"Family Ties" is the eleventh episode of the third season of the American television satirical sitcom Arrested Development.
[1] The series, narrated by Ron Howard, follows the Bluths, a formerly wealthy, dysfunctional family, who made their money from property development.
Michael returns to the office and finds an old Kay-Pro computer containing what he thinks is information on his missing sister, and prints off her phone number.
The next day, Michael finds out that Nellie used the "N. Bluth" account money to pay herself and the employees and upgrade the company's computers.
"Family Ties" was directed by Robert Berlinger and written by supervising producer Ron Weiner.
Club writer Noel Murray praised the episode, saying "Neither “Family Ties” nor “Exit Strategy” is perfect, but both are well-oiled machines, chugging easily through a fine assortment of callbacks, meta-textual gags, sociopolitical satire, and double entendres.
"[5] Brian Tallerico from Vulture ranked the episode 28th out of the whole series, calling the "reveal of Franklin/Gob as Nellie’s pimp is a season highlight.