Arrested Development, It's Time.

Netlix is taking on several new ventures on its distribution outlets. Netflix is in the process of becoming a new outlet for releasing new original television series and reviving television shows.  The most anticipated Netflix release coming next month is Arrested Development. 

Arrested development, by definition, is an abnormal state in which development has stopped prematurely. This explains how to show is written and operates on its offbeat comedy. The premise of the show is for Michael Bluth to keep his family intact after his father is arrested for his suspicious financial practice in the family owned business. Around this conflict is how the family copes with the situation and having little to no money.

Arrested Development’s season 4 will be released in its entirety on Netflix. So, if you are a fan, start watching season one to three to catch up. Each of the 14 episodes will follow a character from the past seasons. Jason Bateman’s character, Michael Bluth is the only character to appear in all 14 epsiodes. Arrested Development also stares Jeffrey Tambor, Michael Cera, Will Arnett, David Cross, and Jessica Walter.

Arrested Development was cancelled with many questions unanswered. After seven long awaited years, this new season is to answer all questions. Since the moment Arrested Development went off the air, fans have been demanding it come back in some form. The show will not have the exact same feel of the original. All of the actors were tied into other projects, so creating the show was very difficult. The necessary adjustments were made to make this work.

But wait. Fans of Arrested Development are not only getting another season to the series, fans also receive a movie. There is not a projected time on when that is going happen, but it is happening, one day. It keeps getting push back further and further and has not been green lit yet. Hopefully, it will happen . But, at the same time, Arrested Development will operate and flow better as a television show instead of a

Catch the release of Arrested Development on May 25^th.

Is Shameless TOO Shameless?

This past week, I was taking a tour on the Warner Brothers studio lot. As we drove by The Alibi, an exterior set from the US television show, Shameless, he mentioned that the show itself has yet to be nominated for an Emmy. Then I remembered that Shameless has only received two Emmy nominations total, both for Joan Cusack as Best Supporting Actress. It got me thinking.

US Shameless is a British adaptation on Showtime about a dysfunctional family who lives under the worst circumstances in Chicago. Shameless has a variety of personalities that make the Gallagher family unique. The eldest daughter, Fiona is the one who takes care of her five younger siblings. This is because her father is an absent alcoholic and her bipolar mother left the family years ago. The show is raw, but maybe it is too raw.

Shameless, lives up to its name. In order for the family to survive, they spend most of their time conning money and essentials just to make it to the next day. Shameless has dealt with murder, conning, homosexuality, mental disabilities, frequent nudity, and that is just scratching the surface.

What keeps Shameless from an Emmy nomination?

There are extremely strong performances that deserve formal recognition, from every actors: Emmy Rossum, William H. Macy, Justin Chatwin, Ethan Cutkosky, Shanola Hampton, Steve Howey and more.

If any, at least William H. Macy and Emmy Rossum should have received a nomination. William H. Macy plays Frank Gallagher , the absentee alcoholic father. His character has performed some of the more extreme actions on the show. Because of his careless actions, some drug dealers held his youngest son, Liam, hostage because he owed money.  His daughter, Fiona, who holds the family together, is working from temporary job to another, barely making enough to feed the family. Fiona is played by Emmy Rossum. Emmy has deliver outstanding performances one after another, but has yet to get any formal recognition for it. Her character has had a handful of emotional breakdowns that was portrayed realistically. 

The reason this show has never been nominated for an Emmy may be because of its extremity. The events that have taken place may be perceived as over the top. It might make the nominators feel uncomfortable to support a show under these standards. It is not that the events do not happen to families, it is that they do not happen to only one family in a condensed amount of time. This puts this situation in an odd perspective. The extreme events are so crazy that it is good and that may be overshadowing the acting ability portrayed in the show.

Despite its lack of formal recognition, this show is peaking in success on Showtime. I avidly watch this series and every episode is unpredictable. What makes this show special are the actors provide input on each episode after the table readings. If an actor has any suggestion regarding their character or plot, the Show Runner listens and usually takes the actors' suggestion because it was better. This show inspires me to write outside the normal to schock audiences.