Even though hardly anyone expected it, it’s now a fact – “Arrested Development” is being extended with a fifth season, and its production is going to begin soon, with everyone working hard to make sure that fans will not be disappointed. The show has gone through a bumpy history, and hardly anyone expected it to come back after season 4, which itself was a bit of a miracle. And yet, lately the show’s fans have been very active in discussing the possibilities for season 5 on the Internet.

While actual production work hasn’t started yet, Brian Grazer stated that it’s currently planned to begin on January 1 2016, and should take about four months in total. After that, the show should be ready for launch around June, and will be coming straight to Netflix once it’s finished. And that’s not all – there have even been hints that we might see more in the future if this new season fares well with viewers.

Netflix have apparently been keen on extending the show and giving it new episodes, and producers have been entirely on board with the new idea, already brainstorming possible ways to continue the story. The way season 4 ended did leave lots of possibilities for future seasons, and we would expect the producers to also close season 5 with some cliffhangers in order to keep people interested, as well as leave open the possibility for a new season.

Season 5 will increase the episode count compared to the last one, with 17 new episodes coming to the show, as opposed to the 15 episodes that we saw in season 4. We don’t know if this is indicative of increased interest from Netflix, or if it’s simply a new model that they’re trying out, but in any case the show’s fans are going to be treated to an extra couple of episodes.

Netflix were the ones to revive “Arrested Development” after its third season when the show was reported to have been cancelled. The new season which was produced under them was a bit different in style, and told the story in a new and unique way, but it was still received very well by fans and most were apparently left asking for more. There was a lot of speculation on whether or not Netflix would decide to continue the show after season 4, but now that question has finally been answered. It makes sense for them to order new episodes anyway, as season 4 was quite successful among fans and critics alike, and most agreed that the quality of production hadn’t gone down.