Also known as Special Ops: Lioness
Plot: Joe McNamara (Zoe Saldaña) facing a global conspiracy and a personal vendetta that traces back to the first season.
Season 3 of Lioness was Really Good.
Pros: It still maintained being thrilling, must-see & adrenaline drama that you expect. Zoe Saldaña’s Joe has been through the wringer, from kidnapping to heart-wrenching emotion. Joe’s family had more to do this season. There’s a sense of betrayal coming through when this season continues, when I came to Kyle and a mole in the Pentagon. The main actors like Zoe Saldaña, Laysla De Oliveira, Michael Kelly, Genesis Rodriguez & Nicole Kidman still brought their A-game in their respective roles. And I find the shocking ending accomplished being tension & making me curious, hyping me up for season 4.
Cons: The only issues I had were that the political plotline left me screaming my head off and not a lot of action happening.
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Created by Taylor Sheridan
Showrunner: Taylor Sheridan
Written by Taylor Sheridan, Thomas Brady
Starring: Zoe Saldaña, Laysla De Oliveira, Dave Annable, Jill Wagner, LaMonica Garrett, James Jordan, Austin Hébert, Jonah Wharton, Hannah Love Lanier, Nicole Kidman, Morgan Freeman, Thad Luckinbill, Michael Kelly, Genesis Rodriguez & Ian Bohen.
Music by Andrew Lockington
Executive producers: Taylor Sheridan, Jill Wagner, David C. Glasser, David Hutkin, Bob Yari, Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, Geyer Kosinski
Production companies: Bosque Ranch Productions, Cinestar, Blossom Films, 101 Studios, Paramount Television Studios
Network: Paramount+
Casts & Characters:
- Zoe Saldaña as Joe McNamara, a CIA senior case officer in charge of the Lioness program, who previously served as a Lioness operative responsible for the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
- Laysla De Oliveira as Cruz Manuelos, a Force Recon Marine and Lioness operative in the first season, turned Delta Force operator and Josephina’s handler in the second season, and QRF team member in the third season. (Note: Delta is an Army unit; Marines can and have been members of this unit. Later, in season 2, “Joe” alludes to Manuelos being promoted to Sergeant First Class, that is an Army rank – not Marine Corps.)
- Dave Annable as Dr. Neal McNamara, Joe’s husband and a pediatric oncology surgeon
- Jill Wagner as “Bobby”, a Ground Branch QRF team leader for the Lioness program.
- LaMonica Garrett as “Tucker”, a QRF team member and former Marine.
- James Jordan as “Two Cups”, a QRF team member and former Green Beret.
- Austin Hébert as “Randy”, a QRF team member.
- Jonah Wharton as “Tex”, a QRF team member and former Navy SEAL.
- Stephanie Nur as Aaliyah Amrohi (season 1; guest season 3), the daughter of a suspected terrorist financier
- Hannah Love Lanier as Kate McNamara, the teenage daughter of Joe and Neal
- Nicole Kidman as Kaitlyn Meade, a CIA Clandestine Service supervisor and Joe’s boss
- Morgan Freeman as Edwin Mullins, the U.S. Secretary of State
- Thad Luckinbill as Kyle McManus (season 2–present; recurring season 1), a CIA senior case officer and Joe’s colleague
- Michael Kelly as Byron Westfield (season 2–present); recurring season 1), the CIA’s Deputy Director of Operations and Kaitlyn’s boss, a former Marine and Desert Storm veteran
- Genesis Rodriguez as Captain Josephina Carrillo (season 2–present), a U.S. Army Black Hawk pilot recruited into the Lioness program due to her family connection to the Mexican cartel that kidnapped an American congresswoman. In season 3 she joins the QRF team as their pilot.
Recurring
- Celestina Harris as Charlie McNamara, the younger daughter of Joe and Neal
- Martin Donovan as Errol Meade, Kaitlyn’s husband, a high-ranking financial investor
- Bruce McGill as Monty Hollar (season 2–present; guest season 1), the National Security Advisor
- Jennifer Ehle as Evelyn Mason (season 2–present; guest season 1), the White House Chief of Staff
- Elizaveta Neretin as Oleksandra Balakin (season 3), a Ukrainian FISU agent and mole in the Russian SVR
- Lev Gorn as Maxim Petrov (season 3), the Deputy Russian Ambassador to the United States
Guest
- Matt Gerald as Cody J / “Goose”, a U.S. Army Delta Force operator
- Ian Bohen as Grady (season 3), a U.S. Army Delta Force operator and K9 handler
- Taylor Sheridan as Cody Spears (season 2–present), a U.S. Army Delta Force operator
- Dawn Olivieri as Amber Whalen (season 2–present), a CIA Clandestine Services Targeting Officer
- Molly Searcy as military nurse (season 3)
I highly recommend this season only on Paramount+ to those who saw the previous season.
Rating: 8 out of 10 Stars
Ryan Balkwill:
Resident TV reviewer,
Level Best Art Cafe