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Lioness

TV SERIES · 2023–present · USA

Lioness

Created by
Taylor Sheridan
Network
Paramount+
Seasons
3
Episodes
24
Studio
Blossom Films, MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios

18 archived facts 2 topics 3 sources Last reviewed Nov 2026

Cruz Manuelos, a rough-around-the-edges but passionate young Marine, is recruited to join the CIA's Lioness Engagement Team to help bring down a terrorist organization from within. Joe, the station chief of the Lioness program, is tasked with training, managing and leading her female undercover operatives.

  • Lioness — production image

18 Interesting Facts About Lioness

Interesting Facts (15)

  1. #001

    Lioness was created by Ilse van Hemert and developed by Ochre Moving Pictures. Its first episode aired on 28 January 2021 on M-Net. M-Net announced the cast on 8 January 2021; Shannon Esra was joined by Jacques Bessenger, Nokuthula Mavuso, Frank Rautenbach, Gerald Steyn, Joshua Eady, Fiona Ramsay, Natasha Sutherland and Terrence Ngwila.

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  2. #002

    In December 2022 it was announced that the series had been renewed for a second season; the second season premiered on 26 January 2023. Vinette Ebrahim, Carl Beukes, Theo Landey and Ayden Croy joined the cast of the second season. Principal photography on the second season was completed in May 2022.

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  3. #003

    Fugitive made a deal with MultiChoice to present the series at MIPCOM in Cannes, while Arrested Industries acquired the rights to the series.

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  4. #004

    According to TMDb, the production centers on agent Cruz Manuelos, who infiltrates the CIA's Lioness Operations Team, and Joe, the program's station chief. Production companies include Blossom Films, MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios, Bosque Ranch Productions, Cinestar Pictures, and Paramount Television Studios. TMDb lists Paramount+ as the broadcaster and July 23, 2023, as the premiere date. Its cast includes Zoe Saldaña as Joe McNamara, Laysla De Oliveira as Cruz Manuelos, Dave Annable as Neal McNamara, Nicole Kidman as Kaitlyn Meade, and Michael Kelly as Byron Westfield.

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  5. #005

    Real-life military advisers helped make the handling of weapons, house clearing, positioning and squad-based operations more authentic.

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  6. #006

    Filming on Special Ops: Lioness lasted seven months.

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  7. #007

    In May 2023 it was announced that the series' title had been changed from Lioness to Special Ops: Lioness.

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  8. #008

    Max Martini joins season 2 in the role of Tracer. Martini built a career playing soldiers and special forces operators, notably in the series "The Unit" (2006-09). He also played a SEAL in Tom Hanks' "Captain Phillips" (2013) and in a spec film, as well as in operations in "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi" (2016), among other shows and films.

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  9. #009

    Andrew Lockington, who had previously worked with Taylor Sheridan on Mayor of Kingstown, composed the series' music. Lakeshore Records released the series' score, which can be found on Spotify.

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  10. #010

    Filming began in Delaware and continued in Mallorca. In May 2023 it was announced that the series' title had changed from "Lioness" to "Special Ops: Lioness," but the title card did not change. When the series was renewed for a second season, the title reverted to its original name. Production on the second season moved from the cobblestone streets of Baltimore, Maryland, to the vast landscapes of Texas. Sheridan was reported to be directing the third episode of the new season. The third season began filming in Fort Worth.

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  11. #011

    Special Ops: Lioness (previously "Lioness") was announced in September 2020 as part of the unveiling of the Paramount+ programming slate.

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  12. #012

    Michael Kelly and Bruce McGill had previously worked together in a scene in the film Law Abiding Citizen (2009). Kelly played a CIA agent and McGill a lawyer (very similar to their Lioness roles).

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  13. #013

    Nicole Kidman and Martin Donovan's wife in the series had previously worked together on the film 'The Portrait of a Lady' (1996). He was Ralph Touchett, a suitor of Isabel Archer (Kidman).

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  14. #014

    Max Martini (Tracer) and Jennifer Ehle (Mason) both appeared in the Fifty Shades series, but they never shared a scene in that series, and they also do not share any scene in Special Ops: Lioness.

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  15. #015

    Hideo Kojima, the creator of the Death Stranding video games, is a fan of the series.

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Easter Eggs & References (3)

  1. #016

    The series is broadly based on the premise of the Lioness Team: in Iraq in 2003, because male US soldiers struggled to search Muslim women, it was decided to send female soldiers on patrols to stop insurgents from using women to smuggle materiel. These teams found themselves in direct combat situations, in violation of the Combat Exclusion Policy (changed only ten years later), which barred servicewomen from post-service veterans' benefits. The 2008 documentary "Lioness" follows one of the first members of the Lioness Team stationed in Ramadi, Iraq, between 2003 and 2004.

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  2. #017

    The President is referred to as "Traveler." This may be a nod to "In The Line Of Fire" in which the President was referred to by the same code name.

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  3. #018

    "Lioness," also marketed as "Special Ops: Lioness," is an American spy thriller television series created by Taylor Sheridan, the creator of "Yellowstone," who also serves as its creator and executive producer. Sheridan wrote all 16 episodes of the series' first two seasons.

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Sources & editorial notes

Reference databases

  • Wikipedia English Wikipedia article
  • IMDb IMDb title page (trivia)

Sources for the entries on this page

  1. Wikipedia Wikipedia (EN)Database · accessed 13 Sep 2026

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