Georgia Entertainment Scene
Georgia Entertainment Scene

CBS cancels ‘True Lies’ after a single season

The show was shot in Atlanta but didn’t have the staying power of ‘MacGyver.’
“Waking Dreams” – With an Omega Sector spy missing, the entire agency searches for clues. Harry and Helen’s relationship with each other, their team and reality itself, is tested in unimaginable ways, even for the best of spies and spouses, on the conclusion of the two-part first season finale of the CBS Original series TRUE LIES, Wednesday, May 17 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available on the CBS app and streaming on Paramount+*. Pictured L to R: Ginger Gonzaga as Helen Tasker and Steve Howey as Harry Tasker. Photo: Jace Downs/CBS ©2023 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Credit: CBS

Credit: CBS

“Waking Dreams” – With an Omega Sector spy missing, the entire agency searches for clues. Harry and Helen’s relationship with each other, their team and reality itself, is tested in unimaginable ways, even for the best of spies and spouses, on the conclusion of the two-part first season finale of the CBS Original series TRUE LIES, Wednesday, May 17 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available on the CBS app and streaming on Paramount+*. Pictured L to R: Ginger Gonzaga as Helen Tasker and Steve Howey as Harry Tasker. Photo: Jace Downs/CBS ©2023 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
By
May 9, 2023

CBS, not surprisingly, cut its least popular scripted drama “True Lies” after a single season.

The effort to try to recapture the magic of the 1994 Arnold Schwarzenegger hit movie without Schwarzenegger did not stick.

The producers tried to blend action, comedy, drama and romance into a spy drama on a TV budget, using Atlanta to masquerade as a variety of worldwide cities.

But the show ― which starred Steve Howey and Ginger Gonzaga as a seemingly average couple who were actually CIA agents ― generated the worst ratings of any CBS scripted program this season, averaging 2.6 million overnight viewers over its first 10 episodes.

The season and series finale will air May 17.

“True Lies” used the same home base in Atlanta as “MacGyver,” the reboot starring Marietta’s Lucas Till which lasted five seasons from 2016 to 2021.

CBS also dropped another freshman show “East New York,” which was created by Atlantan Mike Flynn. That police procedural generated higher overnight ratings than “NCIS: Hawaii,” “NCIS: Los Angeles” and “CSI: Las Vegas” (as well as “True Lies”), but was cut anyway.

About the Author

Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.

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