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The Best Episodes of Arrested Development

Every episode of Arrested Development ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Arrested Development!

Binge this in 1d 11h•Peaking at 9.1/10

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

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  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Arrested Development Season 3 Episode 13 - Development Arrested
    9.1/10(3300 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.

    Director:John Fortenberry
    Writers:Richard Day, Mitchell Hurwitz, Chuck Tatham

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  2. Arrested Development Season 1 Episode 10 - Pier Pressure
    9.0/10(3994 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.

    Director:Joe Russo
    Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely

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  3. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 4 - Good Grief
    9.0/10(3173 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.

    Director:Jeff Melman
    Writer:Mitchell Hurwitz

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  4. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 6 - Afternoon Delight
    9.0/10(3266 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.

    Director:Jason Bateman
    Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Abraham Higginbotham

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  5. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 16 - Meat the Veals
    9.0/10(3038 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.

    Directors:Joe Russo, Anthony Russo
    Writers:Barbara Feldman, Mitchell Hurwitz

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  6. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 18 - The Righteous Brothers
    8.9/10(2659 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.

    Director:Chuck Martin
    Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Arrested Development

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  7. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 3 - Amigos
    8.8/10(2997 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.

    Director:Lee Shallat Chemel
    Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Brad Copeland

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  8. Arrested Development Season 3 Episode 12 - Exit Strategy
    8.8/10(2516 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.

    Director:Lev L. Spiro
    Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Chuck Tatham, Dean Lorey, Jim Vallely

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  9. Arrested Development Season 1 Episode 17 - Justice Is Blind
    8.7/10(3097 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.

    Director:Jay Chandrasekhar
    Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Abraham Higginbotham

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  10. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 1 - The One Where Michael Leaves
    8.7/10(2878 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.

    Director:Lee Shallat Chemel
    Writer:Mitchell Hurwitz

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  11. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 12 - Hand to God
    8.7/10(2644 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.

    Director:Joe Russo
    Writer:Mitchell Hurwitz

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  12. Arrested Development Season 3 Episode 5 - Mr. F
    8.7/10(2705 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.

    Director:Arlene Sanford
    Writers:Richard Day, Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely

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  13. Arrested Development Season 3 Episode 8 - Making a Stand
    8.7/10(2596 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.

    Director:Peter Lauer
    Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Chuck Tatham

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  14. Arrested Development Season 1 Episode 22 - Let 'Em Eat Cake
    8.6/10(2898 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.

    Director:Paul Feig
    Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely

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  15. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 13 - Motherboy XXX
    8.6/10(2651 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.

    Director:Joe Russo
    Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely

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  16. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 15 - Sword of Destiny
    8.6/10(2609 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.

    Director:Peter Lauer
    Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Brad Copeland

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  17. Arrested Development Season 3 Episode 9 - S.O.B.s
    8.6/10(2658 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".

    Director:Robert Berlinger
    Writers:Richard Day, Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely

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  18. Arrested Development Season 3 Episode 11 - Family Ties
    8.6/10(2455 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.

    Director:Robert Berlinger
    Writers:Ron Weiner, Mitchell Hurwitz

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  19. Arrested Development Season 1 Episode 14 - Shock and Aww
    8.5/10(3117 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.

    Director:Joe Russo
    Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely

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  20. Arrested Development Season 1 Episode 16 - Altar Egos
    8.5/10(2942 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.

    Director:Jay Chandrasekhar
    Writer:Mitchell Hurwitz

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  21. Arrested Development Season 1 Episode 21 - Not Without My Daughter
    8.5/10(2832 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.

    Director:Lee Shallat Chemel
    Writer:Mitchell Hurwitz

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  22. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 2 - The One Where They Build a House
    8.5/10(2795 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.

    Director:Patty Jenkins
    Writer:Mitchell Hurwitz

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  23. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 5 - Sad Sack
    8.5/10(2664 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.

    Director:Peter Lauer
    Writers:Barbara Feldman, Mitchell Hurwitz

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  24. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 14 - The Immaculate Election
    8.5/10(2570 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.

    Directors:Joe Russo, Anthony Russo
    Writers:Barbara Adler, Mitchell Hurwitz, Abraham Higginbotham

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  25. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 17 - Spring Breakout
    8.5/10(2493 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.

    Directors:Joe Russo, Anthony Russo
    Writers:Barbara Feldman, Mitchell Hurwitz, Abraham Higginbotham

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Best Episodes Summary

"Development Arrested" is the best rated episode of "Arrested Development". It scored 9.1/10 based on 3300 votes. Directed by John Fortenberry and written by Richard Day, Mitchell Hurwitz, Chuck Tatham, it aired on 2/10/2006. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Pier Pressure".