Watch The First Full Trailer for Taylor Sheridan's New Show Special Ops: Lioness
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The Taylor Sheridan universe continues to grow. In addition to his soon-to-end flagship show, Yellowstone, and its multiple prequels and spin-offs, Sheridan also has numerous stand-alone projects, like his hit shows Mayor of Kingstown and Tulsa King. One of the latest projects in Sheridan's ever-growing Paramount+ slate is Special Ops: Lioness, a spy tale set to star Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, and Morgan Freeman—and it's coming even sooner than we thought!
Today, the Paramount+ original debuted a trailer, giving us our first look at what promises to be some pulse-pounding action, intrigue, and no shortage of high-stakes drama. Along with the video, the show also confirmed its official premiere date: Sunday, July 23, 2023—much sooner than many had anticipated.
Here's everything we know so far about the project.
Early photos offer a glimpse of the Lioness team
In addition to the trailer, early images of the series give a peek into the secretive world of the Lioness team.
What is Special Ops: Lioness about?
Inspired by a real-life undercover program of the CIA, Special Ops: Lioness promises to follow a team of operatives attempting to bring down a terrorist organization within, using a female operative to infiltrate the organization by getting close tot he wives and daughters of terrorists.
Per the official synopsis,"Special Ops: Lioness, inspired by an actual US Military program, follows the life of Joe (Saldaña) while she attempts to balance her personal and professional life as the tip of the CIA's spear in the war on terror. The Lioness Program, overseen by Kaitlyn Meade (Kidman) and Donald Westfield (Kelly), enlists an aggressive Marine Raider named Cruz (De Oliveira) to operate undercover alongside Joe among the power brokers of State terrorism in the CIA's efforts to thwart the next 9/11."
In a recent interview with Parade, Freeman gave the first hints of what we can expect to see from him in the series. Freeman, who was previously confirmed to be playing United States Secretary of State Edwin Mullins on the show, told the publication that he and Sheridan "Just had a Zoom interview and he told me what he was doing and why he wanted me involved. Just, 'I wanted Morgan Freeman to be the one that was chastising'—think it was chastising— 'the whole program of the Lioness.'"
He added, "He's an excellent writer. I went through Yellowstone bingeing, and then 1883 and then 1923. I haven't seen [Mayor of Kingstown] yet. Been away."
When does the show debut?
Special Ops: Lioness will premiere on Paramount+ on Sunday, July 23, 2023. Like Sheridan's other Paramount+ shows, it's expected that new episodes will drop weekly.
The cast of Lioness is stacked.
In addition to Saldaña, who will also serve as one of the show's executive producers, the show is set to star Laysla De Oliveira, who will play a Marine recruited to join the CIA’s undercover Lioness Engagement Team in order to bring down terrorist groups from the inside. Saldaña will reportedly play Joe, the head of the program, with LaMonica Garrett (who Sheridan fans may know from 1883), Jill Wagner, Austin Hébert, Jonah Wharton, and James Jordan as members of the team. Dave Annable will play the husband of Saldaña's Joe, and Thad Luckinbill will appear in a recurring role as an old friend of Joe’s.
Morgan Freeman has signed on to play the show's United States Secretary of State, Edwin Mullins. Nicole Kidman, another of the show's executive producers, will appear as well in the role of Kaitlyn Meade, the CIA’s senior supervisor.
Bassem Youssef has been confirmed in a guest starring role as "a rags-to-riches billionaire businessman with ties to terrorism, building his own fortune by legitimate means before profiteering off the wars that destroy the Middle East he’s spent decades helping to rebuild," Variety reports.
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