In their public personas, the Arnolds could be seen as a twisted version of George Burns and Gracie Allen, appearing across the country on a 25-city "Honeymoon Tour” where their errant comedy and revealing candidness either repulsed or captivated audiences. Arnold once described himself and Roseanne as "America's worst nightmare—white trash with money." Meanwhile, Arnold started to branch out on his own, starring in the short-lived sitcom, "The Jackie Thomas Show" (ABC, 1992-1993). The Arnolds used their considerable leverage to have the series scheduled after “Rosanne.” A pleasing show about a stupid and overbearing TV personality (not unlike its star) that started out a modest ratings success, “The Jackie Thomas Show” suffered a sharp falloff in viewership, prompting the network to quickly pull the plug. In the meantime, Arnold kept busy producing, co-writing and occasionally directing various projects involving his wife. Arnold made two other ill-fated attempt to become a sitcom star with "Tom" (CBS, 1994), a mild family sitcom, and "The Tom Show" (The WB, 1997-98).
Many were prepared to write off Arnold entirely after his highly publicized breakup with his formidable spouse, but he surprised everyone with an outstanding comedy performance as Arnold Schwarzenegger's sidekick in James Cameron's lavish James Bond homage "True Lies" (1994). Suddenly Arnold was likable, his timing was assured and many predicted a successful career in features for the former TV star. He did not, however, fare well in his subsequent vehicles. Critics panned such efforts "The Stupids" (1996) and "McHale's Navy" (1997), and the ensuing box office performance underscored the point. Arnold rarely headlined films after both debacles, but he continued to be cast in several middling successes over the next several years, including “Exit Wounds" (2001), "Cradle 2 the Grave" (2003) and the brash urban comedy "Soul Plane' (2004) being most notable.
Arnold also remained a viable personality on television, largely appearing as himself on dozens of series, specials and talk shows. He may have reached a low ebb when he co-hosted the ill-fated "The New Gong Show" in 2001, but he found a successful niche as one of the regular host/commentators on Fox Sports' popular series "The Best Damn Sports Show, Period" (2001 - ), a comedic variation on "Sportscenter." Just as it seemed Arnold was destined to be a semi-charming TV personality playing himself—something he also did in the feature comedies "Dickie Roberts" (2003) and "Mr. 3000" (2004)—he suddenly showed that he was also a very capable actor when he appeared in writer-director Don Roos' seriocomic, multistory "Happy Endings" (2005). In a part written expressly for him, Arnold played a wealthy widower who worries about his son's sexual orientation only to be relieved when the secretly gay teen (Jason Ritter) brings home a seeming girlfriend (Maggie Gyllenhaal), only for Arnold to find himself falling for her.
After appearing in supporting roles in two feature comedy flops—“Rebound” (2005), starring Martin Lawrence as a loudmouthed basketball coach looking for redemption by heading a team of high school misfits, and “National Lampoon’s Barely Legal” (2005), a teen sex comedy about three high school sophomores who flirt with disaster by making a porn movie in their parent’s basement—Arnold returned to more dramatic fare in “The Kid & I” (2005), playing a down-and-out actor unexpectedly hired to write the sequel to the action film that made him famous more than a decade ago.