Season 3
Arrested Development is an American mockumentary television comedy series created by Mitchell Hurwitz about a formerly wealthy, habitually dysfunctional family. The show is presented in a mockumentary format, complete with narration, archival photos, and historical footage.
The series originally aired in the USA on Fox from 2 November, 2003 to 10 February, 2006. It was revived in 2013 by Netflix for one season, all episodes of which were released on 26 May, 2013. There are 68 episodes in four seasons.
Arrested Development originally premiered in South Africa on e.tv on 6 February, 2005. Only the first three seasons aired on e.tv. The series was later picked up by DStv's M-Net Series channel (only the first season aired), by TopTV's Fox Entertainment channel (beginning with Season 2) and on DStv's Vuzu channel (Season 4 only).
See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Season 3 premiered on Fox Entertainment on Thursday 8 December 2011, at 21h00. New episodes broadcast in a double bill weekly. There are 13 episodes in the third season.
Series Synopsis
Arrested Development features the crazy members of the Bluth Family.
The series begins with George Snr in jail after dodgy accounting in the family's real estate business. While in jail he has converted to Judaism and believes that his own inspirational tapes will heal the world.
His wife Lucille is a cold-hearted socialite who has no time for anyone.
They have four children: Gob, the unemployed magician; Lindsay, whose attention span is in serious need of repair; Buster, who suffers from neuroses and separation anxiety from his martini-drinking mama; and Michael, the only sane member of this family.
Michael tries to keep the family business running while the family runs amok, draining all the money and patience he ever had.
Other insane characters are Tobias, doctor-turned-actor husband of Lindsay and father of Maeby, a teenager who constantly finds ways to rebel against her disinterested parents.
George Michael is Michael's son, a sensitive kid trying to follow in his father's good footsteps amidst the chaos that is the Bluth family.
Season 3
The most dysfunctional family on television, the Bluths are back for a final season.
While George Sr. spent the last year hiding out in the Bluth attic, Michael continued to pick up the pieces and keep his offbeat family from falling apart. All Michael really wants is to do right by his 14-year-old son, George Michael, an earnest teen who works diligently at the family’s frozen banana stand.
The Bluths are led by manipulative matriarch Lucille Bluth, a socialite as icy as her martinis who spent last season having an affair with her husband’s slacker identical-twin brother, Oscar.
Then there’s the oldest son, Gob, a struggling magician/“illusionist”. Youngest brother Buster is a glorified mama’s boy (he spent 11 months in the womb).
The Bluth siblings are rounded out by cause-obsessed sister Lindsay, whose marriage to the hapless Tobias, a doctor-turned-actor-turned-Blue-Man and self-proclaimed “never-nude,” is on the rocks.
Lindsay and Tobias are the ultra-permissive parents of Maeby, a 14-year-old who loves finding unique ways to rebel against them.
This season is guaranteed to be more eccentric than the last two with Charlize Theron guest starring in five episodes as Michael Bluth’s girlfriend, Rita.
The previously wealthy Bluths are forced to sell their cabin in Reno and the company stock ratings have dropped even lower. When Michael makes an impromptu visit to his jailed father George Sr., he discovers his Uncle Oscar behind bars.
His manipulative mother, Lucille, has ceased taking her post partum medication that she has been on for the past 30 years.
She fears she will start having the same toxic thoughts she had the last time she was off her meds. The last time, she emphasizes, about a mother who drowned her children in a car.
Michael’s son George Michael Bluth and his niece, Maeby, avoid each other like the plague after the kiss they shared last season.
Season 3 Guest Stars
There are a number of guest stars, some with recurring roles, in the third season of Arrested Development. They include:
Charlize Theron in the role of Rita Leeds, a British woman to whom Michael Bluth is attracted.
In a series crossover, Richard Belzer plays his Law & Order: Special Victims Unit character Detective John Munch in the penultimate episode, Exit Strategy.
Jamie Kennedy and Frankie Muniz both play themselves.
Seasons
Note: Season 2 aired before Season 1 on Fox Entertainment. Only the first season aired on M-Net Series and only the fourth season aired on Vuzu.
Season 1 (22 episodes)
Channel: e.tv | Premiere: 6 Feb 2005 | Finale: 3 Jul 2005 | Sun, 19h30
Channel: M-Net Series | Premiere: 1 Jul 2006 | Finale: 25 Nov 2006 | Sat, 18h30
Channel: Fox Entertainment | Premiere: 15 Jul 2010 | Finale: 30 Sep 2010 | Thu, 21h00
Season 2 (18 episodes)
Channel: e.tv | Premiere: 14 May 2006 | Finale: 10 Sep 2006 | Sun, 19h30
Channel: Fox Entertainment | Premiere: 13 May 2010 | Finale: 15 Jul 2010 | Thu, 21h00
Season 3 (13 episodes)
Channel: e.tv | Premiere: 13 Apr 2008 | Finale: 6 Jul 2008 | Sun, 19h30
Channel: Fox Entertainment | Premiere: 8 Dec 2011 | Finale: 19 Jan 2012 | Thu, 21h00
Season 4 (15 episodes)
Channel: Vuzu | Premiere: 9 Oct 2013 | Finale: 12 Nov 2013 | Tue-Thu, 19h00