By January next year, I will have been writing articles on this page for four years. In that time, I have recommended all types of shows and films, asking you to watch dramas, high fantasies, and sci-fi epics. I do hope I’ve done a pretty good job of that.  

 

One genre I’ve rarely proffered to you is comedies. I try to use this section of the page to recommend current shows (hence the “of the week” moniker), and if I’m being honest, there is very little in the way of excellent comedy anymore. I’ve found myself returning to the well of older sitcoms, and by far, the most rewarding of these rewatches has been my personal favourite comedy show of all time: Arrested Development. 

Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) – The Walking Dead – Season 4 _ Gallery – Photo Credit: Frank Ockenfels 3/AMC

Originally airing for three seasons (we don’t talk about the two Netflix seasons) in the early 2000s, the show follows the wealthy, very, very out-of-touch Bluth family and their hilariously inept struggles after patriarch George Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor) gets arrested by the Feds for fraud (and some light treason) at his retirement party aboard a yacht.  

 

He leaves behind a stunned (not so stunned, it turns out) wife, Lucille (the late, great Jessica Walters), who, alongside the rest of the family, had been using the coffers of the family real estate firm, The Bluth Company, as her personal piggy bank for years. Aside from the middle son, Michael (Jason Bateman of Ozark fame), their children are an assortment of the most incompetent offspring on television. GOB (George Oscar Bluth, a deliriously funny Will Arnett), Lindsay (Portia De Rossi) and 30+-year-old Man-child Buster Bluth (Tony Hale) round out the main cast of morons.  

 

Shot in the same mockumentary style as The Office and Parks and Recreation but predating both by at least two years, it’s a show that is chock full of references, call-backs and running gags. The family’s travails to maintain a semblance of normalcy while simultaneously being the most abnormal bunch of idiots remain endlessly entertaining till today. A lot of episodes are directed by the Russo Brothers, who went on to helm massive ensemble projects such as Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, and it’s easy to see early signs of their ability to juggle large casts. 

Each episode typically starts with each main character doing something typically daft yet disparate from the other, yet by the conclusion of the episode, all the storylines crash into each other, and hilarity always ensues. It’s also a show that rewards repeat viewings (I’d know. I rewatch the first 3 seasons every other month), and you still catch a double entendre here or a sight gag there every single time. It’s hard to explain how a show with little to no redeeming characters can be so funny, but give it a try. It truly rewards you for paying attention.  

 

If you’ve seen and loved Succession, I truly think this show is for you. The parallels between the characters are uncanny. The parents on both shows are horrible to their children, and you can draw almost direct (and hilarious) parallels between the Bluths and the Roy family (Michael Bluth is Kendall, Roman is GOB/Buster, and Lindsay is Shiv. Hell, you could liken Greg to George Michael, Michael Bluth’s son.) Everyone is horrible to each other all the time. It’s the best.  

 

 

All episodes are available on Netflix (Only Seasons 1-3 matter).  

Boluwatife Adesina
Website | + posts

Boluwatife Adesina is a media writer and the helmer of the Downtown Review page. He’s probably in a cinema near you.