Arrested Development has had a crazy history, having first run from 2003 to 2006 then being canceled — then premiering another season in 2013 and ending — and then debuting a “final” season yet again in 2018. Despite its scattered state, one thing is unarguable: Arrested Development is hilarious.
Thanks to its tightly knit jokes and long-running gags, almost every episode in the series (especially in the early seasons) has received incredible ratings. Today, we’re looking at all the episodes’ ratings on IMDb to see how they stack up.
Every episode of Arrested Development has been assigned a star rating on the popular entertainment website. This score has been assembled based on the votes from registered users on a scale of 1 to 10.
Using that as our guide, it’s time to dive into the funniest episodes of Arrested Development. Here’s what they are and how they stack up according to IMDb.
Amigos
This Season 2 episode has Michael and the gang rushing to Mexico in an attempt to find his father. However, George-Michael decides to bring Ann along and unsurprisingly, Michael’s attempt to bond with her is not easy in the slightest. Buster also decides to stow away in an attempt to avoid the army.
The family dysfunction in this episode continued to reach higher than ever, earning this episode an 8.9 score on IMDb. The “her” jokes are also kind of incredible, and did we mention that Gene Parmesan makes his first appearance? Score.
Mr. F
This early Season 3 episode has the Bluths searching for a mole in a company. Meanwhile, Tobias believes the CIA agents he encounters are actually focused on his acting talents instead of the family affairs.
It all comes to a confusing end that has Tobias crushing G.O.B.’s tiny town while wearing a mole costume and George Michael swooping into the scene by using the jet pack. This is what comedy gold looks like, people.
The ridiculousness of it all had this episode ending up with a solid 8.9-star rating on IMDb.
Making A Stand
“Making a Stand” saw G.O.B. and Michael trying to teach George a lesson about always forcing them to compete against each other. Of course, this just results in a giant banana stand competition.
Additionally, Maeby takes inspiration from Lucille’s post-facelift appearance for the monster in her horror movie, and Lindsay and Tobias get into a heated competition over the lawyer Bob Loblaw.
The layered plot lines and endless jokes make this one too funny to forget. It’s also worth noting that G.O.B. drops a major hint about his relationship with Ann in this one, but yes, it goes over Michael’s head. The 8.9-star rating is well-deserved.
Exit Strategy
George Michael plans an incredibly unsuccessful surprise birthday party for Maeby in this Season 3 episode. Michael meanwhile deals with all of the Bluth family’s shenanigans in Iraq… and yes, these shenanigans are incredibly layered and just keep getting worse. Did we mention that Buster fakes a coma for a good portion of this episode?
If you’re looking for one of the more absurd episodes following the Bluth family, this is it. There are reasons “Exit Strategy” ended up with an 8.9-star score.
Righteous Brothers
This Season 2 episode is full of the finest type of Bluth Family dysfunction. With George Sr. finding a new place to hide while the model home’s plumbing gets checked, George Michael and Ann protesting Maeby’s newest film, and Tobias falling for Kitty, everything is as right as it will ever be in the Arrested Development universe.
It all ends with Tobias getting an audition for the real Blue Man Group, only to find out that this role has already been fulfilled by none other than George Sr. Of course, he’s oblivious to this.
“Righteous Brothers” came out with a strong 9.0 rating.
Good Grief!
Lucille enlists the help of Ice to track down George Sr. in this Season 2 episode, but Maeby has plans of her own. She tries to set up her mother with Ice, but let’s just say it doesn’t work out great.
George Michael ends up getting into a conflict with Ann that Michael completely misunderstands. Believing he’s helping out his son, Michael invites Ann over, which only complicates things for George Michael who is trying to hide his Pop-Pop in the attic. Let’s not ignore G.O.B.‘s new magic coffin illusion.
“Good Grief!” scored itself a 9.1-star rating for being filled with so many misunderstandings, it almost hurts. Three cheers for strong writing.
Afternoon Delight
This Season 2 episode has G.O.B. firing a load of employees at the Bluth Company holiday party, Michael rebuilding the banana stand, and Buster avoiding the army.
It also has Maeby and Michael sharing in some uncle-niece bonding by accidentally singing the highly suggestive “Afternoon Delight” song together. The same awkward karaoke scenario happens later as well, but this time, Linsday and George Michael are at the center of it.
“Afternoon Delight” ultimately scored a 9.1-star rating, and no, we can’t get those lyrics out of our heads.
Meat The Veals (9.1)
Ann isn’t exactly the type of girl Michael imagined his son would date, so in this Season 2 episode, he sets up a meeting with her parents in the hopes that it will encourage the pair to break up. Rather than being frightened off by the dysfunctional Bluth family, though, Ann’s attractive mother begins to fall for Michael instead.
The absurdity of the situation and the incredible cast performances by everyone (including G.O.B.’s puppet, Franklin) earned “Meat the Veals” a fitting 9.1-star rating on IMDb.
Pier Pressure (9.2)
Remember that time Michael tried to teach George Michael a lesson about drugs, only to accidentally confront him with the Hot Cops instead? Yup, this is that episode.
Before the grand finale goes down, though, Buster tries to cure Lucille 2’s vertigo, Lindsay’s plan to punish Maeby by having her spend the day with Lucille backfires, and Michael recalls the one-armed man who frequently terrorized him as a kid. What fun.
All this and more had this episode earning a high 9.2-star rating.
Development Arrested (9.3)
The Season 3 finale of Arrested Development is the highest-rated episode of the show on IMDb. With a 9.3-star rating, you’d hope “Development Arrested” is good — and boy, is it.
The episode saw Lucille throwing another party on the yacht to celebrate Michael successfully getting George Bluth’s treason charges removed, bringing the opening of the series full-circle.
After a giant series of events ensue, mainly involving the family’s ever-growing dysfunction, Michael makes a break for it and takes his son on a boat of their own. Michael’s plan was to peacefully ride away into the sunset with the person who mattered to him. Unfortunately, George Sr. turns out to be a stowaway.
