'Arrested Development' Season 5 Release Date, Spoilers: Lucille's Murder a Focus; Filming Nears

By Rachel Cruz, Christian Post Contributor Saturday, July 22, 2017

Filming for "Arrested Development" season 5 on Netflix will likely begin in the next few weeks. Star Jason Bateman (Michael Bluth) revealed that the new season will focus on Lucille's murder.

Viewers might recall that the Bluth neighbor and family friend, Lucille Austero (Liza Minnelli), went missing after a Cinco de Cuatro event during season 4, which was aired in 2013. Buster Bluth (Tony Hale) was under investigation for this crime and its complete story will finally be explored in season 5.

"The central spine of that story is the death of Liza Minnelli's character," Bateman told Entertainment Weekly Radio. "[It's] a bit of whodunit, who may have done it, who had something to do with it."

Bateman also said "Arrested Development" creator Mitch Hurwitz had this three-arc story planned out when the show got a second shot on Netflix after being off the air for six years. The actor and director also suggested that "Arrested Development" won't likely end with season 5.

"We're about to do now the second act of that story," Bateman said. "[The] third act presumably will be done if we can all get it together at a later date."

Bateman expects that the script for "Arrested Development" season 5 will be distributed to the actors soon. He told Radio Times that the show has a scheduled filming in "three to four weeks."

Bateman also revealed that he's excited to get back on the set with his co-stars. When they did season 4, most of the actors didn't have scenes together because of scheduling conflicts and exclusivity deals. As such, production had to get creative with how season 4's story was weaved.

Meanwhile, fans also expect that "Arrested Development" season 5 will tackle the Trumps and their similarities to the Bluths. Bateman told The Daily Beast that he expects the same thing. He believes Hurwitz might have been inspired by Trump stories in writing season 5.

Netflix has not yet announced the exact date for when "Arrested Development" season 5 will begin streaming. For now, it's earmarked for a 2018 release.