Arrested Development Season 5: Will Arnett Confirms?

You may remember a TV series from the early 2000s that resurfaced on Netflix in 2013 for a fourth season, bearing the amusingly ironic title of 'Arrested Development.' People had heard of it. The disjointed reunion of one of TV's most beloved casts proved somewhat unsatisfying in the end, but in a world where 'Community' hangs onto a sixth season by the skin of its teeth, surely 'Arrested Development' will reach its own inevitable movie, yes? Let's find out what 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' star and Hollywood soothsayer Will Arnett has to say on the matter!

Here's the thing, guys. In some cases the burden falls to the actors of a long-awaited project to definitively confirm their status. We certainly saw this with Will Ferrell making an official announcement of 'Anchorman 2' on 'Conan,' and well, we remember how that turned out. 'Arrested Development' season 5 (or its long-prophesied movie) has achieved a similarly mythic status, which over the last year has tempered expectation as to when its busy cast might finally get together for another go.

Surely, you've seen the internet abuzz over the last week with talk of Netflix honcho Ted Sarandos "confirming" a fifth season in the works to USA Today, saying, "It's just a matter of when" cast schedules align for a more collective production than season 4. Sarandos even acknowledged "a fair criticism" of last year's revival in pointing out "that the cast didn't appear on screen often enough together," in some extreme cases even green-screening entire scenes with one another.

Last night, series star Will Arnett largely parroted Sarandos' words back to Jimmy Fallon in saying, while 'Arrested Development' season 5 would indeed film at some point, "we don't know when, but it is going to happen." To their credit, Fallon and admitted 'Arrested Development' fan Questlove gave the "reveal" some appropriate gravitas, setting Arnett up with a drumroll before a simple "yes" confirmed the rumblings. Or did it?

We'll refer you back to the dozen other occasions in which someone associated with 'Arrested Development' season 4, be they Netflix executives, series creator Mitch Hurwitz, cast members, or official set vacuumer Troy Tooperton (okay, we made that up) gave similar responses "confirming" a new season in the works. Hell, we'll even admit to keeping that stew going now and again, our excitement for the franchise as a whole outweighing any concern for the validity of their remarks.

Who wouldn't trust this guy?

So, what's the real truth? There isn't any, guys. Netflix has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few years, placing them in real competition with networks like HBO for viewership and Emmy nominations. And while 'Arrested Development' was no 'Hemlock Grove' in terms of a blasé reception, the streaming service isn't likely to make any major push toward season 5 for the moment. They're certainly not letting go of the franchise for that matter, but don't expect actors like Will Arnett to cast any doubt on the prospect, considering the unlikelihood of its return in the first place.

In that regard, we'd like to take our little soapbox and call for an end to articles treating comments like Arnett and Sarandos' as "confirmation" of anything real. 'Arrested Development' season 5 will likely happen somewhere down the line, yes, but you're smart enough to know the difference between a real announcement of progress or production, and that of a slow news day.

You can watch Arnett's 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon' talk above, and tell us what you want from any 'Arrested Development' season 5 in the comments. In the meantime, we'll be over here spreading rumors about 'Enlisted''s return, and weeping into a box of 'Firefly' DVDs.