Arrested Development Quotes

Context

This line is spoken by Byron "Buster" Bluth, played by Tony Hale, in the TV show Arrested Development (2003-2013).

Some TV shows have jokes. Arrested Development has running gags. These are funnies that don't appear just once, but keep coming up over and over again. And each time you hear one, it's a little bit different from the last.

This running gag in particular comes from Buster Bluth. He's the youngest child in the family (even though he's in his 30s when the series starts), so he's a bit of a socially awkward mama's boy. Whenever he sees one of his two brothers, he greets them with the same line—"Hey, brother…" It's always with a soft and trailing-away tone, as if to indicate that he really isn't ready for a conversation yet. Poor Buster.

The joke takes on new life, though, when Buster uses it on folks besides Michael and Gob. He greets Tobias with "Hey, brother-in-law…" and George Michael with "Hey, nephew…" Later, when the Bluth family tree gets really wacky, he breaks out "Hey, possible nephew…" and "Hey, father-uncle-dad…"

Only in the Bluth family could a simple "hey" be so complicated… and so hilarious.

Hey, Shmoopers… check out this clip.

Where you've heard it

Hey, readers… do you have a brother? Have you greeted him with a "Hey, brother…" yet? Well, what are you waiting for? Check out these other examples:

A whole bunch of episodes in the Super Carlin Brothers web series open with "Hey, brother…"

Avicii has a song named "Hey Brother," which might not have anything to do with Arrested Development, but we dig it anyway.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

It's tough to be pretentious when you're focused on winning Mama's Boy of the Year.