20 Hilarious Hidden Jokes in Arrested Development

When Arrested Development premiered on November 2, 2003, it struggled to attract a steady audience due to its intricate, layered humor. It wasn’t until the series became available on DVD, and later on streaming platforms, that fans began to uncover—and seek out—all the clever, subtle punchlines. In honor of the show’s 15th anniversary, here are 20 laugh-out-loud jokes you might’ve missed the first time around.

1. GOB'S MONOPOLY ILLUSION // SEASON 1, EPISODE 1

Gob puts on a magic trick for George Michael, transforming a $20 bill into a Monopoly board game. Gob asks if George Michael has the game, and George Michael replies, “I think I might.” Later, we spot George Michael searching through the attic in front of a pile of Monopoly boxes.

2. HOMELESS MAN GETS BALLOON // SEASON 1, EPISODE 11

George Michael shares how he “managed” to gently send a homeless man away from the banana stand without upsetting him. Later, the homeless man is seen holding a Bluth’s Bananas balloon with the “Mr. Bananagrabber” logo on it.

Later in the episode, a newspaper headline reads “Homeless Man Gets Balloon.”

3. ICE THE BOUNTY HUNTER // SEASON 2, EPISODE 4

Gob hires a bounty hunter named Ice to track Michael. Two of Ice’s ads appear in the phone book: one promoting his bounty hunting services with the tagline, “Put Your Problems On Ice,” and another for his party-planning services with the catchphrase, “You Can’t Have A Party Without ICE.”

In the Bounty Hunter section of the phone book, there’s also an ad for Gene Parmesan.

4. AFTERNOON DELIGHT TURTLE // SEASON 2, EPISODE 6 & SEASON 3, EPISODE 7

The image of a slow-moving turtle on Uncle Oscar’s marijuana package hints at the death of Buster’s turtle, Mother, which happens in the following season.

5. BOB LOBLAW, ATTORNEY AT LAW // SEASON 3, EPISODE 3

Bob Loblaw, the Bluth family’s new lawyer in season three, was portrayed by actor Scott Baio. He makes a Happy Days reference, saying, “Look, this is not the first time I’ve been called in to replace Barry Zuckerkorn. I think I can do everything he did. Plus, I skew younger. With juries and so on.”

Barry Zuckerkorn was played by Henry Winkler, who famously portrayed Fonzie on Happy Days. He was somewhat replaced by Fonzie’s cousin Chachi Arcola, played by Scott Baio.

6. JUMPING THE SHARK // SEASON 2, EPISODE 13

In another Happy Days reference, Barry Zuckerkorn meets with Gob, Buster, and Michael at a pier. They believe they’ve found Buster’s hand inside a shark, but it turns out to be a false alarm. Barry heads off to Burger King and jumps over the dead shark lying on the pier. This is a playful nod to the time Fonzie jumped over a shark cage while water skiing, a moment that gave birth to the phrase “jumping the shark,” symbolizing a TV show’s decline in quality.

7. HOLD ON SURELY FÜNKE POSTER // SEASON 1, EPISODE 14

Three episodes before Maeby Fünke’s fictional alter ego, Surely, was introduced in season one, a poster featuring Surely Fünke can be spotted in the background of George Michael and Maeby’s high school.

8. BLENDIN // SEASON 1, EPISODE 14; SEASON 1, EPISODE 15; SEASON 2, EPISODE 2; SEASON 3, EPISODE 5

There’s a recurring gag where all the covert surveillance teams incorporate the word “Blendin” into their fake company names. In “Shock and Awe,” it’s Blendin Mobile Pet Grooming. In “Staff Infection,” it becomes Blendin Electric Company, while in “The One Where They Build a House,” the moving company is called Blendin Moving and Storage. In “Mr. F,” the catering service goes by Blendin Catering.

9. SNOOPY // SEASON 2, EPISODE 4

The writers incorporated the “Christmas Time Is Here” theme from A Charlie Brown Christmas into the season two episode titled "Good Grief!" When George Michael is walking home from the banana stand after being dumped by Anne, a giant red doghouse with a sleeping beagle on top can be seen in the background.

10. ARM OFF AND WEE BRAIN BUS STOP BENCHES // SEASON 2, EPISODE 3 & SEASON 3, EPISODE 3

Arrested Development is known for its use of visual foreshadowing and sight gags, as seen in the episode where Buster sits on a bus stop bench with an ad for Army Officers. His position on the bench obscures most of the ad’s text, leaving it to read “Arm Off” instead. This serves as a foreshadowing of Buster’s missing hand that appears a few episodes later.

In a similar visual gag, after being drugged, Michael Bluth’s love interest in season three, Rita Leeds (Charlize Theron), is left on a bus stop bench with an ad for Wee Britain in Newport Beach. Her placement on the bench hides much of the ad, making it read “Wee Brain,” which subtly refers to the fact that, unbeknownst to Michael, Rita has a mental impairment.

11. ANNYONG'S REVENGE // SEASON 2, EPISODE 6

A full season before it’s revealed that the Bluths’ adopted son, Annyong, is seeking revenge on the family for what they did to his grandfather, the banana stand is vandalized with the phrase “I’ll get u Bluths –Hello.” In the season three finale, it’s also revealed that Annyong’s real name is Hel-loh. Annyong is the Korean word for “Hello.”

12. MR. ROBOTO // SEASON 3, EPISODE 6

Buster’s hook gets snagged in the dashboard of the stair car because he’s doing the robot dance to Styx’s “Mr. Roboto.” In 1999, Tony Hale, who portrays Buster, appeared in a Volkswagen commercial where he also danced to “Mr. Roboto.”

13. ANNYONG GOES TO MILFORD // SEASON 2, EPISODE 6

After adopting Annyong to provoke Buster, Lucille sends her new son to the esteemed Milford School, founded by Earl Milford, who believed that “Children should be neither seen nor heard.” Following this episode, Annyong is hardly ever seen or heard from again in the series.

14. H. MADDAZ // SEASON 1, EPISODE 16

George Bluth Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor) faces accusations of building mini-mansions in Iraq. Evidence of his alleged treason is stored on the family yacht. While George and his secretary, Kitty (Judy Greer), are in bed together, one of the red coolers containing proof is labeled “H. MADDAZ.” In the reflection of the mirror next to the bed, it’s revealed as “SADDAM H.”, a subtle nod to Saddam Hussein.

15. OPERATION: HOT MOTHER // SEASON 2, EPISODE 16

As a movie studio executive, Maeby Fünke is seen reading a script titled “Operation: Hot Mother.” In episode 13, “Motherboy XXX,” Michael and Buster’s plan to get George Michael away from Lucille and out of the annual Motherboy contest is called “Operation: Hot Mother.” The script Maeby reads has a subtitle stating “Inspired by a True Story.”

16. MEXICAN SILENT FILM // SEASON 2, EPISODE 4

One of the most memorable recurring gags is Gob’s chicken dance. In the episode “Amigos!,” a fictional Mexican silent film features someone doing Gob’s chicken dance and then being shot for it. Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Tony Hale all make appearances in this silent film.

This joke is part of a larger running gag in which the cast of Arrested Development makes cameo appearances throughout the series.

17. BRITISH SOLDIER // SEASON 3, EPISODE 4

A subtle cast cameo occurs in the fictional war movie A Thoroughly Polite Dustup. Tony Hale portrays a British soldier who bids farewell to his nurse before heading off to battle.

In a later episode, season three, episode 12, “Exit Strategy,” Buster (also played by Tony Hale) has a nearly identical interaction with his nurse.

18. SPANISH/ENGLISH DICTIONARY // SEASON 1, EPISODE 13

Gob is confused by the Spanish word hermano, which translates to brother. The Spanish/English dictionary page containing 'Hermano' shows an image of Michael and Gob with mustaches.

Just above 'Hermano' in the dictionary, the word hermafrodita, meaning hermaphrodite, is found, accompanied by a picture of Tobias (David Cross) wearing cutoff shorts.

Below 'Hermano,' the word hermosa for 'beautiful' is seen, with an image of Lindsay next to it. Under 'Hermosa,' the word hielo appears, meaning 'ice,' which ties into the bounty hunter/party planner Ice introduced in season two.

19. WORKERS LOVE NELLIE // SEASON 3, EPISODE 11

A recurring running gag in the show is the appearance of banner jokes. In Season 3, episode 4, 'Forget-Me-Now,' the Bluth family creates a banner that says 'Family Love Michael' for Michael.

In episode 11, 'Family Ties,' Michael mistakenly thinks his father's regular prostitute is an office efficiency manager. To greet her at the office, the workers put up a banner reading 'Workers Love Nellie.'

The episode also includes a nod to Justine Bateman, the actress who portrays Nellie (Jason Bateman's sister), referencing her role in the TV show Family Ties.

20. TV DVD SALES HEADLINE // SEASON 3, EPISODE 13

In the season three finale, a Variety headline celebrates Rita’s newfound rise as a Hollywood movie executive. Below it, a smaller headline reads 'TV DVD Sales Enjoy All Time High.' This is a playful nod to Arrested Development itself, which, despite its recent cancellation, was experiencing strong DVD sales when the episode aired in 2006.

This article originally appeared in 2013.