Arrested Development is a character-driven American television comedy series about a formerly wealthy, habitually dysfunctional family. The show is presented in a mockumentary format, complete with narration, archival photos, and historical footage. Although set in Newport Beach and Balboa Island, California, it was primarily filmed on location around Culver City and Marina Del Rey.

The show was created by Mitchell Hurwitz (The Ellen Show, The John Larroquette Show, and The Golden Girls). Television veteran Ron Howard is an executive producer and the uncredited narrator. It has aired on broadcast networks around the world, including Fox in the United States, Global (original run) and CBC (syndication) in Canada, Seven Network in Australia and BBC Two in the United Kingdom.

Since debuting on November 2 2003, the series received six Emmy awards, one Golden Globe, critical acclaim, a cult fan base, several fan-based websites, and a spot on Time Magazine's 100 Greatest Shows of All Time. Despite the thorough approval from critics, Arrested Development never climbed in the ratings. Fox aired the final four episodes of the third season in a block as a two-hour series finale on February 10, 2006, opposite the opening ceremonies of the 2006 Winter Olympics.

In February 2008, stars Jeffrey Tambor and Jason Bateman confirmed in interviews that a future motion picture may be in the works, and that although Hurwitz "does not yet have a script, he has a good, solid understanding of what he'd like to do for the movie." Will Arnett also confirmed a movie was currently being planned on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), a widower with a 13-year-old son, named George-Michael (Michael Cera), is forced to keep his large and dysfunctional family together after his father (Jeffery Tambor) is arrested for shifty accounting practices at the family-owned conglomerate and the Bluth family assets are frozen, making each member of the eccentric family panic. Michael's snobbish mother, Lucille (Jessica Walter), finds herself living alone in a penthouse without the financial means to maintain it, while Michael's two brothers, GOB (Will Arnett) and Buster (Tony Hale), and his sister Lindsay (Portia DeRossi) with her husband Tobias (David Cross) and her daughter Mae (Alia Shawkat) also find themselves having to recreate their lifestyles to fit their new financial status. Written by Matt Patay