The filming for Season 5 of Arrested Development has finished up. Unfortunately, the future of the series is seeming rather uncertain at the moment because of what has been happening in regard to Jeffrey Tambor, which has not been helped by what has been happening in regard to David Cross as well.
Jeffrey Tambor does not play the closest thing to a main character that Arrested Development has, but he does play a couple of important characters. The first is George Bluth Sr., the corrupt real estate developer who serves as the patriarch of the Bluth family that is the series’s heart and soul, while the second is George’s twin brother Oscar, an ex-hippie who seeks to rekindle his romantic relationship with George’s wife Lucille. As a result, it is no exaggeration to say that Tambor has an enormous presence on Arrested Development, particularly since the series is so reliant on the relationships between the characters for its full comedic effect.
However, Tambor was accused of sexual misconduct by his former assistant on November 8 of 2017, which was followed up by two more accusations by a fellow Transparent cast member Trace Lysette and a Never Again makeup artist Tamara Delbridge. So far, Tambor has apologized for each of these three incidents, though his apologies have been undermined by the fact that he denied any intentional wrongdoing on his part. Regardless, Tambor stepped down from Transparent because of the accusation of sexual misconduct, though considering how other media companies have responded to similar cases, it is not unreasonable to speculate that he stepped down so that he wouldn’t be forced out because of the popular uproar both within and without the production.
What Happened with David Cross?
Speaking of which, Arrested Development‘s problem because of Tambor has been compounded by a separate problem because of David Cross, who plays the eccentric psychiatrist turned aspiring actor Tobias Fünke on the series. In his case, Cross was called out by the comedian Charlyne Yi, who claimed that he made racist comments directed towards her when she ignored him. Like Tambor, Cross has offered an apology of sorts, but like Tambor, he undermined it by claiming that he must have been playing a “southern redneck character” at the time and that Yi must’ve misunderstood what he was intending, which is not exactly the savviest defense of racist comments that has ever been offered from a PR perspective.
What Happens Now?
Summed up, it seems clear that the upcoming season of Arrested Development will be facing additional challenges because of what two of its cast members have done. It remains to be seen whether Tambor and Cross’s characters will be written out, which will be expensive and time-consuming because of how much progress had been made on production. However, even if they aren’t removed from the series, the accusations have provided their performances with new undertones that make them much less amusing. Suffice to say that Arrested Development managed to get a fair number of laughs through George Sr.’s womanizing at his workplace, which has become much less amusing considering what Tambor has been getting up to at various workplaces.
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