“Arrested Development” star’s guru series ordered at Netflix

PanARMENIAN.Net - Will Arnett has found his next act. The Arrested Development star is back at Netflix, where he'll star in his own creation, Flaked. Set in the insular world of Venice, Calif., it's the serio-comic story of a self-appointed "guru," Chip, who falls for the object of his best friend's fascination. Soon the tangled web of half-truths and semi-bullshit that underpins his all-important image and sobriety begins to unravel. The streaming service has ordered eight episodes of the original comedy, which will bow exclusively across all Netflix territories in 2016, The Hollywood Reporter said.

Arnett will write the series alongside his co-creator Mark Chappell (The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret), with Electus founder Ben Silverman, manager-producer Peter Principato and Arrested creator Mitch Hurwitz joining the pair as executive producers. Electus, which is behind Netflix's Marco Polo as well as The CW's Jane the Virgin, among several other series, and Principato Young are providing production services on the project.

"We are thrilled to be the home of Will Arnett's next series and look forward to Chip joining his repertoire alongside such diverse and inspirational characters as Gob, Bojack and Batman," said Netflix's vp original content Cindy Holland in a statement. Added Arnett, who grew tight with Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos while making Arrested and then animated entry BoJack Horseman: "We're very excited to partner with Netflix — the home of original, original content — and the network I knew would be the ideal home for this passion project."

Arnett, a five-time Emmy nominee for his work on Arrested and 30 Rock, has remained particularly active in front of and behind the camera. In addition to the Netflix revival of Arrested, which will continue if the actors' schedules allow, and BoJack, he starred in CBS' The Millers, which rounded out the 2013-14 season as the highest-rated first-year sitcom before getting axed just five episodes in to season two. On the film front, Arnett's 2014 included starring roles in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Lego Movie and The Nut Job.

In August, The Hollywood Reporter first revealed that Arnett had formed a production company, Electric Avenue, and inked a first-look deal with CBS TV Studios. Via that pact, Arnett quickly sold his first comedy, How Not to Calm a Child on a Plane, to CBS. Like the Johanna Stein-penned book on which it's based, the half-hour will center on a pair of unconventional parents who try to raise their child according to their own rules — not the rules imposed upon them by society at large. In a bid to add more programming to Electric's slate, Arnett lured Jed Weitzman, formerly of Brillstein Grey, to run the production company.