20th Century Fox TV said on Wednesday that a new season of Arrested Development was unlikely now that the show's creator Mitch Hurwitz has left.

In a statement, however, the Fox TV studio maintained a hopeful tone and pointed to other shows that have left the airwaves only to return at a later date.

"While there are no plans to resume production at this time, we know all too well from our experience with Family Guy - another brilliant comedy which didn't find its audience in its first network run - that anything is possible.

"We'll always be a little hopeful that this is not quite the end for this amazing show."