# Lioness (2023)

> A young Marine is recruited into a CIA program training women to infiltrate a terrorist organization from within.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/94960

## Facts

- Seasons: 3
- Episodes: 24
- Episode runtime: 43 min
- Status: Returning Series
- Genres: drama, action, thriller
- Created by: Taylor Sheridan
- Network: Paramount+
- Cast: Zoe Saldaña, Laysla De Oliveira, Dave Annable, Jill Wagner, LaMonica Garrett, James Jordan, Genesis Rodriguez, Michael Kelly
- TMDB rating: 7.8/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13111078/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: tense, gritty, morally weighted

## What critics say

Audience reception is positive, with viewers praising the high-stakes action and the lead performances while some find the military and espionage material propagandistic.

## Synopsis

Lioness (2023-present) is an American spy thriller series created by Taylor Sheridan for Paramount+. Marine Cruz Manuelos (Laysla De Oliveira) is a rough-edged but passionate young soldier recruited into the CIA's Lioness Engagement Team, a covert program aimed at bringing down a terrorist organization from within. Station chief Joe McNamara (Zoe Saldaña) is tasked with training, managing and leading a group of female undercover operatives, and she must balance their safety against the demands of the mission. Principal supporting roles are filled by Dave Annable as Neal McNamara, Michael Kelly as Byron Westfield and Genesis Rodriguez as Captain Josephina 'Josie' Carrillo. The engine of each season is the slow, dangerous work of building cover identities, gaining the trust of hostile networks and surviving the moments when a deception begins to fray. The show is a serialized, multi-season story with three seasons of eight episodes each, carrying the grounded, gritty tone of a prestige action drama. Its atmosphere is tense and morally weighted, with an emphasis on institutional power and the human cost of covert work. Fans of Zero Dark Thirty, The Night Manager and Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan will find resonance in its blend of intelligence tradecraft and character-driven drama.

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