That True Lies Series Isn't Getting A Season 2

CBS’ True Lies TV adaptation series won’t be getting another season. This is devastating news considering that the series hasn’t even ended yet. The show is still yet to release its final episode on May 17, 2023.

The series was based on James Cameron’s 1994 film of the same name. The original film starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis. The 2023 series starred Steve Howey and Ginger Gonzaga.

Both the film and series focus on the married couple Harry Tasker and Helen Tasker. Harry worked for a top-secret spy intelligence called Omega Sector, while Helen is pretty much a standard everyday working housewife. Helen’s role slightly changes in the film and TV where Curtis is a legal secretary while Gonzaga is a college linguistics professor.

While the movie was a box office hit, the TV series struggled to find its audience.

True Lies Ends After One Season

A report from Deadline tells us that the True Lies TV reboot series won’t be moving forward for another season. The announcement is a disappointing blow but, somehow, it was expected.

The True Lies movie was an absolute hit, recreating it on TV was a huge task. The series showrunner Matt Nix, who is known for shows like The Gifted and Burn Notice, had a lot in his hands. They even got some guest stars to push the show’s hype. Even Tom Arnold who had a prominent supporting role in the film shows up in the TV series.

Based on reviews compiled on Rotten Tomatoes, it shows that a lot was lost in the re-imagination saying:

Bland as gruel, True Lies might borrow the name of a cinematic blockbuster but retains none of the personality that would differentiate it from the crowded field of espionage romances.

It has only 18 reviews which had mixed to bad reviews. It currently rests with 39% tomatometer score with a 50% audience score. With that, it has earned a Rotten Tomato ranking.

Adding insult to injury, Arnold Schwarzenegger has his own TV series with a very close premise titled Fubar on Netflix. The show focuses on Arnold’s character Luke and his daughter Emma played by Monic Barbaro. Upon nearing retirement from the CIA, Luke makes a surprising discovery that his daughter is also employed at the agency. With that, they realise that they don’t really know each other.

True Lies TV Series Cancelled Mid-Season

That True Lies Series Isn't Getting A Season 2

Credit: CBS

Even with just trailers alone, Fubar felt like a natural continuity to Cameron’s True Lies, even though there was none. This made people excited for the Schwarzenegger series which focuses on a father-daughter relationship.

The True Lies TV show had a difficult start. In the movie, it took half of the film for Helen to realise that Harry was an agent. And it was funny seeing Harry hiding from his wife and getting jealous when Helen was looking for some excitement in her own life. In the TV show, Helen realized that Harry was an agent in the first episode alone. Not only that, but the best parts of the film were toned down for TV.

It would have been interesting to see what Harry would do just to hide from her wife all that time that they were married, before they had kids or even before that. The TV format would have been great for it.

What do you think of True Lies being cancelled? Let us know of your thoughts in the comments below.

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