The Big Picture
Special Ops: Lioness
is a thrilling series centered on CIA operative Joe McNamara and her mission to infiltrate the life of a suspected terrorist’s daughter.
The first season of
Lioness
ends with intense and devastating consequences, leaving the characters fractured and questioning the cost of their duty to their country.
While a continuation of
Lioness
is possible, it may be more impactful and profound if the series stands alone, following the tradition of Taylor Sheridan’s self-contained stories.
Although the cowboy-turned-filmmaker Taylor Sheridan is best known for his neo-Western triumph Yellowstone and its greater expanded universe, which has made waves all across the country, it isn’t the only television project he’s undertaken in recent years. Following his other successes with Mayor of Kingstown and Tulsa King, Sheridan has transitioned from his usual crime dramas into something a little more thrilling. Starring Zoe Saldaña as CIA operative Joe McNamara, his latest Paramount+ series Special Ops: Lioness is one for the record books.
So far, Lioness has only been given a single season, though that’s likely to change considering Sheridan’s track record with the network-turned-streamer. But maybe it shouldn’t. After all, Sheridan’s first post-Yellowstone series, the epic Western 1883, was a standalone story, so why couldn’t Lioness follow suit? There’s no denying that there are a few loose ends after the season finale, titled “Gone Is the Illusion of Order,” but do we really need to go through all the turmoil and heartache that Season 1 dug up all over again? We’d argue that Lioness stands the tallest on its own, without the need for a second season.
Special Ops: Lioness
Release Date July 23, 2023
Seasons 1
What Is ‘Special Ops: Lioness’ About?
Loosely inspired by the real Team Lioness (which looked vastly different from what the series portrays), Lioness centers primarily on CIA operative Joe McNamara (Saldaña) and her asset, a Marine named Cruz Manuelos (Laysla De Oliveira). At the beginning of the series, Cruz is brought on board the Lioness program to infiltrate the life of a suspected terrorist by befriending his adult daughter, Aaliyah Amrohi (Stephanie Nur) — only Cruz gets in way too deep, and after first becoming Aaliyah’s best friend, the two form a romantic bond that endangers the entire operation.
If that wasn’t stressful enough, Joe has to not only deal with Cruz and her fragile emotional state but also her destructive home life, which is always in shambles because of the job. On top of that, Joe’s husband Neil (former Dutton Dave Annable) is a surgeon, which means he can’t always be home with their daughters Kate (Hannah Love Lanier) and Charlie (Celestina Harris) either. This is the conflict of Lioness, which highlights the impossible pull between duty to one’s country and duty to one’s family. It signifies the impossible statement that we can “have it all” without some sacrifices along the way. Cruz might not have a family, but Joe does, and it’s tearing her apart.
Along for the ride are other Taylor Sheridan staples too, including James Jordan as the Marine known as “Two Cups,” and LeMonica Garrett as Tucker, among others. Nichole Kidman also stars as Joe’s CIA superior Kaitlyn Meade opposite Michael Kelly as her supervisor, while Morgan Freeman occasionally appears as the U.S. Secretary of State. To say that the cast of this series is stacked would be an understatement. Even Martin Donovan shows up periodically as Kait’s husband, Errol.
How Does ‘Special Ops: Lioness’ Season 1 End?
The series ends with a real bang. After waiting all season for Aaliyah to encounter her father Amrohi (Bassem Youssef) aka the target, it finally occurs just in time for her arranged wedding date. Though things have gotten steamy between the undercover Cruz (who has unprofessionally fallen for her mark) and Aaliyah, the Marine goes into the fight ready to do her job. But, after being outed by Aaliyah’s threatened fiancé Ehsan (Ray Corasani), Cruz is forced to kill him and Aaliyah’s father in the most brutal way possible, escaping into the night in only a t-shirt and underwear.
Thankfully, Joe and the team arrive in time to extract her, but, having nuked the only meaningful relationship she ever had, Lioness ends its first season with Cruz quitting the program. Emphasizing that she’s “out,” she gets into a physical altercation with Joe that rattles them both. But though their mission is successful on paper, it turns out that the Secretary of State didn’t want Aaliyah’s father killed after all, potentially pushing back Middle-east negotiations decades in the process. “You should’ve taken him off the top of your kill list,” says CIA Deputy Director Bryan Westfield (Kelly), not that it does any good. The deed has been done, and the consequences will be felt.
Unfortunately, though things have gotten better between Joe and her daughter over the course of the season, the finale ends with Joe and her husband Neil at odds. With the job putting so much strain on her marriage, it’s a wonder if she’d even want to continue the fight. Earlier in the season, Joe claims she’s willing to take a desk job closer to home, but Neil encourages her to continue doing what she knows she’s supposed to do. And then all this happens. The season ends somewhat painfully with Joe returning home and embracing her husband, thankful to be finished with such a horrible mission and unsure of what the future holds.
‘Special Ops: Lioness’ Doesn’t Need Another Season
Image via Paramount
When Taylor Sheridan first wrote Lioness, he did so hoping to write the character of Joe around Saldaña, who would go on to executive produce the series as well. “The thought of me committing to a multi-seasonal show was just daunting,” she told Vanity Fair earlier this year. “[But] it was Taylor Sheridan. Nicole Kidman was already attached to produce, and she was going to play a part in it as well. So obviously, that was a dream for me.” Unsurprisingly, it seems that Sheridan and company are hoping to continue the Lioness story into another season, especially after some record streaming numbers. But that’s kind of a shame.
What Sheridan does here in ending this story with fractured people – Joe, Neil, and Cruz being the biggest examples, though certainly not the only ones – reminds us of the horrors countries commit in the name of freedom and security. There’s no denying that those in the armed forces are true American heroes, but often at the cost of their own mental and emotional well-being. The trail of brokenness that closes out Lioness, with Joe only finding comfort in the arms of her husband back on domestic soil, is a harrowing picture to end on, and one that we shouldn’t so quickly dismiss.
“Gone Is The Illusion of Order,” as the title suggests, and that’s where the truth comes in. Not only do we learn that the government agencies in charge all seem at odds with one another (they couldn’t even agree on whether they wanted a terrorist leader dead, for Pete’s sake), but the events of Lioness only cause more disruption in the personal and professional lives of those involved. Cruz has been scarred more deeply than she ever was before joining the Marines, and Joe is left wondering how much longer she’ll be willing to sacrifice her own children on the altar of duty and country. Sure, the cause is just, but are the means?
Taylor Sheridan’s Stories Are Better When They’re Standalone
Image via Paramount
There’s no denying that the first season of Lioness is an exciting thrill ride. In many ways, it seems that Sheridan is looking to continue what he started with his Prime Video movie Without Remorse, showing his chops as an action writer with enough espionage thrills to go around. Here, he shows that he can do so extremely well, which gives us hope for the future of his post-Yellowstone career. But while it’s fun and maybe even refreshing to watch Sheridan play in a different sandbox (though we still prefer his Westerns), one thing has become clear among a plethora of Sheridan-produced Paramount shows: less is always more.
As mentioned before, 1883, an instant Western classic among viewers, was so impactful because it stood on its own. Though the network assumed that the series would continue past the finale, “This Is Not Your Heaven,” Sheridan surprised Paramount by killing almost everyone off and concluding the Western saga. And it worked surprisingly well. There’s no denying that Sheridan is usually at his best when he’s telling self-contained stories. Hell or High Water is arguably the filmmaker’s best-written work, and Wind River packs a powerful gut punch that viewers weren’t nearly ready for. Maybe Lioness could continue the tradition and be something more by producing less.
If Lioness wants to be remembered as something as profound (which, in many ways, it is), it would be best if the Paramount+ series follows suit. For other Sheridan projects, such as 1923, Mayor of Kingstown, and Tulsa King, continuations make sense. After all, those plots purposely leave us on the edge of our seats, begging us to come back for more. But Lioness concludes powerfully on its own, and though more from the McNamara family would be nice, it’s certainly not necessary. As Sheridan knows, not every story needs a happy ending.
Any Continuation of ‘Lioness’ Should Follow ‘Sicario’s Example
Image via Lionsgate
If the way Lioness ends feels somewhat familiar, that isn’t surprising. In many ways, it echoes one of Sheridan’s best works, Sicario. Though he didn’t helm the action thriller himself, his clear on-the-page direction shines through Emily Blunt’s performance as FBI Special Agent Kate Macer. Though Sicario has nothing to do with Lioness on paper, there’s a strong thematic connection that ties them together. On Lioness, Cruz is pulled into a world she doesn’t fully understand only to be completely horrified by the results. This is exactly what Kate Macer goes through in Sicario, right until the ending where she’s forced to pretend like it never happened at all.
As a result, Kate doesn’t return for the sequel, which instead follows Benicio del Toro’s Alejandro as he continues his personal mission to clean up the US-Mexico border. Maybe that’s how Lioness should play out too. With their target dead, there’s no reason for Aaliyah to return, and likewise, no reason for Cruz to rejoin the program. If anything, her strong stance against what they did in the finale and her unwillingness to cooperate further should be honored going forward, and while it would be sad to see a talent like Laysla De Oliveira go, it would give her character more agency and control over her own destiny, not unlike Blunt’s character at the end of Sicario.
Additionally, Lioness is the type of show that, if continued, could resume operations with a new lead entirely. That’s the beauty, or horror depending on how you look at it, of the Lioness program. Naturally, Joe would return. There were too many loose ends with her family for Sheridan to let her go so easily, but that doesn’t mean that the impact from this first season can’t be genuinely felt and dealt with. In fact, it would be a disservice to the story if it didn’t.
What Is Taylor Sheridan Up to Next After ‘Special Ops: Lioness?
Image via Paramount+
Following Lioness, our favorite cowboy hat-wearing, ranching-filmmaker has plenty of other projects in the pipeline. Sheridan told The Hollywood Reporter back in June 2023 that he has several other Yellowstone prequel and spin-off ideas currently in development, with long-awaited projects such as 6666 (set on the historic Four Sixes Ranch, which Sheridan himself owns), the prequel 1944, and the upcoming Yellowstone sequel starring Matthew McConaughey, titled 2024, still underway.
Sheridan is also attached as a producer on the anthology series Lawmen – the first season of which follows David Oyelowo’s Bass Reeves – which recently concluded on Paramount+. Beyond that, a second season of both Tulsa King and 1923 have been announced, while the back half of the fifth and final season of Yellowstone still has yet to air on the Paramount Network, and Mayor of Kingstown’s third season is currently slated to premiere on June 2. We have yet to hear any word on Lioness’ renewal.
Special Ops: Lioness can be streamed exclusively on Paramount+.
Watch on Paramount+