Editing Arrested Development (section)

=== Television ratings ===
The show, while critically acclaimed, did not gain a sizable audience.<ref name="tv" /> According to the [[Nielsen ratings]] system, the show's first season was the 120th&nbsp;most popular show among households and the 88th&nbsp;among viewers aged 18 to 49, averaging 6.2 million viewers.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/01/arts/television-can-this-man-save-the-sitcom.html |title=Television; Can This Man Save the Sitcom? |work=The New York Times |first=Ari |last=Posner |date=August 1, 2004 |access-date=December 15, 2011 |archive-date=November 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117001353/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/01/arts/television-can-this-man-save-the-sitcom.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

U.S. ratings in the second season averaged about six million viewers, while the third season averaged about four million viewers.<ref name="sfgate">{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Die-hard-Arrested-Development-fans-already-2595181.php |title=Die-hard ''Arrested Development'' fans already feeling sting of loss |access-date=November 23, 2005 |work=The San Francisco Chronicle |first=Tim |last=Goodman |date=November 14, 2005 |archive-date=November 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117001419/https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Die-hard-Arrested-Development-fans-already-2595181.php |url-status=live }}</ref> Fox announced that it would halt the production of the second season at eighteen episodes—four episodes short of the planned season.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/arrested-development-2005 |title=Arrested Development PopMatters Television Review |website=PopMatters |date=May 2, 2005 |access-date=July 16, 2010 |archive-date=November 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117001427/https://www.popmatters.com/arrested-development-2005-2496237188.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

For the third season, Fox positioned the show on Mondays at 8:00&nbsp;p.m.&nbsp;ET.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2005/07/11/fox-announces-fall-premiere-dates-for-the-2005-2006-season-18692/20050711fox01/ |title=FOX Announces Fall Premiere Dates for the 2005–2006 Season |publisher=Fox |date=July 11, 2005 |access-date=June 15, 2012}}</ref> Ratings dropped further than previous seasons.<ref name="rip">{{cite magazine |url=http://popwatch.ew.com/2005/11/11/rip_arrested_de/ |title=R.I.P. 'Arrested Development' |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |first=Michael |last=Slezak |date=November 11, 2005 |access-date=June 15, 2012 |archive-date=November 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117001418/https://ew.com/article/2005/11/11/rip_arrested_de/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On November 9, 2005, Fox announced that the show would not be airing in November sweeps, and that they had cut the episode order for the third season from 22 to 13.<ref name="rip" /> Fox ended up showing the last four episodes in a two-hour timeslot—directly opposite the opening ceremonies of the [[2006 Winter Olympics]].<ref name="series finale">{{cite news |url=http://blog.seattlepi.com/tv/2006/01/13/this-just-in-arrested-development-season-series-finale-scheduled-against-olympics-opening-ceremony/ |title=This just in: 'Arrested Development' season (series?) finale scheduled...against Olympics opening ceremony |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |first=Melanie |last=McFarland |date=January 13, 2006 |access-date=June 15, 2012 |archive-date=July 14, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714170728/http://blog.seattlepi.com/tv/2006/01/13/this-just-in-arrested-development-season-series-finale-scheduled-against-olympics-opening-ceremony/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The series finale episode received 3.43 million&nbsp;viewers.<ref name="Feb14-06">{{cite web |publisher=[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC Medianet]] |date=February 14, 2006 |url=http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=021406_04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150311231306/http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=021406_04 |archive-date=March 11, 2015 |title=Weekly Program Rankings |access-date=August 31, 2012}}</ref>