Why It Ranks
The densest comedy ever written for television.
Score Breakdown
The Review
Arrested Development is the most rewarding comedy ever made on a second, third, or tenth viewing. Mitchell Hurwitz constructed a show so dense with callbacks, foreshadowing, sight gags, and layered jokes that it was years ahead of its audience. The Bluth family — Michael, GOB, Lucille, Buster, Lindsay, George Michael, and Tobias — is the greatest dysfunctional family in comedy history. Every episode contains jokes that you will not catch until you have seen the entire series. The first three seasons on Fox are a flawless run of comedy that was tragically underwatched in its time and has only grown in stature since.
Fun Fact
Fox aired several episodes out of order and frequently preempted the show for sporting events, contributing to its low ratings despite critical acclaim.
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