Will We Get True Lies Season 2?
"True Lies" may have been a big success for director James Cameron in 1994 as a movie, but it didn't translate quite as well on the small screen. To that end, the CBS TV series of the same name based on Cameron's blockbuster film has been canceled after just one season. "True Lies" season 2 will not be happening, and that means the season finale on May 17 will now serve as the series finale.
According to The Wrap, CBS decided to cancel both "East New York" and "True Lies" after a single season. The short runs were certainly not what CBS had in mind — it illustrates the difficulties that major networks are having in building an audience for a new show as cord-cutting accelerates and streaming continues to dominate. Similarly, CBS initially canceled "S.W.A.T." after six seasons, but then reversed course a day later and picked it up for a seventh and final season.
The "True Lies" TV show follows Harry (Steve Howey), a first-class international spy for U.S. intelligence agency Omega Sector, and his bored, professor wife, Helen (Ginger Gonzaga). She makes the shocking discovery that her husband is leading a double life. Omega then recruits Helen and she joins Harry and his team of operatives as they embark on covert missions around the globe, all while having to keep their adventures a secret from their three teenage kids.
Why was True Lies canceled?
The reason for the cancelation was pretty simple, and it all came down to ratings. "True Lies" was said to be the lowest-rated scripted drama of the season on CBS. While viewership was steady, the network needed the show to pick up viewers as the show went along, rather than remain stagnant. A globe-trotting spy drama does not come cheap, and that made the decision easy enough for the network to make.
The series premiered on March 1 and averaged between 2 and 2.5 million viewers per episode, with the first season consisting of 13 episodes in total. The two-part finale will consist of episodes titled "Lying Truth" and "Waking Dreams," respectively. A synopsis for the finale reads as follows:
After a van full of computer software containing confidential information about Omega Sector operatives gets hijacked, the team enlists the help of Max, a teen hacker, to learn who is going after the agency. When Harry and Helen discover that Max is dating their daughter, Dana, their actions put the mission in jeopardy.
Unfortunately for fans of the series, given the low ratings, it's highly unlikely that another network or streaming service will save "True Lies." This has happened many times in the past, with "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," "The Mindy Project," "Lucifer," and more recently, "9-1-1" all finding new homes after facing cancelation. Yet, they had large enough audiences to justify saving. That's not the case here.
The two-part "True Lies" season/series finale airs on CBS on Wednesday, May 17.