Created in 2003 byMitchell Hurwitz,Arrested Developmenthas proved itself to be one of the most acclaimed sitcoms of the 21st century, despite its short initial run.Arrested Developmentaired on Fox for three seasons between 2003 and 2006, beforeits revival on Netflixa decade later withseason four’s premiere in 2013 and season five’s release in 2018-2019. The series follows theselfish and dysfunctional Bluth family, described in the show’s intro as “a wealthy family who lost everything” after the patriarch George Sr (Jeffrey Tambor) is arrested for financial crimes and treason.
The series has a fantastic ensemble cast, with the show’s straight man, Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman) - arguably the least chaotic member of the Bluth familydespite his own selfishness- being the main protagonist. AlthoughArrested Development’s plot is fairly complicated - involving characters concealing their identities, faking their deaths, and making secret deals with dictators, to name just a few bizarre storylines - the series' incredible humor always takes center stage. With its colorful characters, hilarious jokes, and incredibly unique style, these are the best episodes ofArrested Development,according toIMDb.
Arrested Development
Level-headed son Michael Bluth takes over family affairs after his father is imprisoned. But the rest of his spoiled, dysfunctional family is making his job unbearable.
10"Justice is Blind" (Season 1, Episode 18)
IMDb Rating: 8.7/10
Directed byJay Chandrasekhar, ofcomedy collectiveBroken Lizard, “Justice is Blind” guest starsJulia Louis-Dreyfusas Maggie Lizer, a prosecutor in George Sr’s legal case who begins a relationship with Michael while pretending to be blind to gain sympathy at her job. The episode primarily focuses on Michael feeling torn between his feelings for Maggie and his concern for his father, before coming to realize Maggie has been faking her disability. Meanwhile, Tobias (David Cross) breaks into her house in an attempt to steal evidence about the case using his “cat-like agility”.
Maggie Lizer is one ofArrested Development’s best guest characters and Julia Louis-Dreyfus is perfect in the role. The sequence in the episode where Tobias must hide in her house while she has to maintain her ruse of being unable to see him makes for excellent farcical humor and allows David Cross' physical comedy skills to really shine. As such, “Justice is Blind” is one ofArrested Development’s most memorable episodes, and also one of its most popular.
9"Making a Stand" (Season 3, Episode 8)
IMDb Rating: 8.8/10
Directed by television and music video directorPeter Lauer, “Making a Stand” centers primarily on the relationship between Gob (Will Arnett) and Michael.The episode explores the Bluth siblings' childhoodand the lifelong issue of their father instigating fights between the boys. George Sr’s motive is explained as multifaceted, supposedly provoking his sons to make them more resilient but also using it for his and others' amusement, selling videos of their fights under the title ‘Boyfights’.
In “Making a Stand,” Michael and Gob’s conflict revolves around Gob and his son Steve Holt (Justin Grant Wade) aggressively running a Banana Stand incredibly close to the original. Realizing that George Sr is still attempting to sow discord between them, Michael and Gob attempt to take revenge on their father. The episode additionally includes a great subplot about the aftermath of Lucille (Jessica Walter) getting facial cosmetic surgery and is incredibly funny all around.
8"Exit Strategy" (Season 3, Episode 12)
Season 3, Episode 12, “Exit Strategy,” was directed byRebecca Asher. The episode follows Michael as he and his family members are called to testify in court for George Sr.’s trial, and everyone but Michael finds excuses to avoid their duty. However, whenGob finds himself stuck in an American-run Iraqi prison, Michael and Buster (Tony Hale) travel there to free him.
In typical Bluth fashion, everyone’s excuses are truly ridiculous, with Buster faking a coma but falling in love with his nurse being the highlight. Additionally, Tobias' subplot in which he attends a sting operation posing as a craft club is excellent, playing on his immense naivety.
7"¡Amigos!" (Season 2, Episode 3)
“¡Amigos!” centers on the search for George Sr after he escapes prison and begins hiding out as a fugitive. Believing him to be hiding in Mexico, Michael and George Michael travel there with George Michael (Michael Cera) hoping, in vain, that Michael and Ann (Mae Whitman) will bond on the drive. Misunderstanding the purpose of Michael’s trip, Gob hires a bounty hunter named Ice (Malik Yoba), with whom Lindsay becomes infatuated, to track him down.
Like many of the bestArrested Developmentepisodes, “¡Amigos!” revolves around thecharacters experiencing ridiculous misunderstandings. In line with this, the episode’s B-plot follows Lindsay and Tobias as they attempt to establish their open relationship; Lindsay mistakenly thinks Ice is interested in her while he is simply attempting to locate George Sr. The C-plot revolves around Buster spending the day with Lupe’s family and assuming he has left the country. With almost every character playing a substantial role in the narrative, “¡Amigos!” isArrested Developmentdoing what it does best.
6"Righteous Brothers" (Season 2, Episode 18)
IMDb Rating: 8.9/10
“Righteous Brothers” isArrested Development’s season 2 finale and was co-written by series creator Mitchell Hurwitz and producerJim Vallely. The episode’s two main focuses are the fraught sibling relationship between Gob and Michael and the growing romantic relationship between cousins Maeby and George Michael. The episode’s A-plot shows the two brothers getting in serious legal trouble, which is complicated by Gob feeling betrayed when Michael lies about listening to a CD Gob made with his racially insensitive puppet character Franklin.
Meanwhile, George Michael and Maeby’s plot focuses on the increasingly mutual romantic tension between the two characters despite their familial connection, as the Bluth family model home sinks into the surrounding ground. The episode explores two of the series' most crucial duo dynamics and was very positively received,winning an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series at the 2005 Emmy ceremony.
5"Meat the Veals" (Season 2, Episode 16)
IMDb Rating: 9/10
In “Meat the Veals,” Michael becomes horrified that his son is moving too fast in his relationship when George Michael decides he wants to get “pre-engaged” with his girlfriend Ann. In an attempt to sabotage the relationship, Michael arranges for Ann’s Conservative Christian parents, the Veals (Ione SkyeandAlan Tudyk), to meet the Bluths in the hopes that they will be deeply offended by his family’s chaos. However, the family behaves in a relatively low-key manner at the party and Mrs. Veal even develops feelings for Michael, causing his plan to backfire greatly.
The action culminates in two dramatic fights at a local church, with Ann’s father fighting with Michael over his wife, whileidentical twin brothers Oscar and George Sr.fight for Lucille’s affection. As the series typically revolves around how absurd the actions of the Bluth family are, it is hilarious to see their energy be completely matched by a seemingly normal and quiet couple in the Veals.
4"Good Grief!" (Season 2, Episode 4)
In “Good Grief!,” the Bluth family wrongly believes that George Sr. has died and organizes a wake in his memory. However, George Michael discovers him hiding out nearby and secretly helps him to move into the family home’s attic. At the wake, Gob performs a magic show involving a ‘magic coffin,’ using Buster as his assistant but attempting to hide from him that their father has died.
The episode contains many of Arrested Development’s most memorable scenes, from Gob and Buster’s magic coffin illusion sequence to Michael’s hilarious misunderstanding of what his son means by “I have Pop-Pop in the attic.” In addition, hiding George Sr. in the family’s atticmakes the episode essential to the overall plot of the series.
3"Afternoon Delight" (Season 2, Episode 6)
“Afternoon Delight” revolves largely around the Bluth Company’s annual Christmas party in which Gob, as the company’s new president, is excited to be toasted by his employees. However, his constant bragging about his expensive suits alienates the staff and his uptight attitude at the partymakes everyone deeply uncomfortable. When the staff laugh at Gob during a speech, he ends the party by angrily firing the entire staff.
In addition, the episode features great moments like Oscar giving Lucille cannabis brownies, which leads to an incredibly stonedLucille driving over the Banana Stand, Michael and Maeby performing a duet of “Afternoon Delight” byStarland Vocal Bandunaware of its innuendo, and Buster proudly presenting stuffed animals from a crane machine to Lucille as his “awards… from Army.”
2"Pier Pressure" (Season 1, Episode 10)
IMDb Rating: 9.1/10
Directed byJoe Russo, “Pier Pressure” is the tenth episode ofArrested Developmentseason 1. In the episode, George Michael is recruited by Buster to secure medicinal cannabis to treat Buster’s girlfriend Lucille 2 (Liza Minnelli) who is suffering from severe vertigo. When Gob tells Michael about his son attempting to buy drugs, the two concoct a scheme to frighten George Michael, enlisting the help of a team of police-themed male strippers called the Hot Cops.
The episode is an absolute classicdue to the ridiculous series of misunderstandings experienced by the characters. Additionally, it introduces one of the series’best running gagsin the character of J. Walter Weatherman (Steve Ryan), an amputee whom George Sr. enlisted frequently when the Bluth siblings were children to teach them lessons.
1"Development Arrested" (Season 3, Episode 13)
IMDb Rating: 9.2/10
“Development Arrested” is the season 3 finale ofArrested Developmentand was originally intended to be the show’s final episode. In the episode, the Bluth family is arranging a boat party -in an homage to the pilot episode- to honor Michael as the company president in light of the legal case against George Sr. being dropped. “Development Arrested” features major revelations about Lindsay, Maeby, Gob, and Lucille, but each revelation is treated extremely casually despite their extreme nature.
The episode providesthe perfect conclusionto the series' original run through its symmetry with the pilot, tying up most of the major characters' storylines while sticking to its trademark humor. Additionally, the episode’s epilogue features one of the series' most satisfying moments in whichseries narratorRon Howardfinally appears onscreen, playing himself.
