The official Special Ops: Lioness photos from Taylor Sheridan’s newest Paramount+ series have been revealed through Vanity Fair, providing a first look at Zoe Saldaña and Nicole Kidman as undercover CIA agents Joe and Kaitlyn. The spy thriller is expected to make its debut this summer.
The photos also introduced Locke & Key’s Laysla De Oliveira in the leading role of Cruz Manuelos, a Marine tasked to infiltrate the elite life of a billionaire businessman who has been secretly funding global terrorists. According to Saldaña, each of their characters represent a generation of the undercover program.
“They each represent a different sort of generation in this program,” Saldaña explained. “One is just starting, so there’s this freshness and passion. Then you have me [as Joe], who’s in the middle of it all. [Joe’s] been here long enough to be burned out but long enough to understand the mission and be resolved with what needs to happen. Then you have someone like Kaitlyn, who may appear on the surface to be the North Pole—she’s just complete ice—but she’s the one who’s having to deal with everybody in the White House, keeping her program alive.”
What to Expect in Special Ops: Lioness?
Lioness is created and executive produced by Sheridan, who has also been working with Paramount+ in a number of shows including Mayor of Kingstown and 1923. Joining Saldana, Kidman, and De Oliveira are Morgan Freeman as Edwin Mullins, Jill Wagner as Bobby, Dave Annable as Neil, LaMonica Garrett as Tucker and James Jordan as Two Cups, Austin Hébert as Randy, Hannah Love Lanier as Kate, Stephanie Nur as Aaliyah, and Jonah Wharton as Tex.
“Based on a real-life CIA program, the series follows Cruz Manuelos, a rough-around-the-edges but passionate young Marine recruited to join the CIA’s Lioness Engagement Team to help bring down a terrorist organization from within,” reads the logline. “Saldaña will play Joe, the station chief of the Lioness program tasked with training, managing and leading her female undercover operatives.”
Executive producers are Kidman, Saldaña, David C. Glasser, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari, David Hutkin, Jill Wagner, Geyer Kosinski, Michael Malone and John Hillcoat. It hails from MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios.
