Arnold Schwarzenegger to ‘Pump’ CBS TV With New Bodybuilding Drama
What, you thought The Celebrity Apprentice enough to contain Arnold Schwarzenegger’s impeccable pecs on TV? Not so, puny readers, as the ex-Governator’s loosely autobiographical bodybuilder series Pump has officially landed at CBS Television Studios with a development deal.
After initial development with Showtime in 2013, followed by a move to Hulu, Pump has finally landed an eight-episode deal with CBS Television Studios, according to Deadline. Produced by Schwarzenegger and created by Michael Konyves, Pump is “loosely based on the Venice Beach exploits of Schwarzenegger, when he was then known not as the Governator, but rather as the Austrian Oak. The series is set in 1973, as a small group of bodybuilders birthed the physical fitness industry and body worship, in the Pacific Avenue beachfront gym that was their temple.”
Says Schwarzenegger himself of the news:
I knew from our first brainstorming session that Pump would be a hit. The 70’s were such a colorful, transformational time, for me and for our entire country. I look forward to bringing that color to people’s living rooms with the fantastic, deep characters and the multi-layered story lines of Pump. I feel so passionate about this project because today it’s easy to take our gyms and culture of fitness for granted, but it all started with this wild group of bodybuilders as a tiny subculture in a little dungeon gym in Venice Beach. I can’t wait to get to work with our great team.
Blue Bloods vet Bryan Goluboff will showrun the new series, which lacks any official start date as of yet. Initial reports in 2017 suggested Schwarzenegger himself might take a small role (there’s no guarantee of that now), but what should we make of Pump?