True Lies TV Series Adds She-Hulk Star

She-Hulk actress Ginger Gonzaga has been cast in the role of Helen in the upcoming TV adaptation of the James Cameron film True Lies. Originally played by Jamie Lee Curtis in the movie, Helen will be married to Harry, the Arnold Schwarzenegger role, played in the TV series by Shameless‘s Steve Howey. In addition to a role on She-Hulk, Gonzaga is set to play a recurring role on NBC’s Kenan when it returns for its second season. The series was originally planned to go to CBS, but it was delayed, and ultimately will now air on the ViacomCBS streaming service Paramount+.

It does seem like a good fit for CBS/Paramount+ audiences. The network already has reboots and revivals of The Equalizer, MacGyver, and Magnum P.I. on the air.

Here’s her official character description, via Variety: “Helen is described as Harry’s supportive wife, mother of two teenage kids and a linguistics professor who is getting annoyed by Harry’s constant business trips away from home. Increasingly angered, she feels as if she’s been robbed of the life she once envisioned for herself. Thrilled when Harry invites her along for a trip to Paris, Helen is in for a rude shock when she sees a very different side to her husband, learning that he is in fact a world-class spy.”

Accoring to The Hollywood Reporter, who first reported the story, the premise for the series will be the same as for the movie. Here’s the synopsis:

“Shocked to discover that her bland and unremarkable computer consultant husband is a skilled international spy, an unfulfilled suburban housewife is 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.”

It isn’t immediately clear whether that’s something provided by the network or whether it’s just THR‘s description fo the film, since it could be either.

McG, who will run the show, has experience following up on properties from True Lies creator James Cameron: in 2009, he directed Terminator: Salvation.

The original True Lies, a remake of a French film called La Totale! from three years earlier, starred Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis alongside Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton, Eliza Dushku and Charlton Heston. Curtis won a Golden Globe for her role, and the film made nearly $400 million — a staggering sum in 1994, enough for it to come in third at the box office for the year behind The Lion King and Forrest Gump.