REVIEW: ‘FUBAR’ Season 2 Is Still Hilarious

Dad Television is at its height with action series like Reacher, but FUBAR takes action high points and accentuates them all with humor that makes this Arnold Schwarzenegger-fronted series the perfect Father’s Day release. FUBAR Season 1 blew me away with its irreverent but still extremely dad humor. Now, FUBAR Season 2 is raising the bar and the stakes even higher. Nick Santora serves as Showrunner and Executive Producer with Arnold Schwarzenegger as Star and Executive Producer.

For those who may have missed the first season, Luke Brunner is a veteran CIA operative on the verge of retirement. After his last mission in saving another operative (read: his daughter, who he had no idea was an agent, too), the Brunner family was running away from a global criminal organization. Having all been compromised (including the exes Jay Baruchel as Carter and Travis Van Winkle as Aldon Reese), the family, their exes, and their co-workers are all stuck under one roof.

Now, in FUBAR Season 2, the Brunners are dealing with something entirely different: another Ex, only this time, it’s Luke Brunner, and it shows that he cheated. As family harmony gets harder to deal with and Greta Nelson (Carrie-Anne Moss) works for a mysterious and menacing baddie who actually wants to end the world this time, well, Season 2 is a lot. Still, all of it, and I do mean all of it (including the puppets), works.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s action series is equal parts intrigue and comedy.

Like last season, FUBAR Season 2 excels because of its extended ensemble cast. Character actors, like Andy Buckley as Donnie, are there for a second, but the laughs they get are strong. I mean, Donnie is just wandering in the back of a shot as a sad sack forced to listen to Mr. and Mrs. Brunner go at it all night.

On the other side, you have  Aldon, Carter, and newcomer Theodore Chips (Guy Burnet), all there to be smitten with Emma. And then there is Uncle Barry (Milan Carter) and Roo (Fortune Feimster), who are just good in their lanes, leaning slightly into bit roles but expanding more from last FUBAR’s first season.

Then, of course, you have your core father-daughter duo in Luke and Emma. Closer than ever as family and better organized as co-workers, the duo is in a good spot. That is, until Luke can’t break seeing his highly trained daughter as a little girl. On her part, Emma starts to question everything her dad has done. I mean, if he can lie about cheating on her mom, and actually really love the woman he cheated on her with, then what else is there?

The father-daughter duo may be at odds with each other in spurts, but they both get the much-needed development independently. Monica Barbaro as Emma Brunner is once again fantastic. She’s strong, stubborn, and, more importantly, this season, independent.

FUBAR Season 2 ups the stakes and the character development.

FUBAR Season 2’s longest-running bit is that all the men in her life love her. While both she and Luke deal with unwanted (sometimes) advances, they each handle the situations differently. Or better put, Emma’s choices are a reaction to her father’s infidelity and general lack of being there for her.

On his side, Luke is attempting to be a better father and husband, yet he can’t seem to break his love for work, which consistently compromises that. Still, he sincerely cares about his family. As Greta pushes him on that (while also trying to kill him), trying to remind him of the golden days, Luke has to figure out which version of himself is the real one.

Is it the CIA operative or the one who wants to be a good husband and father? That push and pull come to a head when he realizes who he is now isn’t who he was, and that’s actually okay. The growth that Luke experiences this season works well because he makes active choices, even if his loved ones get frustrated with him.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Carrie-Ann Moss are perfect.

For all of its sentimentality, FUBAR Season 2 mixes the best of absurdist physical comedy as a part of its action and stunts that work exceptionally well. While the situation gets increasingly out of this world, the series takes spectacle well. As much as FUBAR Season 2 adds action in buckets, it is just funny. The ensemble’s chemistry helps sell even the very few eye-rolling jokes, but more often than not, FUBAR Season 2 is right where it needs to be comedically.

Action icon Carrie-Anne Moss’s introduction to the series as a German spy named Greta Nelson makes FUBAR Season 2 absolutely hilarious. This is an old flame from Luke’s past who threatens to destroy the world and his life.

The two of them have amazing chemistry and redefine romantic situations for older actors. While Greta is essentially a woman who only has her ex on her mind, she is no different than the mean girls on the team, who only ever appear to Emma to serve her and win her favor.

FUBAR Season 2 captures exactly what made the previous season so exciting. Better yet, it understands why it worked before to make a second season that absolutely thrills (and just can’t stop giving you belly laughs). Everything works this season, and I’m once again asking for another.

FUBAR Season 2 is streaming now, exclusively on Netflix.

Catch Up On The Series
Season 1