Netflix customers will have to splash money on a Foxtel subscription if they want to be among the first to see the new season of Arrested Development.

The streaming giant doesn't have first-run rights in Australia despite reviving the cult comedy five years ago. So where should local fans turn to if they want to see if there's still money in the banana stand?

It turns out season five of Arrested Development will debut exclusively on The Comedy Channel on Wednesday, May 30 at as part of a special marathon event starting at 5pm. Foxtel will air the first eight episodes back-to-back that evening, followed by week-by-week episodes on Mondays.

For those wanting to binge the award-winning comedy's fifth season on-demand, the first four episodes will also be available on Foxtel Now from May 30. But they'll only be available to stream for seven days.

Foxtel will then make episodes five to eight available on demand. Again, they'll only be on Foxtel Now for a limited time.

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Season five is expected to have 16 episodes, however the remaining eight chapters won't be released until the second half of 2018.

The Bluth family in Arrested Development.

Photo: Supplied

Netflix will debut the fifth season in the US on May 29, local time. It is not known when the new series will be available for Australian Netflix customers.

Arrested Development season five will see Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Jeffery Tambor and Australia's Portia de Rossi reprise their iconic roles. The new season will be de Rossi's final television series.

The former model recently announced she had quit acting in order to focus on a new business venture. However, she was persuaded to step into Lindsay Bluth's shoes one last time.

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Broede Carmody

Broede Carmody is an entertainment reporter at Fairfax Media.

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