This article discusses sexual assault.

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Last November, Jeffrey Tambor was accused by actress Trace Lysette and assistant Van Barnes of sexual harassment on and off the set of Transparent, the Amazon hit show he starred in. After an internal review, Amazon announced this February that Tambor would not be returning to the show’s forthcoming — and now final — season.

Yet we’ll still be seeing Tambor on our screens soon enough. This week, Arrested Development announced it would return for a fifth season on May 29 — with Tambor still starring in the show as Bluth family patriarch George Snr (and, assumedly, as twin-brother Oscar Bluth), sexual assault allegations be damned. What gives?

Is This A Comeback?

We first got confirmation from Netflix that Tambor would reprise his Arrested Development role last Friday – and it appeared to be a case of circumstance and budget restraints, as season five had almost wrapped filming when the allegations were made public.

But now, a long profile on Tambor by The Hollywood Review has shed some light on the behind-the-scenes discussions at play at both Amazon and Netflix in deciding whether to move forward with Tambor.

The piece, which is worth a read, sees Tambor suggest that “lines were blurred” on-set, and reiterate his previous comments that Amazon’s investigation was “deeply flawed”. The Hollywood Review is being criticised for the piece’s overtly sympathetic tone, and for describing Tambor’s own anguish both uncritically and above those of his alleged victims — all paired with moody, contemplative portrait photos.

Here is how to not write about someone accused of sexual harassment. Truly a master class in what not to do. https://t.co/dR9XviOcj6

— roxane gay (@rgay) May 7, 2018

According to the THR feature, when Tambor, Transparent creator Jill Soloway and producer Faith Soloway first heard the allegations, they believed that they were spurned on by criticisms about Tambor’s casting. Jill Soloway told THR that the #MeToo movement was a “global tsunami”, and inferred that Tambor, a cisgender male, had made himself a target due to his role as Maura, a trans woman.

“It’s not a simple case of did he do it or didn’t he do it,” Jill told THR. “Nobody said he was a predator — they said he sexually harassed people. He made enemies, and I don’t think he realised he was making enemies. You have to be very, very careful if you’re a person in power and treat people very appropriately.”

Lemme get this str8, Jeffrey Tambor believes that was a case of… cisphobia? pic.twitter.com/Ekqrs7OkL1

— Morgan M Page (@morganmpage) May 7, 2018

At first, Soloway discussed with Tambor whether he could continue on the show only in flashbacks, as a pre-transition Maura. In time, Tambor and Soloway decided against the idea — which is why Tambor said he “couldn’t see a way” to remain on the show months before his ties were officially severed.

And Then There’s Netflix

Netflix, on the other hand, is backing Tambor.

As Spin writer Andy Crush points out, Netflix could still make a point of receding Tambor from promotional material if editing him out completely was determined to be impossible. Yet Netflix’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos confirmed to THR that Tambor would be present at all future promotional events and content, like the trailer. It’s a tacit message of support.

“In making and promoting seasons four and five of Arrested Development, Jeffrey has always been totally professional”, Sarandos said.

Previously, Tambor’s fellow Arrested Development actor David Cross, who plays Tobias Fünke, publicly threw his support behind Tambor. “I can’t speak for everybody, but I know there are a number of us who stand behind him — from the limited amount we know, we stand behind Jeffrey — and I am one of them,” he told a local New York newspaper. 

We know this isn’t the case with the whole cast — Alia Shawkat, who plays Maebe Fünke, has stated that she “support[s] the voices of the victims though, whatever they said”. 

Additionally, in the feature, Tambor mentions a “blowup” with AD actress Jessica Walter, who plays his wink-prone wife Lucille Bluth. Through a representative, Walter told THR that she did not “wish to talk about Jeffrey Tambor.”

It’s a confused stance from Netflix, given they were quick to drop Kevin Spacey from House Of Cards after allegations of sexual abuse emerged against him earlier this year.

The inclusion of Tambor in Arrested Development‘s newest season seems to suggest that for some men, time is only up until the next gig.