Editing Arrested Development (section)

=== Main characters ===
{{Main|List of Arrested Development characters}}

[[File:Arrested Development cast promo photo.jpg|thumb|250px|alt=The main cast of ''Arrested Development'' pose in a [[police lineup]].|From left to right: Gob, George Sr., Lindsay, Tobias, Michael, Lucille, George Michael, Maeby, and Buster]]
The plot of ''Arrested Development'' revolves around the members of the Bluth family, a formerly wealthy family who continue to lead extravagant lifestyles despite their changed circumstances.<ref name="ew review 1">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,535755,00.html |title=Arrested Development Review |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |first=Carina |last=Chocano |date=November 7, 2003 |access-date=June 15, 2012 |archive-date=November 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117001436/https://ew.com/article/2003/11/07/arrested-development-3/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.ew.com/article/2007/09/28/17-most-awkward-moments-tv-history |title=Awkward TV Nation |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |access-date=February 22, 2008 |date=September 28, 2007 |archive-date=November 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117001346/https://ew.com/article/2007/09/28/17-most-awkward-moments-tv-history/ |url-status=live }}</ref> At the center of the show is [[Michael Bluth]] ([[Jason Bateman]]), the show's [[straight man]], who strives to do the right thing and keep his family together, despite their materialism, selfishness, and manipulative natures.<ref name="ew review 1" /> Michael is a widowed single father.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tv.msn.com/tv/series/arrested-development/ |title=Arrested Development |publisher=MSN TV |access-date=June 15, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609010730/http://tv.msn.com/tv/series/arrested-development/ |archive-date=June 9, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> His teenage son, [[George Michael Bluth|George Michael]] ([[Michael Cera]]), has the same qualities of decency but feels a constant pressure to live up to his father's expectations and is often reluctant to follow his father's plans. He battles with a crush he has on cousin [[Maeby Fünke|Mae "Maeby" Fünke]] ([[Alia Shawkat]]), which developed from a kiss she gave him as part of a prank.<ref name="ew review 1" />

Michael's father, [[George Bluth Sr.]] ([[Jeffrey Tambor]]), is the patriarch of the family and a corrupt real estate developer who is arrested in the first episode. George goes to considerable lengths to manipulate and control his family in spite of his imprisonment, and makes numerous efforts to evade justice.<ref name="ew review 2">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1008472,00.html |title=Arrested Development Review |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |first=Gillian |last=Flynn |date=December 20, 2004 |access-date=June 15, 2012 |archive-date=November 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117001320/https://ew.com/article/2004/12/20/arrested-development-4/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> His wife, and Michael's mother, [[Lucille Bluth|Lucille]] ([[Jessica Walter]]), is ruthlessly manipulative, materialistic, and hypercritical of every member of her family, and constantly drinks alcohol.<ref name="ew review 1" /> Her grip is tightest on her youngest son, [[Byron "Buster" Bluth]] ([[Tony Hale]]), who is overeducated on various random subjects but lacks emotional intelligence or common sense. Buster is also a [[mother's boy]] who has dependency issues and is prone to [[panic attack]]s.<ref name="ew review 1" />

Michael's older brother is [[George Oscar Bluth II]] ([[Will Arnett]]), known by the acronym Gob,  which is pronounced in the series like the Biblical figure Job ({{IPAc-en|dʒ|oʊ|b}}).<ref name="ew review 1" /> An unsuccessful professional magician whose business and personal schemes usually fail or become tiresome and are quickly abandoned, Gob is competitive with Michael and bullies Buster.<ref name="ew review 1" /> Michael's twin sister, [[List of Arrested Development characters#Lindsay Bluth Fünke|Lindsay]] ([[Portia de Rossi]]), is spoiled and materialistic, continually seeking to be the center of attention and espousing various social causes for the sake of vanity.<ref name="av club pilot">{{cite web |last=Murray |first=Noel |date=June 1, 2011 |title=Extended Pilot/Top Banana |url=https://www.avclub.com/arrested-development-extended-pilot-top-banana-1798168461 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117001413/https://tv.avclub.com/arrested-development-extended-pilot-top-banana-1798168461 |archive-date=November 17, 2020 |access-date=June 17, 2012 |website=The A.V. Club}}</ref> In the finale, it is revealed that she and Lucille are sisters.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Owen |first=Aled |date=September 19, 2023 |title='Arrested Development' Bluth Family Tree Explained |url=https://collider.com/arrested-development-bluth-family-tree/ |access-date=March 26, 2024 |website=Collider |language=en |archive-date=September 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928235620/https://collider.com/arrested-development-bluth-family-tree/ |url-status=live }}</ref> She is married to [[Tobias Fünke]] ([[David Cross]]), a discredited psychiatrist-turned-aspiring actor.<ref name="ew review 1" /> Tobias is a self-diagnosed "never-nude" (a disorder comparable to [[gymnophobia]]), whose language and behavior have heavily homosexual overtones to which he seems oblivious and which are the center of much tongue-in-cheek comedy throughout the series.<ref name="av club pilot" /><ref name="Eps 7 and 8">{{cite web |url=https://www.avclub.com/arrested-development-my-mother-the-car-in-god-we-tr-1798168654 |title=My Mother The Car/In God We Trust |website=The A.V. Club |first=Noel |last=Murray |date=June 22, 2011 |access-date=June 17, 2012 |archive-date=November 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117001314/https://tv.avclub.com/arrested-development-my-mother-the-car-in-god-we-tr-1798168654 |url-status=live }}</ref> Their daughter, Maeby, is a rebellious teen with an opportunistic streak, who seeks to defy her parents for the sake of attention, and otherwise pursues boys and power, and furthers her complicated relationship with George Michael.<ref name="ew review 1" />