Arrested Development update:
-Season 5 is coming "real soon"
-A remix of season 4 [to bring it in line with the structure of the first three seasons] is coming to Netflix on May 4
Watched the first 5 episodes of the remix.
It's an interesting experience. I've always had a soft spot for fan edits of things and how an edit can recontextualize things so that part of me is happy no matter what.
The best change immediately noticeable is the episode length. Season 4 definitely dragged as you watched the longer episodes. Extra length is more noticeable to comedy for me and especially Arrested Development which always had super fast pacing and editing. By reducing episode length and adding in more cutting between characters, it increases the momentum of the show which Season 4 definitely had an issue with.
It's less natural than how Season 4 felt as the transitions often feel less natural but the rhythm of the show feels more like the older seasons and that is appreciated.
The other most noticeable aspect is that certain jokes pay off much more quickly than in the old format. Not all of them but some of them definitely do. That's probably an individual appeal kind of thing but honestly I prefer the quicker payoff format. By the time some jokes were paid off in the original setup, I had honestly forgotten they were even setup. So getting to the punch line faster for me is something I prefer rather than holding it back for multiple episodes.
It still obviously ultimately has the same limiting flaws that Season 4 originally had, and introduces a few new ones as things are shuffled around but honestly overall I kind of prefer this edit to the original. The original was done for a reason, but I find myself less tired and smiling more as I watch this edit despite intellectually being able to understand the flaws behind it.