An additional eight episodes joins “Arrested Development”s fifth season (with eight episodes previously released in May 2018), but it’s somehow even worse than any of its underwhelming Netflix seasons. At this point, the season’s overarching plot has become so convoluted that it’s just not worth the effort to try to figure it out, and the majority of the performers are on autopilot. Some of the first few episodes are promising and suggest a return to form, but it quickly falls apart, which is a shame because some of the early scripts have a number of strong jokes. However, what makes this season one of the show’s worst is the downright amateurish direction and sound mixing: The voice work often doesn’t line up with what’s onscreen, the sound cues are strictly amateur hour, and there are a number of downright awkward camera shots that suggest a rushed botch job.
Rating: ★★ (out of 5)
