Netflix - Fubar season 2 : Arnold Schwarzenegger's Spy Comedy Returns with High Stakes, Fresh Faces

By Mulder, 20 may 2025

When FUBAR premiered on Netflix in May 2023, it made headlines less for reinventing the spy genre and more for featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger in his first-ever scripted live-action television series. It was a peculiar moment of reinvention for the action icon: playing a man who’s both a legendary CIA operative and a clueless father suddenly forced to share the field with his equally secretive daughter, played by Monica Barbaro. The premise—a high-octane family sitcom in disguise—was enough to capture attention. And while critical reception ranged from lukewarm to dismissive (Rotten Tomatoes pegged it at a modest 51%, Metacritic at 48), audiences clearly showed up. In fact, FUBAR ranked as the most streamed series during its release week, signaling Netflix might have found a hit despite the review headlines. Now, as Season 2 readies for its June 12, 2025 premiere, the question is no longer whether FUBAR works—but how it can level up.

The production journey of FUBAR is as layered as its narrative of double lives and spycraft. The idea was seeded back in August 2020, when Skydance Television pitched a yet-untitled spy show that would mark Arnold Schwarzenegger's jump into longform storytelling. Fast-forward a few months, and Netflix snatched the rights, committing to an eight-episode season that would go on to be filmed in Belgium and Toronto under the working titles Utap and later FUBAR. The series gradually took shape, with Monica Barbaro—known for Top Gun: Maverick—cast as the daughter and CIA agent who becomes both Brunner's colleague and his mirror. What started as a premise echoing True Lies (which Arnold Schwarzenegger famously led in 1994) soon leaned heavily into generational clashes, awkward parental bonding, and international espionage with comic relief.

Anecdotally, fans of True Lies were ecstatic to see Arnold Schwarzenegger reunited briefly on set with Tom Arnold during filming in Toronto, a reunion that lit up social media and tapped into nostalgic expectations. Though Arnold didn’t play a recurring character, his presence served as a symbolic nod to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cinematic past, reinforcing how FUBAR is both an homage and a reinvention. This balancing act—between parody and sincerity, comedy and action—made the first season feel, at times, uneven but undeniably fun. Viewers may have found the plot derivative, but many stayed for the charm, the father-daughter chemistry, and the sheer absurdity of seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger awkwardly navigating tech jargon while still commanding action sequences with gusto.

As Season 2 prepares to drop, there's a major new addition to the cast that has already elevated anticipation: Carrie-Anne Moss, best known as Trinity in The Matrix saga, has joined the series to star opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger. Her casting, announced on May 13, 2024, signals a pivot toward deepening the narrative gravitas of FUBAR, bringing a performer who can match Arnold’s legendary presence while introducing new dynamics to the team. Moss’s inclusion also suggests the series is investing more in character arcs and high-stakes storytelling than in just zany family antics and explosive set pieces. This might be a response to the initial critiques that the show relied too much on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s old tricks and too little on narrative innovation.

Filming for the second season began in Toronto on April 29, 2024, and wrapped on August 30, 2024—again emphasizing Netflix's commitment to international backdrops and real-world scale. Insiders noted that this season aims for tighter plotting and more grounded emotional arcs without sacrificing the popcorn thrills. That means more father-daughter dynamics, of course, but also a broader exploration of the CIA team’s internal conflicts, romantic subplots, and perhaps even a deeper dive into Luke Brunner’s long, murky past. With Nick Santora still at the creative helm and a robust team of executive producers—including Arnold Schwarzenegger himself—the series seems intent on refining its identity without losing its core appeal.

From a broader perspective, FUBAR Season 2 also rides a cultural wave of action-comedies making their comeback via streaming platforms. Shows like The Recruit and even Reacher have proven there’s a growing appetite for serialized action that doesn’t take itself too seriously. What sets FUBAR apart is that it plays openly with the absurdity of espionage tropes and pairs that with deeply flawed, often ridiculous characters navigating personal trauma and bureaucratic chaos. The question is no longer whether these CIA missions are plausible—they’re not—but whether the characters can grow through them.

Netflix, for its part, is betting on nostalgia mixed with novelty. In addition to a high-profile marketing push planned ahead of the June 2025 drop, the platform is said to be working on interactive behind-the-scenes features and tie-in interviews that dig into Arnold’s career evolution and Moss’s genre-defying roles. If Season 1 was the test balloon—an experiment to see if Arnold Schwarzenegger’s charisma could carry a long-form series—Season 2 seems poised to be the proof of concept, showing the world that FUBAR isn’t just a punchline title but a viable franchise with legs, heart, and the occasional grenade launcher.

So, what can fans expect come June 12? Bigger missions, sharper dialogue, and a better understanding of who Luke and Emma Brunner really are beneath the CIA code names. And if the inclusion of Carrie-Anne Moss and a more confident creative direction are any signs, FUBAR may have just shifted from guilty pleasure to genuine contender in Netflix’s crowded action-comedy lineup. One thing’s for sure: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s not done yet—and neither are we.

Synopsis : 
When a father and daughter discover that they have been secretly working for the CIA for years, they realize that their entire relationship is a lie and that they don't know each other at all. Forced to team up, this unlikely duo is thrown into dangerous missions on the international espionage scene.

Fubar
Created by Nick Santora
Starring  Arnold Schwarzenegger, Monica Barbaro, Milan Carter, Gabriel Luna, Fortune Feimster, Travis Van Winkle, Fabiana Udenio, Jay Baruchel, Barbara Eve Harris, Aparna Brielle, Andy Buckley
Music by Tony Morales
Executive producers : Nick Santora, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Bill Bost, Adam Higgs, Scott Sullivan, Holly Dale, Phil Abraham,, Arnold Schwarzenegger
Producer : Agatha Barnes
Cinematography : Craig Wrobleski, Colin Hoult, Michael McMurray
Editors : J.J. Geiger, Eric Seaburn, Anthony Miller, Sang Han
Production companies : Blackjack Films, Skydance Television
Network : Netflix
Release May 25, 2023 – Present
Running time     45–59 minutes