The Best Show on TV Right Now Is One You May Not Hear People Talking About

When it comes to measuring the success of a TV show, hype almost always matters more than the actual ratings numbers to a mainstream viewer. That has become especially true in the streaming era; streaming services keep watchful eye on the level of trending buzz a show generates in the weeks of its release. It’s usually a good system of measure: if buzz is big enough to trend on social media, it usually means that a show is getting a good amount of viewers to go along with the hype. Usually.

However, right now the best show that’s currently on TV is generating massive acclaim and thrilling viewers – even if you may not hear people talking about it at the proverbial “water cooler.” As the holiday season arrives, this is the perfect time to hop onbaord with Lioness, the spy-thriller series that’s now streaming Season 2 on Paramount+.

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Lioness didn’t generate major buzz when it first debuted in the summer of 2023; it was panned by quite a few critics, resulting in one of the lowest critical scores ever for a Taylor Sheridan show. And yet, while Season 1 only scored around 56% with critics on Rotten Tomatoes, the audience score was far higher (80%), suggesting viewers were responding to aspects of the show that critics did not. Apparently critics have done a major about-face since then: Lioness Season 2 holds a perfect 100% Critics Score on RT, with the audience score still hovering in the same range (81%).

With Season 1 of Lioness failing to be a major discussion topic among TV critics, pundits and influencers, the usual social media “buzz” about the show never manifested. But clearly viewers have been watching, and it seems that old-school word-of-mouth between viewers is what’s carrying the show forward.

So it you’re only used to getting your TV recommendations from what’s trending on Twitter or TikTok, you’re probably missing out. Lioness is currently the best show you’re not watching, hands down.

Lioness: Everything to Know About the Hit Series

Lioness is yet another series from Taylor Sheridan, the creator of the Yellowstone franchise, and writer of the hit film Sicario. Lioness is very much in the vein of the latter film; Zoe Saldaña (Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, James Cameron’s Avatar) stars as “Joe,” a CIA officer who runs a unique program called “Lioness.” The Lioness program targets high-value terrorists by recruiting and developing female operatives called “Lionesses” to infiltrate the enemy cell, gather intel, and eventually eliminate the prime target. Of course, the mission objective and the tactics to reach it both get murky as personal, political, and geo-political developments complicate things. Forcing Joe, her team, and their handlers to cross moral lines they may never come back from.

Season 1 of Lioness saw Joe recruit Recon Marine Sgt. First Class Cruz (Laysla De Oliveira) for a mission to befriend the daughter of a suspected terrorist leader, with the objective of using her to get close to and eliminate her father. Season 2 of the series, pits Joe and Lioness program in a violent battle with a South American cartel that kidnaps a congresswoman. Joe recruits Apache helicopter pilot Cpt. Josephina Carrillo (Genesis Rodriguez) as the latest Lioness, in attempt to use her as an asset against her father, a known money-launderer for the cartel.

The show star Zoe Saldaña as Joe, with Nicole Kidman playing her CIA handler Kaitlyn Meade; Michael Kelly (The Penguin) plays Kaitlyn’s CIA supervisor Byron Westfield; while Morgan Freeman plays Secretary of State Edwin Mullins. Joe’s Lioness QRF team includes Jill Wagner as “Bobby,” the team leader; LaMonica Garrett as Tucker; James Jordan as “Two Cups”, Austin Hébert as “Randy,” and Jonah Wharton as “Tex.” Recurring roles include Stephanie Nur (1883) as Aaliyah Amrohi, the terrorist’s daughter; Martin Donovan (Weeds) as Kaitlyn’s husband Errol, a shady global finance analyst, and Dave Annable (Brothers & Sisters) as Joe’s husband, Neal. Season 2 has added Max Martini (The Unit) as QRF member Tracer, Kirk Acevedo (HBO’s Oz, Fringe) as DEA Special Agent Gutierrez, with Taylor Sheridan making one of his signature cameos as Delta Force operator Cody Spears.

How to Watch Lioness

Lioness streams exclusively on Paramount+ and is free to subscribers.