CBS Hands Pilot Order To ‘True Lies’ TV Series From Matt Nix, McG & James Cameron
CBS has given a pilot order to a series based on James Cameron’s 1994 action-comedy ‘True Lies’, from ‘Burn Notice’ creator Matt Nix and director McG, it has been announced.
The show would be a reboot rather than a continuation, following a similar set up to the film. An unfulfilled suburban housewife is shocked to discover that her seemly bland and unremarkable computer consultant husband is actually a skilled international spy, and finds herself 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.
The script comes from Matt Nix, who created the wonderfully entertaining ‘Burn Notice’ for USA Network, and Marvel mutant drama ‘The Gifted’ for FOX. McG, who has been behind the camera for a multitude of big shooty-explodey projects such as ‘Terminator Salvation’ and the ‘Charlie’s Angels’ films, along with the ‘Lethal Weapon’ and ‘Chuck’ tv series, is set to direct the pilot. Nix and McG exec produce alongside Mary Viola (for McG’s Wonderland Sound and Vision), with James Cameron and Rae Sanchini (for Lightstorm Entertainment).
The ‘True Lies’ series has been something of a passion project for McG, who has been trying since 2016 to bring it to the small screen. He initially developed a version with ‘Arrowverse’s Marc Guggenheim for FOX, but that never made it beyond the script stage. Last year he was brought on board to direct the Disney+ series reboot of ‘Turner & Hooch’, which is exec produced by Nix, and the duo hit it off so decided to collaborate further with ‘True Lies’.
CBS themselves are no strangers to reboots of popular titles, having been the home to ‘Magnum PI’, ‘Hawaii Five-0’, ‘MacGyver’, and ‘SWAT’. Most recently they added ‘Clarice’, based on ‘The Silence of the Lambs’, and ‘The Equalizer’, based on the original tv-series and films.
The original film, which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton, and a young Eliza Dushku, grossed over £280 million at the box office, and landed Curtis a Golden Globe for best actress. Interesting to note, ‘True Lies’ itself was a loose remake of the 1991 French comedy film ‘La Totale!’, making this potential tv series a remake of a remake.
‘True Lies’ only has a pilot order at the moment, so may not go to series, but we’ll let you know when we hear more.
