and have found their way back into our hearts, and our blogs.

10.

Who doesn't LOVE the muppets? And now they're coming back, but better than ever. Jason Segel will star in the new muppets film and hopes to introduce a new generation to Kermit, Miss Piggy and the rest of the gang.

Source

Arrested Development officially back! Revived series coming to Netflix

Done deal: Netflix is bringing back cult classic Arrested Development.

The Bluth family’s new comedy adventures will be available exclusively through the video service starting in the first half of 2013. Why, that’s like getting unlimited juice.

“After a long hiatus, I’m dying to finally get back to the narrator’s microphone,” said executive producer and series narrator Ron Howard. “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. Bringing a series back from cancellation almost never happens, but then, Arrested always was about as unconventional as they get, so it seems totally appropriate that this show that broke the mold is smashing it to pieces once again.”

Netflix has been muscling into the “TV” space this past year, also picking up a BBC drama for 2012 called House of Cards. For the Arrested Development deal, the DVD delivery and video streaming service bested another top bidder, Showtime, in contention for the acclaimed series, with Hulu also rumored to have been in the running.

Twentieth Century Fox Television and Imagine Television will produce the new episodes of the show. How many episodes? That’s not been announced yet.

Will all the cast members return? That’s not been announced either — no contracts have been finalized, we’re told. But certainly previous statements by the producers and cast indicate that everybody is, in theory, on board.

Will there still be the long-rumored movie? Also unclear. But if you’re getting the show back, and on service like Netflix that won’t presumably have any content restrictions anyway (unlike during the show’s original three-season run on Fox) — do we even need a movie?

Source

Nine things you didn't know about "Arrested Development"

9. The pilot scripts came with a cover letter which warned cast members that there would be no fancy trailers and no tolerance for diva-like behavior.

8. David Cross had to fight for the mustache worn by his character, Tobias Funke, because Fox executive Gail Berman had a standing rule for men in comedies: no hats, no mustaches, no fluffy shirts.

7. The character of Oscar Bluth was born one day “on the fly” when Jeffrey Tambor walked into the writer’s room wearing a wig. “The next day, Oscar was born,” he said.

6. According to Will Arnett, nobody made other cast members “break” (i.e. crack up in the middle of a take) more than Tony Hale.

5. Alia Shawkat shared her first kiss onscreen with Michael Cera. “It’s changed me for the rest of my life,” she joked.

4. “Arrested Development” was cancelled before Nielsen began measuring DVR viewership, which Bateman thinks was the show’s natural format. “I think people quickly realized, ‘Well, I’m better served to watch this show after I’ve recorded it,’” he said.

3. When asked about the Bluth family’s ambiguous religious identity, Hurwitz said they were originally based on his wife’s family: “It started, it had a real Gentile vibe to it, but it got more Jewish.”

2. Hurwitz and executives at Fox were reluctant to cast Jason Bateman because of his sitcom past, but were instantly won over by his audition.

1. The fake teasers at the end of each episode began, as Hurwitz put it, as “a craven way to get the pilot picked up. Anything to create that promise of ‘You’ve got to come back!’”

Source

More information about the upcoming "Arrested Development" movie and mini-season

Credit: Fox

Captain Ahab had Moby-Dick; Linus van Pelt had the Great Pumpkin; and, in the five years since “Arrested Development” has gone off the air, fans of that underdog Fox comedy series have spent their lives pining for a film adaptation that would further the adventures of its deeply dysfunctional Bluth clan.

Mitchell Hurwitz, the creator of “Arrested Development,” and cast members including Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Michael Cera have also done their part to keep hopes of a movie alive, mentioning the project in numerous interviews, often along with apologies for why it still wasn’t happening yet.

On Sunday afternoon, Mr. Hurwitz tossed a few more crumbs to the “Arrested Development” faithful at a New Yorker Festival event that reunited him with the show’s ensemble cast, telling the audience that a movie was still in the works, along with a new set of television episodes that would serve as a prelude to the film.

Asked by the event’s moderator, Nancy Franklin, for an update on the movie, Mr. Hurwitz said, “We’re 80 percent of the way to an answer,” which was understandably greeted by some laughter.

Mr. Hurwitz went on to say that he and Ron Howard, the director and producer who was the “Arrested Development” narrator, “had been talking about this for ages and trying to get this going.”

Mr. Hurwitz continued: “We don’t completely own the property, there are business people involved and studios and that kind of thing. Just creatively, I have been working on the screenplay for a long time and found that as time went by, there was so much more to the story. In fact, where everyone’s been for five years became a big part of the story. So in working on the screenplay, I found even if I just gave five minutes per character to that back story, we were halfway through the movie before the characters got together.”


So, Mr. Hurwitz said, “We’re trying to do a limited-run series into the movie.” After a wave of excited applause died down, he continued, “We’re basically hoping to do nine or 10 episodes, with almost one character per episode.”

Epic News: Arrested Development coming back for one more season

From TMZ:
"Arrested Development" creator Mitch Hurwitz announced today that the show will be coming back to television -- five years after it was cancelled.

Hurwitz said the show will do a "limited" season which will show us what the characters have been up to since the show last aired ... which will then lead right into the planned movie.

There is no official deal in place yet for where or when the show will air.

Have a frozen banana and celebrate!

Edited: Here is a photo of the cast at the New Yorker Festival where they made the big announcement.

Michael Cera: What happened to you?