TheTerminatorfranchise is bolstered by two great TV shows —Terminator ZeroandThe Sarah Connor Chronicles— and they both took a huge creative risk that the movies have all avoided. After James Cameron kicked off the saga with two of the greatest action movies ever made,Terminatorhas struggled to continue as an ongoing cinematic universe. Ever sinceTerminator 2: Judgment Dayprovided a conclusive endingto the story, the franchise has had four separate reboots on the big screen, and they’ve all failed to reinvigorate the property.
In the years sinceT2,Terminatorhas found much more success on the small screen. The franchise’s first TV show,The Sarah Connor Chronicles, is an underrated gem following Sarah and John Connor on their quest to prevent the creation of Skynet. The most recent series,Terminator Zero, is an acclaimed anime showon Netflix telling a standaloneTerminatorstory in 1997 Tokyo. These TV shows have both done a risky thing that every single movie in the series has been too afraid to do.
Neither The Sarah Connor Chronicles Nor Terminator Zero Included Arnold Schwarzenegger
Schwarzenegger Sat Out The TV Shows
Neither of theTerminatorTV shows have featured Arnold Schwarzenegger reprising his role as the T-800. The movies have been too risk-averse to move away from the franchise’s biggest star. Schwarzenegger had leading roles inTerminator 3: Rise of the Machines,Terminator Genisys, andTerminator: Dark Fate.Even inTerminator Salvation, Schwarzenegger’s likeness makes a cameo appearancein a fan-service fight scene. The filmmakers see Schwarzenegger as their secret weapon, and they’re afraid to make aTerminatormovie without him.
100%
91%
86%
85%
70%
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
33%
Terminator Genisys
26%
But the twobestTerminatorprojectssinceT2(at least according toRotten Tomatoes) have moved beyond Schwarzenegger. There are different reasons and contexts for why Schwarzenegger didn’t appear in the TV shows, butin both cases, moving away from the franchise’s biggest star led to more interesting stories. It showed that you may doTerminatorwithout the usual names. Obviously,The Sarah Connor Chronicleshad Sarah and John, but everything else felt fresh.
The Terminator TV Shows' Limitations Ended Up Being Their Biggest Strengths
It Forced The Creators To Get Creative
When filmmakers are dealing with a massive tentpole budget on a film likeGenisysorDark Fate, they can just throw money at every problem that comes up. But the limitations of a TV show can enforce creativity.The Sarah Connor ChroniclesandTerminator Zerowere both limited by the absence of Schwarzenegger (obviously, the world-renowned A-lister wouldn’t be in the TV show), but they were also limited by their budgets and what they could do. And in both cases, it led to some of the freshest and most original storytelling in theTerminatorfranchise.
