Arrested Development will only have a single season on Netflix

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings told a meeting of investors yesterday that Arrested Development was a “fantastic one-off” made under “non-repeatable circumstances” and said: “We don't anticipate being able to do seasons five, six, seven.”

A Netflix spokesperson later expanded on Reed’s remark, telling the Wall Street Journal that it would be “extremely difficult to get the cast together" for further episodes of the show, which is understandable given the high profile and busy schedules of Arrested Development’s cast.

But the Bluth family may still ride again after the 14-episode long fourth season. Speaking at the Television Critics Association winter press tour in January, the show’s creator Mitchell Hurwitz revealed that he’d like to use season four as a springboard for an Arrested Development feature film.

He said: “This is the first act of what we would like to complete in a movie. These are episodes that set that up. One does not work without the other."

Arrested Development, which stars Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Michael Cera, follows the adventures of the the formerly wealthy and chronically dysfunctional Bluth family. It originally aired on Fox between 2003 and 2006 for three seasons before being cancelled, and Netflix acquired the rights to the show in 2011.

Arrested Development’s fourth series will launch on Netflix in May, with guest stars including Kristen Wiig and Seth Rogen.