Netflix is Making an Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Show

Published on November 12, 2020

One of the greatest giants from the big screen is coming to the small screen. Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will produce and star in his own Netflix series. It’s no Netflix drama or comedy, either, but a full-blown action series starring the man from Terminator, True Lies, and the list goes on.

The Arnold Schwarzenegger action show actually calls to mind True Lies, in which the movie star played a world-class spy but struggling father. In the Netflix series, the former bodybuilder champion will play a spy again. Deadline learned the series is a “global spy adventure with a father (Schwarzenegger) and daughter at the center of the story.”

The show is created by Nick Santora, who created the CBS show Scorpion and worked on the recent television remake of The Fugitive. Santora is also the showrunner of another major spy show, Amazon’s Jack Ryan. Santora’s series with Arnold was announced back in August. Skydance started shopping around the projects to streaming services, and no surprise here, Netflix landed the show. Monica Barbaro, who appeared in Chicago P.D. and stars in Top Gun: Maverick, will play Arnold’s daughter. 

It’s all exciting news for Arnold fans. A Netflix series could provide hours of the action star traveling the globe, fighting off threats, and cracking jokes. Over the last decade or so, the star’s movies have been inconsistent. Most recently, he triumphantly returned as the T-800 in Terminator: Dark Fate, which is a solid Terminator sequel. It was great seeing Arnold have a substantial arc again in the franchise. The movie bombed at the box-office and failed to revitalize the flailing franchise, but at the end of the day, it was an entertaining action movie that was overlooked.

Outside of Terminator and action movies, Arnold has continued to stretch his acting muscles. One of his better 21st century performances was in the zombie drama, Maggie, in which he plays a father unable to protect his daughter from the zombie plague. It was quite a sight watching Arnold shed tears and fail to save one person. It’s a fine movie with an unconventional Schwarzenegger performance.

Unfortunately, audiences haven’t been turning up in droves to see Arnold’s movies in the last few years. The Last Stand, Terminator: Genisys, Escape Plan, and more weren’t the big hits Arnold was once famous for. The former governor hasn’t lost his charm.

Arnold tried out television once before in recent years. Of all people, he replaced Donald Trump in Celebrity Apprentice. Arnold’s time as the host only lasted one season. The NBC series wasn’t a big hit, which President Trump boasted about. Both Arnold and Trump have traded jabs over the years. 

In recent years, Arnold has attempted to make a sequel to Conan the Barbarian. It would’ve been Old Man Conan, focusing on his later years as king. Sadly, that sequel never came together. It’s not the only sequel to one of his old hits that’s been in the works. For years, Arnold has been wanting to make a sequel to Twins, called Triplets. It would reunite him with Danny DeVito and, potentially, bring in Eddie Murphy as the third brother. Besides the Netflix series, the governor doesn’t have any other major live-action shows or movies coming up. This year, he has been rather busy trying to help California get a handle on the coronavirus. He also donated money to make polling more widely available during the election. On top of all that, he’s been encouraging his millions of followers to stay active, healthy, and kind during the pandemic.

Jack Giroux is a Staff Writer at Grit Daily. Based in Los Angeles, he is an entertainment journalist who's previously written for Thrillist, Slash Film, Film School Rejects, and The Film Stage.

Read more

More GD News