Special Ops: Lioness has been renewed for Season 2 on Paramount+ and will now go by the shorter title of just Lioness. The show was another collaboration between Paramount and Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan, as part of their overall deal.
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“Lioness captivated audiences around the world as one of the most-watched global series premieres on Paramount+ last year,” Chris McCarthy, Office of the CEO, Paramount Global and president & CEO of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios said in a statement. “Driven by Taylor Sheridan’s masterful storytelling and Nicole Kidman and Zoe Saldaña’s remarkable performances, season two promises to immerse audiences in yet another riveting, adrenaline-fueled journey.”
Season 1 of Lioness starred Zoe Saldana as “Joe,” a CIA officer who runs a specialized special operative unit named “Lioness.” That unit uses highly-trained female operatives to infiltrate terrorist organizations and turn their members into CIA assets – expendable assets who face death before capture. Joe has to keep her espionage life secret and separated from her home life as a wife and mother to two daughters – a strain that often weighs on her heavily.
The show also starred Laysla De Oliveira, Michael Kelly, Dave Annable, Jill Wagner, LaMonica Garrett, James Jordan, Austin Hébert, Jonah Wharton and Hannah Love Lanier. Nicole Kidman and Morgan Freeman had recurring roles as Joe’s handler and the US Secretary of State (respectively), giving the show some movie-level star power along with Saldana (who stars in the Avatar films and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy). Morgan Freeman will reportedly be upgraded to a regular cast member in Season 2.
(SPOILERS FOR LIONESS SEASON 1 FOLLOW!)
The storyline of the first season introduced Recon Marine Sergeant Cruz Manuelos (Laysla De Oliveira) to Joe’s unit as the latest Lioness undercover operative. Cruz endured brutal training (including torture) to prove she was ready for a high-stakes mission to get close to and eliminate one of the biggest terrorist financiers on the planet.
Cruz’s mission gets complicated when her target asset, the financier’s daughter Aaliyah (Stephanie Nur), not only bonds with Cruz as a friend – but also as a secret lover. Cruz’s feelings are deeply conflicted, but while attending Aaliyah’s wedding ceremonies, Cruz lets her training take over and kills Aaliyah’s terrorist father when she has the opportunity. However, even though the mission is a success, Cruz is left broken and disillusioned while Joe and her handler Kaitlyn (Kidman) are left with heavy doubts that the geopolitical outcome of the assassination would be “good.”
Lioness Season 1 is streaming on Paramount+.
