Arrested Development

"Arrested Development" premieres at 8 p.m. Monday, KCPQ/13.

The Bluth family's modest but faithful audience will be happy that the show has been picked up for a full 22-episode third season. That same group also may remember it had a full pickup last season, which was unceremoniously cut to 18, and that "Arrested" does not appear on the January schedule.

Series creator Mitch Hurwitz, genius, remains optimistic. "Schedules are often in flux, so what ends up happening is a lot of the stuff they unveil at the start of the year doesn't stick around." While that could include his comedy -- "The choice is always theirs. They always have the option of cutting it back" -- he's confidant "Arrested" is marked to slide into a slot left open by one of fall's dead leaves. (Keep an eye on that "Head Cases" time slot, kids!)

On to happier news. As the family seeks out a mole, Michael is going to start dating a British woman with a secret. "Part of the fun for the audience is the surprise of the show," he said. "We're not really big into mystery for the sake of mystery, but definitely for the sake of laughs. We knew Buster was going to lose his hand all last year." This year's game of Comedy Clue is no different, so let's hope the network doesn't ruin it in the promos.

Elsewhere at Fox: Calm down, I'm begging you -- "24" has not been canceled. It returns midseason.