After months of speculation, Lioness has officially been renewed for Season 3 at Paramount+. The renewal comes nearly a year after Season 2 premiered in October 2024, during which time reports circulated that Taylor Sheridan’s espionage drama would continue. Now, Paramount has confirmed that Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, and the rest of the all-star ensemble will return for another chapter in Sheridan’s growing TV empire.
The official logline for Season 2 teased a tense escalation:
“The CIA’s fight against terror moved closer to home. Joe (Saldaña), Kaitlyn (Kidman), and Byron (Michael Kelly) enlisted a new Lioness operative to infiltrate a previously unknown threat. With pressure mounting from all sides, Joe was forced to confront the profound personal sacrifices she made as the leader of the Lioness program.”
Sheridan continues to dominate Paramount+ with a slate that shows no sign of slowing. Alongside Lioness Season 3, he has Mayor of Kingstown Season 4 arriving in October, Landman Season 2 in November, and Tulsa King Season 3 already on air. Meanwhile, the Yellowstone universe expands with The Madison and the highly anticipated prequel 1944.
Is ‘Lioness’ Worth Watching?
While the show earned praise for the performances of Saldaña and Kidman — particularly the way Kidman’s Kaitlyn mentors Joe without undermining her — some critics and viewers pointed out pacing issues. Lioness often veered into government meetings and slow-burn subplots that, while adding realism, risked draining the urgency expected from a military thriller. Compared to faster-moving series like Prime Video’s The Terminal List, Sheridan’s deliberate storytelling sometimes frustrated audiences.
However, Kidman‘s performance was widely praised, including by Collider‘s Michael John Petty, who wrote in his review:
Then there’s Nicole Kidman, who is phenomenal as always here, and as far as the issues with Season 2 are concerned, her performance is not one. The way her character can mentor Joe without ever belittling her is just flawless, and her scenes with Saldaña are always a highlight. But Kaitlyn is more involved in Joe’s operation this time around, or, at least, the show tells us she’s more involved. What that actually means is still a bit confusing, since she only ever steps foot on Lioness base camp once in the first four episodes. More than that, when Joe asks if Kaitlyn is going to be overseeing her “on the ground,” her superior responds with an ominous “everyone’s watching on this one,” but then spends most of the season still engaging in closed-door or D.C. restaurant meetings. Maybe Kaitlyn’s position in the agency gives her a pass when it comes to her role on the series, but given that Kidman is an EP on this show, it’s almost a shame she isn’t given more interesting material to work with.
Lioness is streaming now on Paramount+.
via Collider