As more and more movies find their way to television, a TV show version of a classic Arnold Schwarzenegger film is in the works over at CBS. A pilot order has been greenlit by the network for a potential True Lies show, and with famed director James Cameron involved in the process, there are reasons to be optimistic that this project will make it to a series.
James Cameron, who directed the original True Lies released in 1994, is on board for the project alongside Supernatural's McG and Burn Notice's Matt Nix. TVLine shared a synopsis for the pilot's premise, which unsurprisingly sounds similar to the original movie.
Shocked to discover that her bland and unremarkable computer consultant husband is a skilled international spy, an unfulfilled suburban housewife is propelled into a life of danger and adventure when she’s recruited to work alongside him to save the world as they try to revitalize their passionless marriage.
This will mark the second time that True Lies has attempted to come to television, with the previous attempt happening a few years ago at Fox. That pilot did not result in a series order, so perhaps it's a little premature to believe this pilot order means a surefire series order from CBS. James Cameron and McG were listed as executive producers on the prior project at Fox, though the first iteration also featured Arrow's Marc Guggenheim as part of the team. Guggenheim isn't along for the ride this time.
The original True Lies was led by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis, but there's no mention of either actor having a role in the upcoming series. The movie centered around Schwarzenegger's Harry Tasker, who, as far as his family knows, is a mild-mannered traveling computer salesman. He's actually a spy for an intelligence agency, and through a sequence of events, ends up roping his wife into the whole thing after learning she's desperate for excitement in her life.
There's no denying it's a kind of premise that could work really well for television, provided James Cameron and his team can get a network to sign on this time. I personally question whether this True Lies show would plan to let the wife in on the game from the jump or if it would take a while for that to develop. I'd certainly like to see how a television series would play out, though I couldn't begin to imagine who could be cast to play a couple as entertaining as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis.
CinemaBlend will keep an ear to the ground for updates relating to the True Lies pilot and whether it gets ordered to series at CBS. For more on new shows, read up on some of the thoughts we have about The Powerpuff Girls pilot at The CW right here.
