'Arrested Development' star Mae Whitman discusses the new season

Despite little setbacks like “being canceled,” Arrested Development is back in production for its fourth season to debut on Netflix – which will, if all goes well,lead into a major motion picture.

Mae Whitman (Parenthood), who previously played Egg Ann Veal, the on-again, off-again girlfriend of George Michael (Michael Cera), is back for season 4. In a recent interview, Whitman hinted at potential future plotlines for her character and spoke very highly about the quality of the production.

On what she can and can’t say regarding season 4 – courtesy of The Huffington Post - Whitman said:

“You know, I’m always confused about how much I can say, but what I do know is that – Alia [Shawkat, who plays Maeby Fünke] is one of my best friends and Michaal [Cera is], too, so I definitely have seen some of the things that are going down with the show and it is amazing. It’s so incredible and so smart and wonderful and just outrageously great. People are going to absolutely love it. Fans of the show will really love what they’re doing with the new reboot of it and I definitely will say I could never let this opportunity go by without absolutely forcing myself to be a part of it. I would have done some crazy, crazy stuff if I thought for a second that I wasn’t going to be able to be a part of it. I feel so lucky to be such a small part of this.”

Just as a clarification to that segment of the Internet that panics at the very mention of the word “reboot” – fear not, people. When Whitman says reboot, she actually means continuation. Moving on.

On possible plot developments for her character in the new season, Whitman said:

“One thing I loved is that they sort of had Ann with Gob. [Laughs.] I thought that was so funny … Gob is such a ladies man and sort of actually getting in a serious relationship with Ann, which is so funny and so amazing. I would love to see where their relationship went and how that went down with George Michael. I would love to see more of what Ann and Gob’s relationship dynamic is. I think that would be amazingly funny and strange. [Laughs.]“

It’s unclear if Mae Whitman is merely professing her appreciation for that particular season 3 plot point or if she is, in her own little way, hinting at what we can expect in terms of plot for season 4 and beyond.

For those not in the know, Gob Bluth and Annabelle – or as she is sometimes endearingly referred, Annhog, Plant, Bland, and Her? – secretly became romantically involved in season 3 after she “won” third place at an inner beauty contest and subsequently dumped George Michael. When George Michael found out about their tryst in the (then) series finale, he punched Gob in the face. That was the last we saw of Ann Veal, so it would make sense for the forthcoming season to address Gob and Ann’s relationship (or, at the very least, reference it in passing).

In addition to the main cast, Mae Whitman joins other recurring cast membersLiza Minnelli (Lucille 2), Henry Winkler (Barry Zuckerkorn), Scott Baio (Bob Loblaw), and Jeff Garlin (Maeby’s movie producer boss), as well as newcomersJohn Slattery (Mad Men), Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers), and Terry Crews (The Expendables 2). It’s only a matter of time before every single actor who ever appeared on the previous three seasons is booked for season 4.

Ben Moore blogs at Screen Rant.