Can’t wait for Reacher Season 4? Showrunner Nick Santora has an equally charming action show that just released its second season on Netflix. FUBAR stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Luke Brunner, a CIA operative who is about to retire when he discovers that his own daughter, Emma (Academy Award nominee Monica Barbaro), is also a CIA operative. After having their world rocked by the discovery that they’ve both been hiding a double life, father and daughter must learn to trust each other again as they team up against an arms dealer. Because it’s more of an all-out comedy, FUBAR is more ridiculous and over-the-top than Reacher, but it still shows off Santora’s ability to blend adrenaline-fueled excitement with endearing character moments.
‘FUBAR’ Is Just as Action-Packed as ‘Reacher’
Like Reacher, FUBAR delivers on awesome action sequences and stunts. In one of the Netflix series’ best scenes to date, Luke and Emma have to stop a speeding train. The only way for them to accomplish this is for Emma to crawl on top of the train, but at this point in the story, Luke still thinks of her as his little girl and doesn’t appreciate everything she can do as a fellow CIA operative. To keep Emma from flying off the train, they both wear magnetic vests, with Luke crawling across the ceiling from inside. In order for Emma to make the last jump and stop the train, Luke has to deactivate his own vest and trust she’ll be able to pull it off.
The action itself is cool, but it also perfectly services the relationship development between the two leads, hitting important emotional beats. In an interview with Tudum, Santora perfectly summed up his own storytelling preference, which has gone on to inform both Reacher and FUBAR across multiple seasons: “Action for action’s sake is not what I like at all. I really enjoy when there’s action that has comedy and character development wrapped into it.”
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‘FUBAR’ Boasts Strong, Likable Characters
FUBAR‘s Luke Brunner is arguably very different from Jack Reacher. He’s a family man rather than a lone wolf, but he’s also divorced and struggles to connect with his adult children once they know he’s been living a double life since their upbringing. Both shows explore whether it’s possible to have close connections when you do the kind of work that Luke and Reacher get involved in. While their characters are hypermasculine and sometimes struggle to display more vulnerable emotions, they never veer into toxic territory. Santora specializes in riding this line, and it’s part of what makes his action shows so refreshing.
While Luke obviously does a lot of violent things in FUBAR and can also be very old-fashioned in his ways, he has a baseline respect for the people in his life that makes him likable. One of the most charming things about the show is how earnest and straightforward Luke is, no matter how bonkers the situations around him get. It successfully hits the tone Schwarzenegger excels at as an actor, leading to terrifically humorous moments — like the scene when Luke comes clean about his double life to his ex-wife Tally (Fabiana Udenio), admitting that he killed a lot of people, “but they were all dicks.”
Because Luke is anchored to his family and teammates rather than being a wanderer like Reacher, FUBAR is able to build a large ensemble with interesting, interconnected relationships, but the show’s strongest dynamic is Luke and Emma’s father-daughter bond. However, Luke’s rapport with his goofy technical operations officer, Barry Putt (Milan Carter), and his son Oscar (Devon Bostick), who’s not involved in the CIA life, rounds him out as a character. FUBAR is also full of interesting supporting relationships, like the buddy dynamic between Luke’s fellow operatives, Aldon (Travis Van Winkle) and Roo (Fortune Feimster), and the relationship drama between Emma and her longtime boyfriend Carter (Jay Baruchel). Despite Schwarzenegger’s obvious star power, FUBAR boasts a true ensemble where everyone gets a chance to shine.
While you wait for Reacher Season 4 to premiere, it’s well worth checking out the two seasons of FUBAR available on Netflix. While it may be more humorous than Reacher, Schwarzenegger and Santora’s creative styles are perfectly matched in a show that succeeds at being an endearing, feel-good blend of action, comedy, and heart.
- Release Date
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May 25, 2023
- Network
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Netflix
- Showrunner
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Nick Santora
- Directors
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Phil Abraham, Stephen Surjik
- Writers
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Michael J. Gutierrez