George Bluth Sr. will be back.
Despite the swirl of harassment allegations against him, actor Jeffrey Tambor will appear in the upcoming fifth season of “Arrested Development,” Variety has learned. A Netflixspokesperson confirmed the news about “Arrested,” which is set to return to the streaming service later this month.
Speculation had been rampant about whether the actor would still be featured on the show, given the turmoil around his role on Amazon’s “Transparent.” Tambor officially left that series in February ahead of its fifth season, following multiple misconduct allegations against him by his former personal assistant, Van Barnes, as well as guest star Trace Lysette. Those charges led to an internal investigation by Amazon.
Tambor has denied the harassment allegations, saying, “I am profoundly disappointed in Amazon’s handling of these false accusations against me.
The cast of “Arrested Development” has voiced their support of their co-star, with David Cross telling a local New York newspaper, “I can’t speak for everybody, but I know there are a number of us who stand behind him. From the limited amount we know, we stand behind Jeffrey — and I am one of them.”
Netflix greenlit the much-anticipated fifth season last May, before the allegations surfaced. While no official date has yet been revealed for season five, Netflix recently announced a “remixed” version of season 4 would stream on May 4. “Arrested Development,” which is created by Mitchell Hurwitz, also stars Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Jessica Walter, Will Arnett, Tony Hale, Portia de Rossi, and Alia Shawkat.
(Excerpt) Read More in: Variety