Will Arnett has done a lot of other projects since Arrested Development, but of course he’ll always be Gob Bluth to so many of us above all else since it’s considered one of the best sitcoms of all time. The actor, who’s been receiving a lot of praise for his role in Is This Thing On?, recently reflected on being on the set of Arrested Development in the early days, and how he had no idea it would become so beloved.
Arrested Development is the sort of show that has just kept coming back for Arnett, and his costars. The original run of the series (on Fox) was actually cancelled after three seasons, before it was revived by Netflix in 2013, and again in 2018. Arnett also regularly hangs out another member of the Bluths (one of the most famous sitcom families), Jason Bateman, on their successful podcast Smartless, which they started back in 2020. Here’s what Arnett recently told Rolling Stone about the early days of the series:
I remember when we were making Arrested Development — and to say it changed everything in my life is an understatement — we were making it in a vacuum. We started shooting in August of 2003, and I don’t think it began airing until November 2003. We had no reaction. The scripts were outlandish and bizarre and the scenes were insane. It was, ‘Hey, we might be making the worst thing of all time. There’s a chance we’re making the world’s worst television program.’ But we were all enjoying it and having a lot of fun.
One can understand this. Sure, Arrested Development is undoubtedly funny, but it might not have been clear on set if the humor would come across. At the time, Arnett was new to the industry and said he was “desperate to get a sitcom.” He told the magazine that he wanted to do sketch comedy, improv or stand-up, but “didn’t have the luxury” to do so. So nabbing Arrested Development was the big break he was looking for. As he also shared:
There was an editing room near the stages where we shot. And I ran into one of the editors, who told me, ‘Man, I’m putting these shows together — they’re really good.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, really?’ I had no concept of what it was like to do something really good. And I remember David Cross, who I love — he’d done Mr. Show, so he had comedic cachet, and he came up one day, and said, ‘People are really liking the show. They’re liking what you are doing on the show.’ Bob Odenkirk, who was on the show a bit the first season, said the same thing. I would give anything now to do something and to have that sort of breakthrough.
Arrested Development may have been hilarious from the get-go, but it’s one of the many funny TV shows that got even more popular on streaming – leading to its revival later on. The series made Arnett famous for playing a TV character we love to hate in Gob Bluth, and as a result of being known for the role, the actor said that fans do everything from the chicken dance to telling him he’s made a “huge mistake,” like the character’s famous quote.
Right now, you check out Will Arnett in his new movie Is This Thing On? in theaters, which was directed by Bradley Cooper. The dramedy is about a man dealing with divorce who takes up standup comedy. And, of course you can stream Arrested Development with a Netflix subscription.