A family affair: 'True Lies' takes series form on CBS and Paramount+
Almost 30 years later, one of Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Cameron's top movie hits is becoming a television series ... and that's the truth.
The seriocomic adventure "True Lies" premieres at 9 p.m. Wednesday, March 1, on CBS and Paramount+, basically remaking the 1994 film as the opening episode. Steve Howey assumes Schwarzenegger's role as Harry Tasker, a superspy whose wife, Helen (Ginger Gonzaga, inheriting Jamie Lee Curtis' part) believes he's a mild-mannered computer salesman. Once she learns what his real job is, she's enlisted by his intelligence agency, and they frequently travel the world on missions while trying to prevent their children (Annabella Didion, Lucas Jaye) from finding out.
"It's the hardest job I've had yet," states the good-humored Howey, who has no illusions about possibly being mistaken for Schwarzenegger as he generates his own "True Lies" under the leadership of executive producer Matt Nix.
"This experience has taught me a lot about having an idea and then executing it," Howey reflects, "because that doesn't always pan out. Every episode of this gets better. And we get more tired."
An alum of CBS' "Showcase" talent search, the lively Gonzaga knows "True Lies" also is a big showcase for her. She notes she feels "guilty" that she didn't see the movie before landing the TV job: "I didn't want to be influenced by Jamie Lee's iconic performance. And then, I had to buy the DVD off eBay ... and a DVD player. It was a whole 'thing.'"
With Omar Miller, Erica Hernandez and Mike O'Gorman also featured, "True Lies" has been in development for TV since 2010, and Gonzaga reasons that it's "good that it's been a while." Since Cameron also had other commitments, his longtime associate Rae Sanchini had more firsthand involvement in the casting; Tom Arnold, of the original movie, is a guest star on the show.
Being built for action, "True Lies" can put its stars at risk, as Howey learned close to the end of filming the first season.
"I was fighting a stunt man," he reports, "and we did it once and it went great. Then we did it again, and he pretended to bounce his face off a wall ... and as he went back, my left hand went forward into his neck, and it snapped my left ring finger back to the point where my nail hit my knuckle. And I finished the stunt, and when they yelled 'Cut!,' I snapped it back. Then I got an X-ray and sure enough, I broke the bone. And I thought, 'There's a reason you have a stunt guy. Use him.'"