Paramount Plus Action Series Lioness Receives Critical Praise

Not many men can stand up to Alan Ritchson’s Jack Reacher, a renegade who is able to brute-force his way through just about anything. Maybe he has finally met his match in a woman. Like Reacher, the woman in question is not afraid to get her hands dirty, and she relies on a combination of tactical instincts and physical prowess to survive when the odds are stacked against her. Her name is Joe McNamara.

Joe, portrayed by Zoe Saldaña, is a senior CIA officer in the Paramount+ action thriller series Lioness. The show, which wrapped up its third season in September, follows the Lioness Team, a covert CIA program that deploys undercover female operatives into high-risk areas to infiltrate terrorist organizations.

Lioness gets praise from critics and the military

Lioness was created by Taylor Sheridan, an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and director whose credits include Yellowstone and Tulsa King. A departure from Sheridan’s past titles, Lioness brings complex characters and graphic violence into the world of covert warfare, with each season raising the stakes for Saldaña and a star-studded ensemble that includes Nicole Kidman, Morgan Freeman, and Jill Wagner.

The show’s pilot opens with a Lioness, an undercover operative working for the CIA, who is exposed and captured by enemies. When rescue is deemed impossible, Joe makes the call no one should have to make. She launches a missile that kills everyone, the operative included. That sets the tone for a series unafraid to show the gruesome realities of war on both sides, as each season of Lioness centers on a new mission. The first season follows a mission to infiltrate the inner circle of the daughter of a powerful terrorist in Kuwait. The second season turns its attention to the Mexican cartel. The third season has a dual focus. At home, a high-ranking CIA operative is abducted. Overseas, the focus is on the war in Ukraine.

Performances by cast members Jill Wagner, who plays Bobby, and Laysla De Oliveira, who plays Cruz, were deemed so raw and realistic that the two actresses earned praise from real-life members of the military. In an interview with PauseRewind’s Elizabeth Stanton, Wagner said major hitters in the United States military approached her and her husband to express how much they love the show. She called it an amazing honor because the show is called Lioness rather than Lion. She noted that while the show features amazing male actors portraying powerhouse people, the fact that members of the military buy into the portrayal means they got it right.

Polygon writer Joshua Rivera also acknowledged the show’s strong performances and tight eight-episode run in a 2023 preview. He wrote that it is a nasty subject, the morality of which the show briefly acknowledges while breezily asserting its necessity and launching headfirst into the meat of the show as a character-driven spy thriller.

Zoe Saldaña is up to the task in Lioness

Just as Reacher would not be nearly as enjoyable without Alan Ritchson in the lead role, the same is true for Lioness. Saldaña brings an unwavering intensity to her role as both an authority figure in the CIA and as a wife and mother. It becomes increasingly apparent, as Joe’s health and safety are put at risk, that beneath the steely exterior, she struggles with the personal costs of the job.

Saldaña puts in the work. Much like her character, the actress brings an intense level of commitment to the role. The third season strips away much of Joe’s armor as she finds herself in an increasingly precarious situation, requiring an even more demanding performance from Saldaña. In an interview with People magazine, Saldaña described the intensity of playing her character by stating she has her views and comes with all heart, all brains, and all muscle at all times. She noted she is number one on the call sheet, the first one in, the last one out, and prepping months before anyone else.

With the conclusion of its third season, Lioness reached a major streaming milestone, underscoring its popularity. At the time of this article, Lioness spent more than 200 days on Paramount+’s list of the 10 most-watched shows in the United States and ranked higher than shows such as MobLand and South Park. Paramount+ has not yet renewed the series for a fourth season, so fans await the green light.

Source: Polygon