It was before Arrested Development was even officially canceled after it’s third brilliant season when the show’s fans and creators alike tried to imagine contingency plans for how the critical darling (but ratings redheaded stepchild) could make a grand return. While fans started online petitions and grassroots promotional campaigns the writer’s filled the final episodes with meta jokes about cheap ratings stunts and a distant hope that they might be picked up by HBO or Showtime. The show did end and then… we waited. It seemed every month (and every interview with a former castmember) dropped a hint about a possible reunion. Now, finally, it’s happening.

Ten years after the show debuted on Fox we are getting a brand new 10 or 13 episode season exclusively airing on Netflix, all premiering on the same day. Employers of comedy nerds beware: there are going to be a lot of folks calling in sick to binge on all new Bluth content. I wouldn’t believe it myself, but over the past few weeks the web has been flooded with set pictures tweeted from the cast and fans alike, proving that the model home, the stair car, and even Tobias’ cut-off jean shorts will all be returning. Hallelujah. The second coming is actually upon us.

What do we know so far about this new season? The entire cast is all back, including omniscient narrator Ron Howard. Mad Men’s Jon Slattery will have a multi-episode guest arc, which is awesome because he is… well… awesome. I somehow see Roger Sterling getting along very well with Lucille Bluth over dry martinis. Each episode will apparently focus on an individual character to catch us up on their lives, but with the other character being woven in throughout. And, according to David Cross, creator Mitch Hurwitz is slathering this season with even more hidden jokes and layered plots than before, meaning the whole season will have to be watched multiple times to catch everything and tie it all together.

We wouldn’t have it any other way.

That’s right people: the Bluths are back! Five years after the brilliantly hilarious sitcom (it almost feels dirty to call something so good a sitcom) was canceled by Fox after 3 amazing seasons, creator Mitch Hurwitz gathered the entire cast of Arrested Development for a reunion at the New Yorker festival this weekend for a “look back” at the series. But what it really turned into was a big look forward. Before the show even finished airing the grieving hardcore comedy nerd fanbase began to hang their every hope and dream on the potential of an Arrested Development movie. Five years later, and still all we’ve gotten was word that it’s “in the works” and that “everyone is on board.” Until now.

Mitch Hurwitz announced that not only will there be an Arrested Development movie, but preceding it will be a new limited TV season! Thank you gods of television! Although Hurwitz said business deal still had to be worked out he seemed quite hopeful that it would become a reality next summer, and soon after AD stars Jason Bateman and Will Arnett both took to Twitter to confirm the news. So what can we expect of this Bluth re-birth? Hurwitz explained that each of the TV episodes will focus on one character so we can play catch up on what the last 5 years has held for them. Then the first movie can jump right into the action with the Bluths reuniting in grand fashion. And what will the action of the movie be? In typically 4th wall breaking, meta-humor Arrested Development fashion, this new movie about the Bluths will focus on the fact that there is a movie being made about the Bluths. Thus is going to be glorious.

Also, TV, one you get done reviving Arrested Development, can you move on to Party Down? Thanks!

The cast of Arrested Development do a group “chicken dance” on stage to celebrate the news

Teen Wolf knows how to rock

Remember Teen Wolf, that fantastic film featuring Michael J. Fox?  Remember how awesome it was?  How enthralling, entertaining, and uplifting?  And it was followed by the slightly less awesome, but still entertaining, Teen Wolf Too, starring Arrested Development’s Jason Bateman.  Well, keep that happy feeling in mind, because, if you haven’t heard, MTV has announced a “new” series called Teen Mom 2, a spin-off of Teen Mom, which is (ovb) a spin-off of 16 and Pregnant.  It will feature four girls from the second season of 16 and Pregnant, all of them memorable for one reason or another.  MTV ran an hour long intro to Teen Mom 2 last night, recapping what each girl went through as she transitioned from pregnant teen to teen mom.

Who can forget Jenelle Evans?  She was a hosebeast to her mom and completely ignored her son, but she must have no shame and be hard up for some cash (these girls can make upwards of $60k a year!).  Seems that Jenelle’s mother decides to fight her for custody–and rightly so, as her mom seems to do all the childcare!  We’ll also follow Chelsea Houska and daughter Aubree (adorable, but destined to be a stripper).  Chelsea has not only gotten back together with verbally abusive baby daddy Adam Lind, but moved in with him as well!  Do I need to send you a copy of that horrific text message, Chelsea?  That guy is Bad News.  Leah Messer, she of twin girls Aliannah and Aleeah, has to deal with one of her babies’ serious medical condition.  On the upside, it looks as though she and baby daddy Corey Simms get hitched.  And she has blonde hair–not a good look.  Corey did seem like quite a good guy on their episode of 16 and Pregnant, so I hope to find their segments the least, um, awkward.  The fourth and final mom is Kailyn Lowry, she of the depressing home life, uplifting baby daddy’s mama (her sort of mother in law?), and juvenile baby daddy.  She and Jo Rivera (baby daddy) have broken up, and Kail now lives with son Isaac in the Rivera family’s basement.  I’m definitely interested in her, as she’s been through a lotta life in her tender years, but is pretty resilient.  Catch a quick preview on MTV.com.   Teen Mom 2 premieres January 11th at 10pm on MTV.  Holla!

As for my current favorite viewing, I encourage everyone to check out The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.  At last week’s dinner party, Kyle Richards went at it with Camille Grammer’s friend, real-life medium Allison DuBois, upon whom the show Medium was based (and, conveniently, produced by Kelsey Grammer’s production company!).  It was epic.  Take a look:

Welcome to the Jersey Shore, home of the massive melanoma epidemic of the future!

MTV gave up on the music industry a long time ago (believe it or not, young people, at one point the M in MTV actually did stand for “music” and not “morons [who are tan and obnoxious]“), and they have now found their niche for at least the next few years: milking the Jersey Shore for all it’s worth and trying to profit off whatever is popular with young people, preferably while being as uncreative as possible.

The Jersey Shore is officially a phenomenon, and no one can exactly figure out why. Reality TV has been filled with unlikable, clueless, attention-loving, narcissistic idiots in the past, but something about this particular brand of idiots has caught fire. Although that might just be from the amount of flammable product they use in their hair. In fact, Jersey Shore has proven so lucrative that I’m still not convinced the oil leak isn’t an elaborate set-up for season 2, where the cast must go help with the clean-up by soaking up oil with their already greasy heads. Imagine the viewers!

But MTV isn’t the only one profiting off our collective fascination with The Situation, Snooki and the whole Jersey Shore gang. Seaside Heights, the town where the Jersey Shore cast-house is located and where Snooki got punched in the face has seen a $3 million increase in tourism thanks to the show, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Renting the house they stayed in costs thousands of dollars a night (if you can find a night that isn’t booked) and hundreds of fans flock there a day to get their picture taken in front of it. It’s like Graceland, except just the tacky hair and outfits and none of the talent or earned fame. And no actual respect, it seems. The garage door of the house has to be re-painted several times a week because of all the graffiti written on it daily. Somehow, in the spirit of the show, that is actually a fitting tribute. Your average Ed Hardy shirt just looks like people sprayed ugly crap all over it anyway.

Leaving the tanned, hairless chests of the Jersey Shore to the much fuzzier variety, MTV has picked up a series based on the 1985 Michael J. Fox movie Teen Wolf, hoping that the current Twilight craze will create a similar fascination with teenage werewolves as it has for vampires. Will it tie into the original movie? Will Michael J. Fox show up as Middle Aged Wolf? And more importantly, will Jason Bateman reprise his role from Teen Wolf Too? Or is he pretending that doesn’t exist like the rest of the world? It’s probably for the best.

Though the more important question is: will they address in this series why nobody seems to think it’s strange that a Werewolf joined the basketball team and girls think he’s a total hottie? He didn’t exactly have Jacob’s abs, after all. Oh, and will he wear sunglasses? I always love a Werewolf in sunglasses!

Hey!  So I watched 90210 last night and this and that happened and it basically bored me to tears.  Silver’s acting all bi-polar and responds to Dixon’s 143 with a “thank you,” Annie and Ethan almost do it in Palm Springs but then remember they’re totally boring and don’t, Aunt Becky Debbie and Harry perv out in a minivan, and Navid dumps Adrianna cuz she got knocked up in rehab (oops!).

And most importantly: Grandma Tabitha was conveniently written out of the show last night!  Granny Tabs is headed East to star in a TV miniseries called “Red Coats and Blue Bloods” which, per me, gives actress Jessica Walter a perfect segue into a few months hiatus from 90210 - the perfect amount of time to slam back a few more martinis and make a movie!

You know what this means, people!  It’s Arrested Development: The Movie time!  Time for Jessica Walters to take a break from playing the poor man’s Lucille Bluth on 90210 and sink back into the richer model.

[90210 fans, don't be bummed.  They've found a lush to replace Granny Tabs in the meantime!  Rumor has it Juno-scribe Diablo Cody is on board to guest star!]

Things are heating up!  There was all sorts of Arrested Development hubbub this morning, what with Jason Bateman defending Michael Cera’s decision to do/not do the movie.  Everyone’s STILL pointing fingers at Cera!

But what does Michael Cera ACTUALLY think?  Does anybody know?

And I wonder… what’s Michael Cera’s doing right now?