"Michael is the anchor of the family AND the show. Without him, AD would just go flying off into the stratosphere and become Stella or something."

My suggestion was the you eliminate Michael and give some of his attributes (business sense, sense of what is right) to Lindsay. She becomes the anchor of the show, but she has to battle her own greed and laziness with the good of the business. There has to be a better reason for someone to stick around other than, "Oh that's his fatal flaw. He can't say no to them." That's weak. It's the same with Lindsay and Tobias. Lindsay needs a reason to stay with him.

I like Arrested Development, think it's one of the best shows on TV, but I'm not stunned that it isn't doing that well. I think there are definite flaws with the central relationships in the show. Michael's relationships with them are all over the place. He's buddies with Lindsay one moment, and then she goes back to being a bitch two scenes later.