Netflix will be the exclusive streaming home to all five seasons of Arrested Development in the U.S. later this year, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed on Friday.
Though the final two seasons of the sitcom were created as a co-production between Netflix, 20th Century Fox Television and Imagine Entertainment, Netflix was previously expected to lose all five seasons of Arrested Development on March 15 due to the end of a licensing deal, but the show was ultimately never removed.
The renegotiated deal, first reported by Vulture, will result in all five seasons remaining on Netflix, while the first three seasons will leave Hulu, a spokesperson for the Disney-operated streamer told THR. It’s not immediately clear what date the show will exit Hulu. According to Vulture, Disney — whose 20th Television controlled the rights — will have the ability to sell the linear TV rights to its own cable networks or an outside company.
Arrested Development first premiered in 2003 on Fox and later went on to receive an Emmy for best comedy series in 2004. The show was eventually canceled by Fox in 2006 but was later revived by Netflix in 2013. The sitcom received two more final seasons as a Netflix co-production, with the final episode being released in 2019.
The sitcom was created by Mitchell Hurwitz and starred Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter, Will Arnett, Tony Hale, Portia de Rossi, David Cross and Alia Shawkat. Ron Howard served as executive producer and narrator and later made on-camera appearances.
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J. Clara Chan