Netflix’s first Arrested Development season 5 trailer is all callbacks

Days after dropping a remixed version of Arrested Development’s fourth season, Netflix announced that season five will debut on the streaming service on May 29. A trailer released alongside the premiere date news shows a bunch of footage from the comedy classic’s return — and longtime fans may find most of it looking very, very familiar.


Our first look at season five is overloaded with winks and nods and elbow nudges at moments from Arrested Development’s original, impeccable run. Remember Lucille’s cheers of excitement, flapping hands and all? She’s doing that again. Tobias returns with both hair plugs and smudges of Blue Man Group-esque blue paint on his body, despite how badly both of those endeavors went for him before. George Michael even breaks out his fake muscle suit, from way back in season one.


We’ll reserve judgment until Memorial Day weekend, when the season becomes available. But from this two-minute first look at the Bluths’ return, it seems clear what Netflix, Mitch Hurwitz and the rest of the Arrested Development creative team are trying to do with season five: Atone for season four, which tried a Rashomon-style gimmick that failed to grab many fans and viewers. Instead of leaning into something new to suit the marathon-viewing Netflix audience, Arrested Development season five looks like it’s diving headfirst back into the densely packed, dysfunctional family goofs that made the first three seasons so good.


Will returning to Arrested Development’s roots work, or will season five end up being a disappointing pastiche of a perfect thing? We’ll have to wait until May 29 for an answer.