After seven years, “Arrested Development” makes a triumphal return to screens on Sunday, May 26 on the online streaming service Netflix. And while fans couldn't be happier, their joy is matched - if not perhaps eclipsed - by the returning cast and crew who were thrilled to be together once more.

“It's definitely the hardest thing I've ever attempted to do, but I'm very optimistic about it,” says executive producer Mitch Hurwitz of the long-awaited return of the quirky, genre-bending series he created and debuted on the Fox network back in 2003. 

Cancelled after an abbreviated third season in 2006, “Arrested Development” is poised to become the “Star Trek” of sitcoms: like that sci-fi trailblazer, there was something too good about the wildly inventive antics of the dysfunctionally moneyed Bluth family’s saga to fade away.

For years, Hurwitz and his cast couldn’t escape questions and speculation that the show would somehow be revived elsewhere, or perhaps return on the big screen. That fervent hope gradually morphed into a clamoring demand which did not go unnoticed by Netflix, acutely aware of how frequently its subscribers were “binging” on seasons of TV series, “Arrested” central among them, and looking to get into the original programming game.

A deal was struck for a revival, and in typical "Arrested" form, Hurwitz upended the expected and opted for a unique format: a season of 15 interconnected episodes released simultaneously on May 26, each centering on a member of the storied cast of characters.

The first episode, which focuses on Michael (Jason Bateman), the long-suffering glue that held the Bluth family together, has the precise look and feel of the original run – including cleverly planted references to past gags – but it’s also clearly morphing into something different: the bigger-picture effect only begins to be revealed in fuzzy glimpses that will, presumably, pay off hilariously once every episode can be digested.

“Mitch is numbering them on purpose,” says Bateman, “It is not required to watch in that order, but pretty shortly after you start watching, you’ll realize that ‘Oh, wait – I can complete that scene if I re-watch the second half of that last episode.’ And so you’ll start to make your own order as you are interested in certain stories or start to kind of try to figure out what the whole thing is going to be about.”

“I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that there was definitely not a week that went by in my life since the end of the show that somebody didn't stop me and ask me, 'Is the movie going to happen?'” recalls Bateman of his experience in the years since the series ended. “It was actually most days. I would say five out of seven days a week, someone would stop me and ask me. That was the case in the media, too: whenever I'd go to a function or something, I'd get asked, even though I was there for a different project.”

Will Arnett, the actor behind ne’er-do-well magician Gob Bluth, worked with Hurwitz on various post-“Arrested” projects during that speculative period, and he noticed that revival notions were not-so-secretly percolating. “Mitch, every once in a while, would be talking about an idea and he always had this folder. And as he'd be writing something, he'd drop it in this other folder. And he had this bigger story idea for ‘Arrested Development,’ so I knew that there was this thing that actually existed.”

Bateman says that he tends not to try to find any vindication in the show’s return – just joy in being reunited. “I don't think any of us felt any sort of bitterness or huge frustration that the show had gone away,” he says. “For the most part, the emotion around the set when it went down was we were upset, but we felt pretty grateful that we got that far – there was blood in the water after the first like 13 episodes. That we had been so embraced by the vocal minority that cheered us on, and the awards or nominations or whatever it was, and now with this – it's just great, selfishly. I think I can speak for all us: Netflix gave us all a chance to have kind of a reunion party and hang out with one another and do Mitch’s work. So it's all been gravy for us really from the start.”

His cast mate David Cross, who plays the “never-nude” therapist-turned-thespian Tobias Funke, sees it differently. “I don't take the same meds as Jason,” he deadpans. “I was a little pissed that it was cancelled, kind of unceremoniously. I don't know if vindication is the word I'd use, but it’s certainly satisfying to know that all of us, as well as all the fans, were right: This should continue.”

Despite the years of speculation, Portia de Rossi (who plays the privileged but sexually frustrated Lindsey Bluth) says the prospect of a reunion only seemed real after a 2011 retrospective panel assembled by The New Yorker. “All of us always wanted to do either more episodes or a movie,” she says, “but Mitch started to talking to us as a cast about the possibility of Netflix, and we all thought that was a genius idea. It's like the perfect show to do something that is perhaps the future of television to be a part of that. It just seemed like a perfect fit.”

Particularly when it became apparent that while Netflix would finance the new season, they would not interfere with Hurwitz’s creative intentions. “Netflix was there in support of Mitch and his vision, and they just didn't get in there and mess it up,” says de Rossi. “They were just incredible partners.”

Everyone in the cast – and many guest stars from the previous incarnation – wasted no time in agreeing to the reunion. “I just missed the juiciness of the writing,” says Jessica Walter, the hard-hearted Bluth matron Lucille. “The writing was so character specific for all of us. They don't have ‘Arrested Development’ writer trees out there.”

Climbing into that tree for fourth season was actor Michael Cera, who launched his career on the series as George Michael Bluth before becoming a major film star in movies like “Superbad” and joined Hurwitz and other veteran scribes from the original run in the writers’ room. “I think it's an exciting change-up,” says Cera of the new series eposode change-up. “It makes what we're doing fresh – all the same elements but a different format. I love Mitch's pursuit of quality. He puts that above all else."

Even actors in minor recurring roles felt a career sea change as a result of their involvement in the original series. “It seemed to put me in the cool kids club,” says Judy Greer, who appeared sporadically but memorably as George, Sr.’s, frequently blurred-breast-flashing mistress Kitty. “People are like, 'You're in every episode.' I wasn't. I was really on, like, five. It wasn't that many, but you don't have be on a lot on that show to make an impression.”

“For me, this version was more fun even than the original,” admits de Rossi, “because it was kind of like a celebration as well as going to work every day knowing that we were doing something and hoping that people would watch it. We know that we have a fanbase who are as excited as we are.”

“It's so rare that people can come back together and do something and have that be relevant and there be an exciting level of anticipation for it,” says Bateman, “as opposed to sort of an eye-rolling irrelevance to it."

Bateman tried to keep that good fortune at the forefront of his mind from the first day of shooting. “This is the most beneficial thing I've ever done in my career, for my career, the most fun I've ever had doing anything in my career, the people I love the most in my career – all of those things,” he recalls. “It was amazing to be with all of them again, but then I had to remind myself that there was a job to do, and that I knew there were a bunch of people who really appreciated the show as much as I do, the fans.”

“And so I wanted to make sure,” he adds, “that it didn't suck.”

The comedy gods, no doubt, are enjoying a good laugh over Jerry Lewis' latest women-have-no-business-being-funny comments coming just two days after Carol Burnett earned headlines for capturing the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

The honor has eluded Lewis, one of Hollywood’s most successful film comedians. That's unfortunate. But it’s a bigger shame that, through nobody's fault but his own, 87-year-old Lewis risks being remembered more for his nutty remarks than for "The Nutty Professor."

For a performer whose childlike antics inspired years of laughter, Lewis is a complicated guy with more personalities than his classic Jekyll-and-Hyde comic creation. He's part manic, rubber-faced comedian, and part schmaltzy sentimentalist. But the most disturbing part of his makeup seems to be a mix of ego and hubris that threatens to swallow his legacy.

It's not a defense, but just movie history that Lewis, alongside partner Dean Martin, emerged in the 1950s as one of the biggest movie comedy superstars since Charlie Chaplin. The comparisons became more apt in the 1960s, when, like Chaplin, Lewis made his own innovative films filled with physical comedy and dashes of pathos. “The Bellboy” and “The Errand Boy,” among others, stand up well beside “The Nutty Professor.”

The Lewis touch can be seen in the likes of Eddie Murphy and Jim Carrey, among many performers. Unfortunately, Lewis apparently can't see his influence on other stars, from Tracey Ullman to Kristen Wiig.

It’s worth noting that in Lewis' last major outing – Martin Scorsese's brilliant 1982 dark farce "The King of Comedy" – he played a virtual straight man, tied up much of the time, as Sandra Bernhard put on an edgy, dangerous and hilarious performance.

Lewis first weighed in on women in comedy in 1998, spurring condemnation that stretched to Twain Prize winner Tina Fey’s 2011 “Bossypants” book, in which she offered an unprintable rejoinder. His latest comments came at the Cannes Film Festival, when, The Associated Press reported, he was asked about the success of “Bridesmaids” scene-stealer Melissa McCarthy and Sarah Silverman, one of the stars of the ongoing YouTube Comedy Week.

"I can't see women doing that. It bothers me," Lewis said.

"I cannot sit and watch a lady diminish her qualities to the lowest common denominator," he added.

It's too bad Lewis doesn’t realize he diminishes his own qualities with such comments. You would think, at the very least, he’d show more generosity of spirit toward fellow (and non-fellow) performers, especially after being shabbily tossed aside as host of the annual Muscular Dystrophy Association Labor Day Telethon two years ago without a proper goodbye.

As Lewis’ career draws closer to a close, the man who made "Hey, lady!" a catchphrase might want to offer a gracious apology to comedy fans and comedians of all stripes. After all, there are few things sadder than watching what could be the final performance of an angry clown. 

Hester is founding director of the award-winning, multi-media NYCity News Service at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is the former City Editor of the New York Daily News, where he started as a reporter in 1992. Follow him on Twitter.

A 14-year-old girl on YouTube named Tina S. has racked up more than 3 million views with her spot-on cover of the Van Halen rock classic "Eruption."

It's not the first time the teen sensation (whose YouTube page states she resides in France) has caused waves in the digital domain. Almost five years ago at the tender age of 10, the apparent prodigy made a minor splash with her dexterous performance of Ferdinando Carulli's "Andante."

But it's her version of "Eruption," which Guitar World ranks second on their 50 best solos list, that has drawn millions of views. The guitar solo was first performed by Eddie Van Halen in 1978 on the band's eponymous debut album, making the song older in years than the girl playing it.

Commenters on YouTube gush over the way Tina plays the classic, with many joking that they're giving up the guitar in the wake of such young talent. "I have been playing the guitar longer than this girl has been a human being and I don't come anywhere near that. I'm going to buy a tambourine..." says Brian Kohler, one of more than 4,600 people who have left messages concerning the video.

"Everyone else go back to guitar hero," writes 943TheSharkRocks. "You have lost the race."

So moved is MrElbarto53 that he proposes a wedding: "When you have 18 y.o, marry me please !! :D"

Ellen DeGeneres was so impressed that she tweeted she wants the internet phenomenon on her daytime show stat. 

This girl is incredible. If you know where she is, I want her on my show immediately. ellen.tv/13NbcPe

— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) May 23, 2013

No word yet on whether Tina S. will take up DeGeneres' offer, but a message on her YouTube page states that due to the huge amount of comments she is unable to answer all of them, but "For all SERIOUS proposal concerning Tina, please contact her teacher, Renaud Louis-Servais."

Someone get the country calling code for France ASAP!

Jennifer Hudson is headed back to the place that helped make her a star.

The Chicago native has agreed to a deal to be a judge on the next season of "American Idol," E! Online has confirmed through multiple sources.

The reality show, which has lost much of its luster and viewers over the past few seasons, is reportedly trying to lure back alumni in an effort to give the program a boost.

Former winner Kelly Clarkson is also believed to be negotiating a deal, along with Adam Lambert or Clay Aiken.

Hudson didn't win during her run on the show's third season, but she's arguably had the most successful career of any of the contestants, winning a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award in 2006 for her role in Dreamgirls.

Last season's crop of "American Idol" judges -- Nicki Minaj, Mariah Carey, Randy Jackson and Keith Urban -- will not be returning to the show.

Actress Amanda Bynes was arrested by police in her midtown apartment Thursday night after officers said her room reeked of marijuana and caught her throwing drug paraphernalia out the window, law enforcement sources said.

The doorman at Bynes' building on West 47th Street called police to report she was smoking marijuana in the lobby, sources said. When officers arrived, Bynes had returned to her apartment on the 36th floor.

Officers observed a bong inside Bynes' apartment as she opened the door,  the sources said. That's when she allegedly grabbed it and tossed it out of the window.

Officers also noted a "heavy" smell of marijuana and smoke inside the apartment, according to the sources. 

Bynes, 27, was arrested on charges of reckless endangerment, tampering with evidence and criminal possession of marijuana. 

She was taken to Roosevelt Hospital to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, then to a Midtown police station to be processed, according to the sources. She was held overnight at a police precinct, then pulled up to court in a squad car Friday morning, appearing disheveled in a long wig and sweatpants. 

"I'm asking you I don't want any pictures," she said to one of the photographers in the crush of media. 

"I don't want any photos. No press are allowed in here," she announced to the public courtroom.

Bynes' attorney for the arraignment, Andrew Friedman, insisted she had never been in any trouble before in New York.

Friedman also said Bynes "completely denies illegally throwing anything out of her window." 

The judge asked Bynes if she lived in Manhattan, and she said, "I do, sir."

When he asked if she was planning to stay in Manhattan, she said "um, yes."

He then went through the conditions of her release, including that if she gets arrested again or fails to show up for her next court date in July, he would set "significant bail."  

Bynes, whose increasingly bizarre behavior has been the subject of tabloid scrutiny in recent months, is already under probation for driving with a suspended license. The plea deal secured in Burbank, Calif. earlier this month placed Bynes under three years probation. 

The former Nickelodeon star also has a DUI case pending in Beverly Hills. And last December, she settled another misdemeanor hit-and-run case in California. 

Prosecutors had asked for $1,000 bail. Prosecutors said no bong was recovered from the street below — a sign, her attorney said, that Bynes was telling the truth.

"There was nothing recovered from the sidewalk, clearly a search was made for the bag," said Friedman. He said she was followed illegally into her apartment and has made a complaint about police wrongfully entering.

As the judge dispensed with her case, she said, "Thank you sir, have a nice day."

The star then got into a waiting yellow cab ringed with photographers and TV cameras and left.

-- Additional reporting from AP

The Miami Heat and rapper Pitbull have teamed up on a new version of his hit song "Feel This Moment" to get fans revved up for the team's 2013 playoff run.

Mr. 305 personally rewrote and remixed the song, which features vocals from Christina Aguilera and debuted in a video during the Heat's dramatic overtime victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals Wednesday night.

Complete Miami Heat Coverage

"Miami Heat, we on fire, championship, we gonna ride," sings the Miami native, as he sports a white suit to support the White Hot Heat. "We don't talk about it, we be about it."

The video shows Heat fans throughout South Florida singing along with the words in their White Hot gear.

Friday Declared "White Hot Heat Day" for South Florida Students

“Pitbull is one of Miami’s native sons and we’re thrilled at the chance to collaborate with him on this creative project,” said Eric Woolworth, President of The HEAT Group’s Business Operations.

Game 2 is Friday.

As you know — unless you’ve been living in a survivalist bunker, in which case you may want to stop reading this — the IRS has recently admitted to subjecting tea party groups to special scrutiny.

In fact, for the past few weeks, the Obama Administration has been standing “crotch deep in the scandal swamp,” said Jon Stewart on Wednesday’s “Daily Show.”

Sure, we’ve had our fun with the scandals, Stewart said, but some folks shouldn’t have been invited to the party. And that brings us to the latest installment of the "Daily Show" segment called “Hey, Let’s All Pile on the President … Not so Fast, You.”

Peggy Noonan, of The Wall Street Journal, recently said that the scandals “make a cluster that implies very bad things.” The IRS scandal in particular, she said, was something “I have never seen in my lifetime.”

“What if,” said Stewart, “a president secretly sold weapons to Iran in return for American hostages and used the proceeds to illegally fund a bunch of coked-up jungle rapists in Nicaragua. Ring a bell?” That’s the Iran-Contra scandal, of course, which exploded during President Ronald Reagan's administration.

And the scandal should ring a bell, seeing as how Peggy Noonan worked as a high-level speechwriter for President Reagan. Was he in any way responsible? According to a 2001 interview with Noonan, “Reagan had bad luck in Iran-Contra.” In another interview she called Iran-Contra a “mistake.”

And what about President Obama? Noonan says it doesn’t matter if Obama didn’t know about the wrongdoing at the IRS: he’s the president and should be held accountable. And what about Reagan? As Noonan wrote in her hagiography about Reagan, “The men around Reagan … failed.”

Watch the clip here, courtesy of Comedy Central:

When the touring frozen banana stand from "Arrested Development" landed near Manhattan’s Radio City Music Hall last week, the only thing more striking than length of the line was the age of the crowd. Most of the fans probably weren’t even in high school when Fox prematurely ended the Bluth family’s dysfunctional misadventures seven years ago.

"This is history!" one teenage boy declared after snapping a picture of the stand with an iPhone.

The kid is right: The impending return of “Arrested Development” represents comedy history in the making – marking an unprecedented new season, via Netflix, for a cult favorite that long ago said “goodbye” while fans were just saying “annyong” (that’s Korean for “hello” – if you had to ask, it’s time to catch up with the original 53 episodes). 

Hester is founding director of the award-winning, multi-media NYCity News Service at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is the former City Editor of the New York Daily News, where he started as a reporter in 1992. Follow him on Twitter.

Blake Shelton and NBC are putting together a benefit for Oklahoma tornado victims.

Shelton told reporters about the fundraising effort after Tuesday night's episode of "The Voice." Shelton, an Oklahoma native, paid tribute to the thousands affected by Sunday and Monday's tornadoes by performing an acoustic version of the hit "Over You" with wife Miranda Lambert.

He said the benefit would be held soon in nearby Oklahoma City.

"We'll know more about it in the next 24 hours," Shelton told Billboard. "I'm hoping it will raise a lot of money. Obviously it will be televised and will happen really quickly."

At least 24 people, including nine schoolchildren, were killed Monday afternoon in Moore, Okla., when an F-5 tornado with 200 mph winds touched down for 40 minutes and destroyed entire neighborhoods.

Toby Keith, a native of Moore, also is planning a benefit. His sister's house was hit by the tornado.

More details about both fundraising efforts will be released later.

Copyright Assoicated Press/NBC