Showtime may
rescue Arrested Development

Will the pay-TV environs of Showtime be a friendlier place for the Emmy-winning comedy Arrested Development, which just got canceled by Fox? Word around town this week is that Showtime is in talks to pick up the comedy about a chaotic family. Sources stressed that the talks are still exploratory and that it would be a big financial commitment on Showtime's part to pick up the show in its current form with a large ensemble cast that includes Jason Bateman, Jeffrey Tambor, out actress Portia de Rossi, Jessica Walter, and Will Arnett.

Arrested was an instant hit with critics following its debut on Fox in late 2003, but the show never pulled in much of a crowd, even after it won the Emmy for best comedy series in 2004. Last month Fox threw in the towel, cutting its episode order for Arrested's third season from its initial 22-episode ticket to 13. Representatives for Showtime and the series's producers, 20th Century Fox TV and Imagine TV, declined comment late Tuesday. (Nellie Andreeva, via Reuters)