Development arrests viewers' attention

Back in September, the television industry was officially shaken up—and it had nothing to do with a pop star’s breast or passing a new obscenity threshold on HBO. Fox’s Arrested Development, one of the most critically acclaimed sitcoms on television, won the award for best comedy series at the Emmys, a.k.a., the television industry’s annual salute to its own shameless mediocrity.

How could this happen? The show that most deserved to win actually won? Yes, pigs flew and hell froze over. Arrested Development has garnered industry praise in addition to the almost unanimous critical praise it received after its debut last September. Now all the show needs is an audience.

To say that Arrested Development is quirky would be an understatement, yet it has endeared itself to scores of TV pundits by both embracing the dysfunctional and breaking the classic sitcom mold. Not many regular TV viewers, however, have followed their lead. Where have all the old Seinfeld obsessives gone? What are the Curb Your Enthusiasm fans watching during the off-season?

The Emmy win for best comedy is especially sweet for Arrested Development given that as recently as last May, Fox was uncertain whether the show would be renewed for a second season. Having averaged only 6.2 million viewers a week, Arrested Development’s cast and creators spent the majority of their first season working under the constant anxiety that any day Fox could pull the plug.

The plight of Arrested Development exemplifies a greater dilemma currently plaguing the TV industry. For several years now, the press has increasingly criticized the major networks (CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox) for their lack of creative original programming. While the networks have been preoccupied with over-valued ratings numbers, reality TV has proliferated and HBO has ascended to creative and critical dominance. The networks reached an all-time low last fall with their 2003-2004 lineup, one of the worst in recent memory. Arrested Development was one of the few creative gems in the lineup, but try as it might, Fox has not been able to build a satisfactory audience for its show.

The winds of change, however, seem to have worked their way through Studio City, and this fall’s television line-up may give Arrested Development a new reason to hope. With innovative new shows like Lost and Desperate Housewives burning up the ratings chart on ABC, perhaps the audience Arrested Development still needs to justify its existence will finally emerge from a year of hibernation.

To be sure, industry awards like the Emmys rarely guarantee anything more than bragging rights, but for the future of Arrested Development, perhaps good things do come to those who wait.