Lioness was recently announced as one of the five new shows coming soon from Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan. It will be the first series in the Sheridan-verse led by a female actor. And there are two major stars attached to the project. Here’s what we know so far about Lioness.
‘Lioness’ will star Zoe Saldaña as the first female lead in the Taylor Sheridan-Verse
According to Sheridan, he is always trying to “peek as authentically into a world” as he possibly can. And, that’s exactly what he’s doing with Lioness. The series gets its name from a real-life military program that began with the purpose of attaching female Marines to combat units. But it has evolved into espionage.
“Lioness is an actual program between the CIA and special forces that truly no one knows about,” Sheridan explained. “We have cast Zoe Saldaña, and this is a deep dive in the way with which espionage and the military have blurred.”
The Guardians of the Galaxy star will play Joe, the station chief of the CIA’s Lioness Program who handles the undercover female agents who are tasked with assassinating terrorists around the globe.
Nicole Kidman joined the project ‘early’ on according to Taylor Sheridan
Sheridan also revealed that Oscar winner Nicole Kidman “came to this project very early on” after he wrote the Lioness pilot script. The writer/director says that Kidman “was so moved by it that she wanted to be involved as a producer.”
According to the series description, the plot of Lioness is centered around “a young Marine who is recruited to befriend a terrorist’s daughter to bring the organization down from the inside.”
The real program began during the Iraq War
According to the official website of the United States Marine Corps, the Lioness program began in the 2000s during the Iraq war. It was created to respect the local customs of Middle Eastern countries by having female Marines search local women.
“Since Muslim tradition does not allow a man to touch a woman who is not related to them and knowing American military personnel would not search them unless a female service member was present, insurgents began to use women to smuggle contraband and act as suicide bombers,” the Marine Corps site explained in a 2009 article.
Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Lioness’ will begin filming this summer
Lioness will be part of the original programming lineup on Paramount+, and it’s set to begin filming this summer. A release date has not yet been announced. But the expectation is that it will premiere next year.
Tom Brady — who previously worked on NOS4A2 and Colony — is writing the series and serving as showrunner. He says he’s a huge fan of Sheridan’s work, and he is honored to help him tell his next story.
“Taylor (Sheridan) has created an epic, gripping, global spy thriller centered on a group of complex, strong women, and I can’t imagine anyone better to help bring these characters to life than fellow executive producers Nicole Kidman and Zoe Saldaña,” Brady said, per Collider.
A Hallmark star has also joined the ‘Lioness’ cast
According to The List, there is another actor set to appear in Lioness — Hallmark star Jill Wagner. The Teen Wolf alum and daughter of a real-life Marine is also an executive producer on the series.
“It’s something that I’m training for right now,” Wagner revealed in December 2021, just three months after having her second baby.
“In fact, I get up every morning, and I train for about an hour and a half. It’s not easy. You women out there that had a baby — I think you can understand where I’m coming from.”
Lioness starring Zoe Saldaña will premiere on Paramount+ in 2023.
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