Say what you will about the melodramatic, often episodic, and currently-stretched-thin writing of Taylor Sheridan, the multi-hyphenate Paramount+ impresario; not only does he know how to craft a gripping opening sequence, he knows how to elegantly employ it to launch an entire story, character arc and plot of a show.
Known for his acclaimed gritty and muscular screenwriting (the Academy Award-nominated “Hell Or High Water,” “Sicario”)— and seemingly writing, running, overseeing, and managing a dozen Paramount+ shows, including the hit series “Yellowstone”— his latest is the CIA espionage thriller, “Special Ops: Lioness.” Zoe Saldaña (“Guardians Of The Galaxy”) stars as Joe, the Lioness Program director tasked with training, managing, and leading her female undercover operatives in covert missions around the world.
READ MORE: ‘Lioness’ Featurette: Nicole Kidman Wasn’t Appearing In Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Special Ops’ Show, But Then Zoe Saldaña Signed On
And ‘Lioness; begins with her failing at her job miserably and at a terrible cost. Summing up who she is immediately, the rigors of the job, and even what the show will be about, Joe immediately faces a dire situation with no good outcomes. In a riveting opening action sequence in the Middle East, Joe discovers one of her undercover agent’s cover is compromised. And when she’s on the SAT phone, hearing the distressed cries of her captured operative, the mental math calculations required are practically non-existent. With little hesitation, she calls in a military drone strike to decimate the enemy location and, with it, her helpless spy. Welcome to ‘Lioness.’
“I chose to protect my team and the sanctity of my operation,” Joe says with exacting detachment when being chewed out by her CIA bosses Donald Westfield (Michael Kelly) and Kaitlyn Meade (Nicole Kidman), for losing her asset. But that’s the well-designed rub: there is an emotional price to this, and Joe, as much as she’s trying to hide it, is feeling it.
Gracefully, while juggling Joe’s story, ‘Lioness’ pivots to the story of the aggressive Marine Raider Cruz Manuelos (Laysla De Oliveira), a former stripper pushed to the edge by her violent, thuggish boyfriend who finds herself in the arms of the U.S. Marines as a means to escape from her hellish life. She’s tough and exceptional, showing she can outlast all the men, and her test scores, acumen, and physical skills are so extraordinary she soon arrives on the radar of her supervisors.
Joe is seen struggling with her personal life—children that hate her and her absence and a husband (Dave Annable), who asks, “You seeing anyone?” as his unmasked hello when the kids are asleep. And while setting up all these personal demons and struggles—a disconnected-from-her-life Joe, and angry, wanting-to-prove herself Cruz—Sheridan, like he’s plotting chess, unveils a simple plot; Joe needs a new Lioness and soon, Cruz, recalcitrant and difficult despite her skills, is the woman for the job.
Soldiers (Cruz) and field directors (Saldana) will clash, and quickly and adroitly, Sheridan tees up everything you need to know about ‘Lioness,’ its dynamics, and the challenges its characters will face.
And while it’s tough to judge or even review a show based on one episode, one can’t help, but appreciate how simple yet lean and mean “Special Ops: Lioness” is. Joes is essentially the tip of the CIA’s spear in the war on terror, but balancing her personal and professional life in the chaos of it all won’t be easy.
And then there’s the Cruz of it all. Laysla De Oliveira is striking in this opening episode and instantly becomes one to watch. Joe’s ethical predicament will obviously be not wanting to lose another operative, but will Cruz’s headstrong mien make it that more difficult?
“Lioness” isn’t perfect; sometimes, in Sheridan’s need to be blunt, the dialogue and situations can chafe. The writer/director/showrunner/creator and some of his shows are often frustrating, a mix of masculine, no-nonsense Midwestern cowboy wisdom—worlds filled with rugged, hardnose people who tell it like it is—and heavy-handedness and “Lioness” may not really feature that yet, but it remains within the realm of possibility. Let’s not forget the lack of global perspective and sophistication. While maybe not quite U.S. military propaganda, Sheridan is definitely a red, white, and blue American; this is a series that looks to consider the personal costs of Americans fighting the war on terror rather than ever looking at the other side like human beings or treating them with any empathy. The Islamic forces here are faceless and nameless bad guys so far, and that’s likely how it will stay.
Inspired by an actual U.S. Military program, “Lioness” literally throws operatives to the wolves dubiously, having agents get close to the lives and wives of power brokers of State terrorism and using them for any means of exploitation and thwarting the next attack. Its ruthless business and the moral costs of using disposable pawns for the greater war on terror surely have greater implications for everyone involved.
Taylor Sheridan currently juggles four shows on top of ‘Lioness’—“Yellowstone,” “Mayor Of Kingstown,” “Tulsa King,” “1923,” not to mention the recently finished “1883”—with at least another four in the works (“Land Man,” “Bass Reeves,” etc.). He’s notorious for micro-managing, being unable to delegate, doing it all himself, and even firing showrunners (“Tulsa King”) when he couldn’t let go to an emissary.
And it shows. “Yellowstone” was gripping but fell into repetition and disrepair. While his other shows are fascinating for their thematic connectivity about people and how they become products of their harsh environments (prison towns, wild wild wests, exiled waystations, etc.), the shows have been hit and miss.
Loosely, ‘Lioness’ may most resemble “Sicario” of Sheridan’s work, the sole narrative focused on a female protagonist.
That’s good because SheridanTV has been extremely heavy on men and masculine perspectives (even the famous Beth from “Yellowstone” is arguably written like a hard-charging man or caged, wild animal). So, it’s refreshing and relieving for Sheridan to demonstrate a new outlook. Sure, it’s similar. It’s people that care deeply, ironically compelled to live out lives and roles where showing vulnerability is a huge weakness. It’s people whose personalities and moral compasses are driven and tested by their challenging environments and the difficulties within. Sheridan is nothing if not a creature of habit, but honestly, that’s his greatest asset: being able to tell the same story repeatedly, dressing it up differently, and injecting humanity into its bruising consequences. It’s too early to say where ‘Lioness’ will land, but it’s a promising beginning, arguably more absorbing than any of these recent shows, and hell, we’ll take that roar as long as it lasts. [B]