Special Ops: Lioness

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Special Ops: Lioness
Promotional poster
Genre
Created byTaylor Sheridan
Starring
ComposerAndrew Lockington
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes8
Production
Executive producers
  • Taylor Sheridan
  • Jill Wagner
  • David Glasser
  • David Hutkin
  • Bob Yari
  • Zoe Saldaña
  • Nicole Kidman
  • Geyer Kosinski
Running time38–57 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkParamount+
ReleaseJuly 23, 2023 (2023-07-23) –
present

Special Ops: Lioness is an American spy thriller television series created by Taylor Sheridan that premiered on July 23, 2023, on Paramount+.[1]

Premise[edit]

Force Recon Marine Cruz Manuelos is recruited into the CIA's Lioness program and tasked with befriending the daughter of a terrorist financer.

Cast[edit]

Main[edit]

Recurring[edit]

  • Michael Kelly as Byron Westfield, the CIA Deputy Director and Kaitlyn's supervisor
  • Martin Donovan as Errol Meade, Kaitlyn's husband, a high ranking financial investor[2]
  • Michael Tow as Dr. Hammond, Neal's colleague

Guest[edit]

Documentary[edit]

Main article: Lioness (2008 film)

A documentary titled Lioness[3] covered one of the first members of Team Lioness in Ramadi, Iraq between 2003 and 2004. Since its release in 2008, Lioness has contributed significantly to the mainstreaming of the movement to recognize and respond to the needs of American servicewomen.

Episodes[edit]

No.Title [4]Directed byWritten by [5]Original release date [6]
1"Sacrificial Soldiers"John HillcoatTaylor SheridanJuly 23, 2023 (2023-07-23)
Joe orders a missile dropped on a target together with a 'lioness' when the lioness's tattoo of a cross is discovered. She is unhappy about having made that decision as she tells her boss Kaitlyn Meade. Cruz runs away from her abusive boyfriend after a disagreement between him and his friends. She falls on the door of the Marines office and is later recruited after her unusually high scores, even on the men's scale.
2"The Beating"John HillcoatTaylor SheridanJuly 23, 2023 (2023-07-23)
3"Bruise Like a Fist"Anthony ByrneStory by : Taylor Sheridan and Thomas Brady
Teleplay by : Taylor Sheridan		July 30, 2023 (2023-07-30)
4"The Choice of Failure"Anthony ByrneTaylor SheridanAugust 6, 2023 (2023-08-06)
5"Truth Is the Shrewdest Lie"Paul CameronTaylor SheridanAugust 13, 2023 (2023-08-13)
6"The Lie Is the Truth"Paul CameronTaylor SheridanAugust 20, 2023 (2023-08-20)
7"Wish the Fight Away"John HillcoatTaylor SheridanAugust 27, 2023 (2023-08-27)
8"Gone Is the Illusion of Order"John HillcoatTaylor SheridanSeptember 3, 2023 (2023-09-03)

Production[edit]

Lioness was announced in September 2020 as part of a Paramount+ programming slate unveiling.[7] In February 2022, Zoe Saldaña was cast to star in the series, and joined as an executive producer alongside Nicole Kidman.[8] Laysla De Oliveira joined the cast the following month.[9] In June, Sheridan took over as showrunner of the series from Thomas Brady following the conclusion of the show's writers' room.[10] Casting continued in September, with the additions of Dave Annable, LaMonica Garrett, James Jordan, Austin Hébert, Jonah Wharton and Hannah Love Lanier.[11][12] In January 2023, Kidman and Michael Kelly joined the cast alongside Morgan Freeman.[13][14][15]

Filming began in Delaware in September 2022[16] and continued in Mallorca in January 2023.[17] In May 2023, it was announced that the series title was changed from Lioness to Special Ops: Lioness[18] although the title card remained unchanged.

Andrew Lockington composed the soundtrack for the series, having previously worked with Taylor Sheridan in Mayor of Kingstown. Lakeshore Records has released the series' soundtrack.

Inspiration[edit]

The series is very loosely based on the premise of "Team Lioness", where in Iraq in 2003 the decision was made to send female soldiers out with patrols, aiming to stop insurgents from using women to smuggle material because male US soldiers found it difficult to search Muslim women. These teams found themselves in direct combat situations, in violation of the Combat Exclusion Policy (changed only a decade later), which hindered the soldiers from getting veteran benefits after service.[19][20]

Reception[edit]

Critical response[edit]

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 56% approval rating and an average rating of 6.1/10, based on 36 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Zoe Saldaña provides the energy of a Lioness, but these Special Ops are largely derivative and unconvincing."[21] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 56 out of 100 based on 19 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[22]

Despite praising the performances of Laysla De Oliveira and Zoe Saldana, Anita Singh of The Telegraph criticized "the one thing that lets the show down is Nicole Kidman as a CIA boss, whose frozen face these days is a total distraction".[23] Brian Lowry of CNN noted that "the series found a receptive audience that has fueled multiple prequels and made the prolific Sheridan’s production kingdom one of the tallest peaks on Paramount Mountain".[24]

Tania Hussain of Collider praised the performance of the cast but criticised the show as "flawed story" and found Taylor Sheridan was struggling to write about women.[25] Another writer from Collider, Michael John Petty, said the series "might work best as a one-and-done story".[26] Angie Han of The Hollywood Reporter criticized the script as "seems to be constructed with the assumption that most of the audience will only be half-watching while scrolling Facebook on their phones anyway" but couldn't deny the fact that "there is one aspect of Special Ops: Lioness that shines through clear as day no matter how much or how little of your focus you’ve directed toward it, and that is its reverence for the U.S. Marine Corps".[27]

Jim Hemphill of IndieWire praised the cinematography work of Paul Cameron as it "breaks all the cinematography rules" and "in Cameron’s hands, even a standard dialogue scene between two actors has extra dynamism and energy that come simply from looking for unorthodox angles or alternating focal lengths in a manner that might seem counterintuitive".[28]

Reviewer Mike Hale, writing for The New York Times, wrote that the show "turned out to be a moody, suspenseful, textured genre piece with characters you cared about," and that "Sheridan found a form, the action thriller, that suits him better than the western soap operas and contemporary crime dramas that he has produced up to now." Initially, when only screening the first episode, Hale wrote the show "looks like an awful lot of other counterterrorism thrillers, with a visceral punch to its action and a ticky-tacky, backlot feel."[29][30] Also based on the first episode, Variety criticised it as "cliché" and "shameless military propaganda".[19]

Accolades[edit]

Award ceremony Year Category Nominee Result Ref.
Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards 2023 Best Creative Special Ops: Lioness Nominated [31]
Best Writer Taylor Sheridan Nominated
Best Lead Actress Zoe Saldaña Nominated

References[edit]

  1. ^ Petski, Denise (June 8, 2023). "Taylor Sheridan's 'Special Ops: Lioness' Paramount+ Series Gets Premiere Date, First Trailer". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e Otterson, Joe (16 Nov 2022). "Sam Asghari, Carla Mansour, Adam Budron, Martin Donovan Join Taylor Sheridan's CIA Series 'Lioness' at Paramount+ (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Lioness :: A Room 11 Productions Film Directed by Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers". Lionessthefilm.com. Retrieved 2015-07-12.
  4. ^ "Special Ops: Lioness". Paramount+ Press. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  5. ^ "Lioness". Writers Guild of America West. June 13, 2023. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  6. ^ "Shows A-Z – Special Ops: Lioness on Paramount+". The Futon Critic. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  7. ^ White, Peter (September 15, 2020). "The Godfather Making-Of Event Drama, Taylor Sheridan Spy Thriller, The Game Reboot & Behind The Music Revival Lead Paramount+ Original Slate". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  8. ^ White, Peter (February 15, 2022). "Billy Bob Thornton Set As Lead In Land Man, Zoe Saldaña To Star In Lioness & 1883 Gets New Season, Spinoff As Paramount+ Grows Taylor Sheridan Universe". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  9. ^ Otterson, Joe (March 18, 2022). "Laysla De Oliveira Joins Zoe Saldaña in Taylor Sheridan's Paramount Plus Espionage Series Lioness (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  10. ^ Petski, Denise (June 28, 2022). "Taylor Sheridan Taking Over As Showrunner On His Paramount+ Series Lioness". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  11. ^ Cordero, Rosy (September 6, 2022). "Lioness Adds Taylor Sheridan-Verse Stars Dave Annable, LaMonica Garrett & James Jordan". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  12. ^ Petski, Denise (September 29, 2022). "Lioness: Taylor Sheridan's CIA Drama Series Adds 3 To Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  13. ^ Petski, Denise (January 5, 2023). "Nicole Kidman Cast In Taylor Sheridan's CIA Drama Series Lioness At Paramount+". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  14. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (January 13, 2023). "Lioness: Morgan Freeman Joins Taylor Sheridan's Series For Paramount+". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  15. ^ Strause, Jackie (2023-01-26). "Michael Kelly Joins Cast of Taylor Sheridan's Lioness (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  16. ^ McNaught, Shannon Marvel (2022-10-04). "Paramount+ series 'Lioness' films at Cape Henlopen State Park". Delaware Online. Yahoo! Entertainment. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
  17. ^ Piovesan, Anrhony (January 11, 2023). "Kidman and Other Hollywood Stars in Mallorca as Filming Starts for Paramount+ Series Lioness". The Olive Press. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  18. ^ Petski, Denise (May 5, 2023). "'Special Ops: Lioness': First Look At Nicole Kidman, Zoe Saldaña, Laysla De Oliveira & More In Taylor Sheridan's CIA Drama Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  19. ^ a b Herman, Alison (2023-07-21). "Taylor Sheridan's 'Special Ops: Lioness,' Starring Nicole Kidman and Zoe Saldana, Is Shameless Military Propaganda: TV Review". Variety. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  20. ^ "The Uproar of Team Lioness: How Taylor Sheridan's Show Got it Wrong". veteranlife.com. 17 August 2023.
  21. ^ "Special Ops: Lioness: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  22. ^ "Special Ops: Lioness: Season 1". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  23. ^ Singh, Anita (July 23, 2023). "Special Ops: Lioness, review: all hail the female Marine who can out-macho any man". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on July 23, 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  24. ^ Lowry, Brian (July 21, 2023). "Special Ops: Lioness, review: all hail the female Marine who can out-macho any man". CNN. Archived from the original on July 21, 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  25. ^ Hussain, Tania (July 21, 2023). "'Special Ops: Lioness' Review: Zoe Saldaña Fights Through Taylor Sheridan's Antics in So-So Spy Thriller". Collider. Archived from the original on July 21, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  26. ^ Petty, Michael (January 2, 2024). "We Don't Need Another Season of Taylor Sheridan's 'Special Ops: Lioness'". Collider. Archived from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  27. ^ Han, Angie (July 22, 2023). "'Special Ops: Lioness' Review: Zoe Saldaña and Nicole Kidman in Taylor Sheridan's Simplistic Paramount+ Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 22, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  28. ^ Hemphill, Jim (July 24, 2023). "Taylor Sheridan's 'Special Ops: Lioness' Breaks All the Cinematography Rules — and It Works". IndieWire. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  29. ^ Hale, Mike (2023-07-21). "'Special Ops: Lioness' Review: Zoe Saldaña Does Strong and Silent". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  30. ^ Hale, Mike (2023-09-11). "'Special Ops: Lioness' Reconsidered". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  31. ^ Park, Jae-hwan (September 12, 2023). "아시아콘텐츠어워즈&글로벌OTT어워즈 후보작 발표.. "더 글로리, 무빙, 만장적계절, 그리고 퍼스트러브하츠코이" [Asian Content Awards & Global OTT Awards Nominees Announced... "The Glory, Moving, All Seasons, and First Love Hatsukoi"] (in Korean). KBS. Retrieved September 12, 2023 – via Naver.

External links[edit]

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