11 Facts You Didn't Know About Arrested Development

1/12

Created by Mitchell Hurwitz, Arrested Development aired on Fox from 2003 until it was canceled in 2006 due to low viewership despite all of the praise it received from critics. The acclaimed series had a loyal following, and Netflix revived the show in 2013, releasing two more seasons by the end of 2019. Over the years, Arrested Development has only cultivated an even greater following, and fans love to quote the witty dialogue and reference all of their favorite characters. However, even the most avid Arrested Development viewers may not know all of the interesting tales of what went on behind the scenes.

(Rich Fury - Getty Images)

2/12

Hip hop group Arrested Development sued the show regarding the use of their name.

The 2003 lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed sum.

(Michael Ochs Archives - Getty Images)

3/12

Ron Howard’s iconic voiceover was a substitute for another actor.

Howard filled in for the narrator during the first episode, but his voice lent itself perfectly to the role, so the part was his for all five seasons.

(Randy Shropshire - Getty Images)

4/12

The second season originally contained 22 episodes.

As a result of low ratings, Fox cut down the season order from 22 episodes to 18 episodes. Season three would go on to have only 13 episodes.

(L. Cohen - Getty Images)

5/12

Alia Shawkat was the first actor to join the cast.

Shawkat was cast in the role of Maeby Fünke, the daughter of Lindsay Bluth, played by Portia de Rossi, and Tobias Fünke, played by David Cross.

(Axelle/Bauer-Griffin - Getty Images)

6/12

Ron Howard helped bring Liza Minelli onto the show as Lucille 2.

Minelli and Howard were long-time friends; in fact, Minelli was once his babysitter.

(Barry King - Getty Images)

7/12

Two different actors played George Michael’s girlfriend, Ann.

Alessandra Torresani played Ann in Season 1. She was later replaced by Mae Whitman (right) in Season 2.

(Araya Doheny - Getty Images)

8/12

Gob’s on-screen wife was played by Will Arnett’s off-screen wife.

Amy Poehler plays Gob Bluth’s unnamed bride; Poehler and Arnett were married at the time, but have since divorced.

(Gilbert Carrasquillo - Getty Images)

9/12

All of the fake websites written into the show are real.

Fox owned the web domains for all of the websites featured on the show, including never-nude.com, tonywonder.com, and freeannyong.com.

(Amanda Edwards - Getty Images)

10/12

Rainn Wilson was considered for the role of Gob Bluth.

Wilson went on to be cast in The Office, but he was a contender for the role of Gob before losing the part to Arnett.

(Dominik Bindl - Getty Images)

11/12

George Bluth Senior and Tobias Fünke were meant to be minor roles.

Jeffrey Tambor and David Cross brought so much to the roles and got along so well with the rest of the cast that the roles grew much larger during the first season.

(Michael Buckner - Getty Images)

12/12

Almost every episode begins with the word, “Michael.”

This pattern changed in Season 4 when the structure of the show changed to give each character their own episodes.

(Neilson Barnard - Getty Images)