Throughout its original run, Arrested Development received overwhelming critical acclaim. It is widely regarded as one of the defining comedies of the 2000s and has been praised by many critics as one of the greatest comedies of all time. In 2007, the show was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME". Mugshot arrested development.

Randall Amiel of Entertainment Weekly praised the series, saying "Is it beating a dead horse to once again state that this under-appreciated gem is the best sitcom on TV? Too bad. Arrested Development is the best sitcom on TV!" David Bianculli from the New York Daily News stated "If you're not watching this series on Fox, the least you can do is buy it on DVD. You'll love it, and it's such a dense show (in the best sense of the word) that it rewards repeated viewing. Like Scrubs and the British version of The Office, it is the sort of show that truly deserves to be seen uninterrupted, several episodes at a time, for maximum enjoyment. The laughs-per-minute quotient here is insanely high, making it great value as a home library purchase." In 2004, the first season received seven Emmy Award nominations with five wins. It won for Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series, Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series.