"Arrested Development's" long-awaited fourth season will appear on Netflix early next year, Netflix chief Ted Sarandos told reporters at the National Assn. of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas on Tuesday. But it won't unfold on a weekly basis like a regular TV series; instead, Netflix will make all 10 new episodes of the cult favorite available simultaneously, as people have come to expect when they stream a TV series on Netflix.

Series creator Mitch Hurwitz was also on hand to describe a bit of what fans will see in the new episodes. As reported by Vulture, Hurwitz said that though his initial conception of the fourth season was to do it as an anthology, with each character getting his or her own episode, the current incarnation is closer to the style of the first three seasons.

Hurwitz also seemed eager to take advantage of the unique format Netflix provided for watching the new episodes, telling the audience, "There's going to be some mystery sprinkled throughout this [but] instead of watching one a week and try to get ahead of it, the hope is [fans] will watch them all together and then go back and look for clues and connections. We'd also like to use the technology to provide additional material, where you might be able to access another part of the story."

The new episodes are set to start production this summer with an early 2013 debut date that hasn't been set yet.

Meanwhile, Netflix honchos also revealed they had given their initial original series "Lilyhammer," starring Steven Van Zandt as an American mobster in Norway, a second season. Two more Netflix original series, "House of Cards" and "Hemlock Grove" are also in the works.

RELATED:

Comcast launching Netflix-like streaming service

Netflix adds horror series 'Hemlock Grove' to original lineup

Portia de Rossi, Ellen DeGeneres: Wife-wife team tackles comedy

-- Patrick Kevin Day

Photo: Jason Bateman, left, and Michael Cera in "Arrested Development." Credit: Sam Urdank / Fox