Arrested Development delayed... for more episodes

Fox and Netflix made a lot of people really happy when, last year, they made a deal to finally bring back the cult favorite Arrested Development for a long-delayed fourth season.

Now fans are going to have to wait just a little bit longer--but for the best possible reason.

As production began on the 10 episode order, series creator Mitch Hurwitz ended up with too much material, and lobbied to expand the season an additional two to five episodes.

The plan was to release the 10 episodes, all at once, on Netflix's streaming service, sometime early in 2013. According to Deadline, production was supposed to wrap just after Thanksgiving, but went on several weeks beyond schedule:

Given the complexity of adding material as you go on a show where none of the actors are in first position so filming has to be done around their existing schedules, I hear 20th TV at the end of last week decided to pause production so Hurwitz can review the footage already in the can and take his time figuring out the best way to incorporate the new arcs into the show. Once he is done, the studio will begin working on securing the actors needed. Filming is tentatively slated to resume in late January. The producers have some breathing room as Netflix is targeting a spring premiere date for Arrested Development when it plans to make all episodes available at the same time.

“We are thrilled with the direction of the show, with the footage we have seen and with the relationship between Mitch, Imagine, 20th and Netflix,” a Netflix spokeswoman said. “At this time, we are not confirming or announcing the final episode count but we are sure fans will be thrilled when we do.”