Zoe Saldaña may be done with the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, but she’s got plenty of action left back on Earth. Except this time, Saldaña’s character is also giving the orders. Paramount+ has unveiled the trailer for Special Ops: Lioness, a new action/drama series from Taylor Sheridan. In the show, Saldaña plays Joe, the woman in charge of the CIA’s secretive Lioness Program that embeds undercover operatives with terrorists, often as their wives. And Joe’s latest recruit is a Marine named Cruz (Laysla De Oliveira), a woman who will be thrust into unimaginable dangers.
This series has an unusually high-profile cast that includes Morgan Freeman and Nicole Kidman as supporting players. Freeman plays Edwin Mullins, while Kidman portrays Kaitlyn Meade, the woman who oversees The Lioness Program alongside Donald Westfield (Michael Kelly). The program is meant to prevent another 9/11 terrorist attack, but in the trailer, it looks like Joe and Cruz’s decisions have already placed an unwelcome spotlight on the program.
Dave Annable, Jill Wagner, LaMonica Garrett, James Jordan, Austin Hébert, Jonah Wharton, Stephanie Nur, and Hannah Love Lanier also star in the series.
Sheridan’s success with Yellowstone and its hit prequel series 1883 and 1923, as well as Tulsa King and Mayor of Kingston, is the reason why this show has such high-profile talent. Paramount+ keeps Sheridan busy, and this may be his most ambitious TV project to date. Saldaña, Wagner, and Kidman are executive producing Special Ops: Lioness alongside Sheridan, David C. Glasser, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari, David Hutkin, Geyer Kosinski, Michael Malone and John Hillcoat.
The first episode of Special Ops: Lioness will premiere on Sunday, July 23, on Paramount+.
