best episodes of Arrested Development poster

The story of a wealthy family that lost everything, and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together.

5 Seasons
84 Episodes
Ended
Comedy
episode image Development Arrested
9.1/10 (3145 votes)

#1 Development Arrested

S3:E13

After returning home from Iraq, George Sr. is finally cleared of all charges, and Michael is relieved to be the head of a successful company for a change. The real brains behind the madness is revealed, and just as the family begins to celebrate their victory, a whole new set of problems emerge.

episode image Pier Pressure
9.0/10 (3778 votes)

#2 Pier Pressure

S1:E10

Buster realizes that medical marijuana will help cure Lucille 2's vertigo, and pays George Michael to get it for him from Gob. Lindsay sends Maeby to spend a day with Lucille to punish her for bad grades. Michael thinks George Michael is on drugs and attempts to teach him a lesson.

episode image Good Grief
9.0/10 (3023 votes)

#3 Good Grief

S2:E4

Lucille hires a bounty hunter, Ice, to find George Sr., who may be closer than everyone thinks. Gob tries to pull off an elaborate illusion, Maeby tries to set Lindsay up with Ice, and Michael tries to mend George Michael's broken relationship.

episode image Afternoon Delight
9.0/10 (3115 votes)

#4 Afternoon Delight

S2:E6

Gob stages mass firings after being inadvertently roasted at the Bluth Company Christmas party. Michael is forced to rebuild the Banana Stand, and Buster plays hooky from the Army at an arcade game.

episode image Meat the Veals
9.0/10 (2880 votes)

#5 Meat the Veals

S2:E16

George Sr. tries to find a way to attend an anniversary dinner for Lucille while Michael deliberately offends Ann's devout Christian parents. Tobias goes overboard performing his "Mrs. Featherbottom" persona.

episode image The Righteous Brothers
8.9/10 (2525 votes)

#6 The Righteous Brothers

S2:E18

Gob hides George Sr. while the model home's plumbing is checked; George Michael helps Ann protest Maeby's new movie; Tobias takes a liking to Kitty after Michael asks him to keep an eye on her.

episode image Amigos
8.8/10 (2851 votes)

#7 Amigos

S2:E3

Michael is increasingly frustrated over being abandoned by the family, and when the staircar is found in Mexico, Michael vows to find his father and give him a piece of his mind. Also, Buster spends time with Lupe's family and thinks he's in Mexico.

episode image Exit Strategy
8.8/10 (2390 votes)

#8 Exit Strategy

S3:E12

Gob goes to Iraq to perform his Christian magic act on the USO tour and ends up incarcerated. Michael learns George, Sr. sent Gob to Iraq to burn down the model home he built there, so Michael and Buster fly to Iraq to spring their brother from prison.

episode image Justice Is Blind
8.7/10 (2935 votes)

#9 Justice Is Blind

S1:E17

Gob steals a file on the government's case against the Bluth Company that Maggie had given to Michael. Tobias is sent to Maggie's house to get evidence, George Michael tries to prove Maeby's fraud, and Lindsay fights to remove the Ten Commandments from the courthouse lawn.

episode image The One Where Michael Leaves
8.7/10 (2734 votes)

#10 The One Where Michael Leaves

S2:E1

Michael and George Michael leave for Phoenix but go back to ensure the family misses them. Lindsay wants to have an open marriage, which causes Tobias to try to join the Blue Man Group under the impression that they are a support group for depressed men. Lucille signs Buster up for the Army after being goaded by a Michael Moore look-alike. Gob becomes president of the Bluth Company.

episode image Hand to God
8.7/10 (2503 votes)

#11 Hand to God

S2:E12

Michael tries to find out who's the father of Maggie's baby, or if it's just another of her lies; Gob tries to find out whether he was responsible for Buster's accident.

episode image Mr. F
8.7/10 (2578 votes)

#12 Mr. F

S3:E5

Michael must deal with a huge mole problem in order to salvage a major real estate deal with Japanese investors. In an effort to help Michael, Gob and Buster team up with George Sr.'s surrogate, Larry, to devise a plan and save the deal, but their plan falls apart in a big way. Meanwhile, Tobias mistakes a CIA agent for a CAA agent and inadvertently betrays the family, and Michael makes Rita a proposal she can't refuse. Frankie Muniz makes a cameo as himself.

episode image Making a Stand
8.7/10 (2474 votes)

#13 Making a Stand

S3:E8

Michael is tired of his father always having Gob compete with him, so Michael gets Gob his own banana stand franchise, only to find that Gob has set it up 20 feet from the old one. After the two compete, they decide to teach their father an elaborate lesson, and Buster refuses to use his handicap to scare kids. Meanwhile, Maeby uses Lucille's surgery in a horror film.

episode image Let 'Em Eat Cake
8.6/10 (2752 votes)

#14 Let 'Em Eat Cake

S1:E22

In the first season finale, George Sr. has a heart attack, and Maeby is jealous when George Michael likes another girl. Meanwhile, Lindsay decides to leave Tobias until a book he wrote a long time ago becomes a gay bestseller, and Buster and Annyong compete over women.

episode image Motherboy XXX
8.6/10 (2523 votes)

#15 Motherboy XXX

S2:E13

Lucille abducts George Michael for a mother-son dance, Buster adjusts to having a hook for a hand and Gob reunites with his estranged wife. Also, Tobias stars as George Sr. in a biopic about the Bluth family, which causes Lindsay to become more attracted to him.

episode image Sword of Destiny
8.6/10 (2481 votes)

#16 Sword of Destiny

S2:E15

Gob and Buster team up for some magic tricks with the help of Buster's fake hand, but when Tony Wonder, a rival magician, starts to mentor them, somebody gets the finger. Meanwhile, Michael is forced to delegate some work when he's hospitalized and Lindsay teaches George Michael how to drive using the staircar.

episode image S.O.B.s
8.6/10 (2532 votes)

#17 S.O.B.s

S3:E9

George Sr. suggests a last-ditch effort to save the family by holding a fund raiser to raise money to pay their legal expenses. Michael suggests to Lindsay that she take over the house work, and he sends George-Michael to an expensive boarding school. Meanwhile, Maeby has trouble with a snowboarding film and Tobias tries to be a "discipline daddy".

episode image Family Ties
8.6/10 (2341 votes)

#18 Family Ties

S3:E11

In an effort to get to the bottom of things, Michael tracks Nellie down and hires her as a consultant for the Bluth Co. Unfortunately, Michael discovers Nellie's hands-on approach is more than he bargained for.

episode image Shock and Aww
8.5/10 (2953 votes)

#19 Shock and Aww

S1:E14

Michael falls for his George Michael's ethics teacher, whom his son also has a crush on. Meanwhile, Lucille adopts a 14-year old Korean boy, and George Sr.'s "Caged Wisdom" tapes have given him a new admirer.

episode image Altar Egos
8.5/10 (2792 votes)

#20 Altar Egos

S1:E16

Michael attempts to have a one-night stand with an attorney whom he doesn't know is not only blind, but the prosecutor who is trying to put his father in jail. Also, Gob gets married on a dare, Maeby pretends to be a girl with a made up disease, and George Sr.'s admirer turns out to be an undercover SEC agent who has truly fallen for him.

episode image Not Without My Daughter
8.5/10 (2683 votes)

#21 Not Without My Daughter

S1:E21

Michael takes Maeby to work with him on Take Your Daughter to Work Day. After being slighted by Michael, Tobias, George-Michael and Gob all go to the mall to prove that they are just manly. Oscar takes Lucille and Buster to Annyong's soccer game.

episode image The One Where They Build a House
8.5/10 (2660 votes)

#22 The One Where They Build a House

S2:E2

Michael is driven crazy by Gob when he impresses the board as the new company figurehead due to Michael's legal troubles. Meanwhile, George Sr. is arrested in Mexico for a crime Oscar committed, and Buster witnesses something that utterly shocks him.

episode image Sad Sack
8.5/10 (2531 votes)

#23 Sad Sack

S2:E5

George Sr. fears he's losing Lucille to Oscar. Gob motivates Buster for the Army while Lindsay spends more time with Maeby to get closer to Steve Holt and Tobias starts working out.

episode image The Immaculate Election
8.5/10 (2436 votes)

#24 The Immaculate Election

S2:E14

George Michael runs for student body president, which Gob manages to ruin. Buster has an affair with Lupe, who is being sought after by Lindsay and Tobias attempts to move out of the model home, then develops a new persona when he regrets his decision.

episode image Spring Breakout
8.5/10 (2370 votes)

#25 Spring Breakout

S2:E17

Gob confronts the editor of the videos that showcased his magic mistakes. Michael tricks Lucille in to rehab, and then attempts to get her out after George Sr. is kidnapped.

episode image The Cabin Show
8.5/10 (2429 votes)

#26 The Cabin Show

S3:E1

Michael learns that it's actually George Sr.'s twin brother Oscar serving time in prison, not George. After getting a tip from Barry, Michael heads to Reno to find George, but that costs him a camping trip he promised his son.

episode image Forget-Me-Now
8.5/10 (2437 votes)

#27 Forget-Me-Now

S3:E3

George Sr. is placed under house arrest by the family's new attorney Bob Loblaw, and finds that it's not exactly a walk in the park. Michael sets up his first date with Rita, but Rita has an unfortunate encounter with the family beforehand.

episode image The Ocean Walker
8.5/10 (2411 votes)

#28 The Ocean Walker

S3:E6

After Michael announces he's marrying Rita, George Sr. worries that she's after the family's money. But when Rita's Uncle Trevor tries to stop the wedding by revealing some surprising information about Rita, Michael must decide if he wants to walk down the aisle.

episode image Fakin' It
8.5/10 (2286 votes)

#29 Fakin' It

S3:E10

George, Sr. hires a new attorney who asks the Bluths to participate in a mock trial to help prepare them for the real thing. The attorney gets actor Judge Reinhold to preside over the mock case. Meanwhile, Buster fakes a coma to get out of testifying, and George Michael and Maeby participate in a mock wedding to entertain hospital patients. Back at the office, Michael discovers that he may have a long-lost sister named Nellie Bluth.

episode image Top Banana
8.4/10 (3888 votes)

#30 Top Banana

S1:E2

Michael puts George Michael in charge of the Bluth Bannana Stand, and his son subsequently burns down the stand. Elsewhere, Tobias auditions for a commercial, and Lindsay inadvertantly gets the part.

episode image Beef Consommé
8.4/10 (2834 votes)

#31 Beef Consommé

S1:E13

After learning that Marta has feelings for him, Michael goes to her and they decide to get permission from Gob before taking things to the next level. Meanwhile, Lindsay and Tobias finally get to the heart of his "never-nude" problem and George Sr. faces his first hearing.

episode image A New Attitude
8.4/10 (1736 votes)

#32 A New Attitude

S4:E11

Gob accepts a job from his brother, but is distracted by a scheme of his own.

episode image Key Decisions
8.3/10 (3377 votes)

#33 Key Decisions

S1:E4

Gob decides to lock himself in his father's prison for 24 hours to get back in with the alliance, and to spend quality time with his father. Michael takes Gob's girlfriend to an awards show, and Buster inadvertently flirts with his mother's rival.

episode image Storming the Castle
8.3/10 (2937 votes)

#34 Storming the Castle

S1:E9

Michael cannot go through with his plan to break up Gob and Marta. A thug magician wants to take Gob's "legs". Maeby wears all leather to get back at her mother, and Lucille decides to confront Buster's relationship with Lucille 2.

episode image Marta Complex
8.3/10 (2860 votes)

#35 Marta Complex

S1:E12

When Lucille throws an anniversary party for Tobias and Lindsay on Valentine's Day, Michael gives an impassioned speech about love. This makes Marta realize she has feelings for him and Lindsay realize she wants a divorce. Meanwhile, Buster decides to move out of the penthouse and Lucille revels in living alone for the first time.

episode image Ready, Aim, Marry Me
8.3/10 (2543 votes)

#36 Ready, Aim, Marry Me

S2:E10

With the company in dire financial straits and the Bluths no longer the primary shareholders, Michael must turn to old family friend "Uncle" Jack Dorso for financial assistance. Uncle Jack, however, wants something in return.

episode image Out on a Limb
8.3/10 (2374 votes)

#37 Out on a Limb

S2:E11

Just as Michael's relationship with Sally starts to flourish, Maggie Lizer returns nine months pregnant, and Michael immediately assumes he's the father. George Michael attempts to break up with Ann, and Buster learns he's being deployed to Iraq.

episode image Charity Drive
8.2/10 (3219 votes)

#38 Charity Drive

S1:E5

Michael and Lindsay try to prove their charitable sides to each other. Gob demands George Michael's respect, and Buster continues avoiding Lucille 2.

episode image Public Relations
8.2/10 (2932 votes)

#39 Public Relations

S1:E11

When George Michael is a rejected by a private school due to the family's reputation, Michael hires a publicist from his gym who he's been flirting with to change the public perspective of the Bluths. Meanwhile, Tobias is sent to Boston to reclaim his medical license.

episode image Missing Kitty
8.2/10 (2653 votes)

#40 Missing Kitty

S1:E18

Gob attempts to make good on his promise to make the family yacht disappear. Meanwhile, Lindsay and Maeby try to track down Lindsay's grandmother, Tobias seeks George Sr.'s respect, and Michael attempts to fire Kitty, who claims to have information that could bring down the company.

Cast & Chracters

character image Michael Bluth

Michael Bluth

Actor: Jason Bateman
character image Lindsay Bluth Fünke

Lindsay Bluth Fünke

Actor: Portia de Rossi
character image Gob Bluth

Gob Bluth

Actor: Will Arnett
character image George Michael Bluth

George Michael Bluth

Actor: Michael Cera
character image Maeby Fünke

Maeby Fünke

Actor: Alia Shawkat
character image Byron "Buster" Bluth

Byron "Buster" Bluth

Actor: Tony Hale
character image Tobias Fünke

Tobias Fünke

Actor: David Cross
character image George Bluth Sr.

George Bluth Sr.

Actor: Jeffrey Tambor
character image Lucille Bluth

Lucille Bluth

Actor: Jessica Walter
character image Narrator

Narrator

Actor: Ron Howard

The highest rated episode of Arrested Development is "Development Arrested" (S3E13) with a rating of 9.10.

This episode received 3,145 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Saving for Arraignment Day" (S5E14) with a rating of 6.60.

This episode received 824 votes.

The highest rated episode is "Pier Pressure" (S1E10) with a rating of 9.00.

This episode received 3,778 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Whistler's Mother" (S1E20) with a rating of 7.90.

This episode received 2,609 votes.

The highest rated episode is "Good Grief" (S2E4) with a rating of 9.00.

This episode received 3,023 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Queen for a Day" (S2E8) with a rating of 8.00.

This episode received 2,377 votes.

The highest rated episode is "Development Arrested" (S3E13) with a rating of 9.10.

This episode received 3,145 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Prison Break-In" (S3E7) with a rating of 7.90.

This episode received 2,233 votes.

The highest rated episode is "A New Attitude" (S4E11) with a rating of 8.40.

This episode received 1,736 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Borderline Personalities" (S4E2) with a rating of 6.80.

This episode received 2,028 votes.

The highest rated episode is "The Fallout" (S5E16) with a rating of 7.60.

This episode received 1,033 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Saving for Arraignment Day" (S5E14) with a rating of 6.60.

This episode received 824 votes.

Name Department Job
Brian Grazer Production Executive Producer
David Nevins Production Executive Producer
Evan Mann Production Co-Executive Producer
Mitchell Hurwitz Production Executive Producer
Ron Howard Production Executive Producer

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