‘Lioness: Season 2’ DVD (review)

Paramount Pictures

Taylor Sheridan’s Lioness returns for a second season and continues to fuse military drama with undercover espionage and emotional intensity.

The ingredients are all there: a covert CIA program run by tough operatives, complex geopolitics, and morally compromised missions.

But while the show still packs heat and boasts a capable cast, Season 2 often feels like it’s biting off more than it can chew, weighed down by uneven pacing, scattered subplots, and moments of self-importance that don’t always land.

The premise remains compelling.

The CIA’s Lioness program uses female operatives to infiltrate terrorist networks by forming intimate relationships with high-value targets.

It’s a concept loaded with ethical questions, psychological pressure, and physical danger.

Zoe Saldaña’s Joe leads the operation, and once again carries the show with a performance that’s as commanding as it is haunted. She’s the anchor in a sea of shifting alliances and personal costs. That emotional toll, especially on her home life, is a central thread—but one that the show sometimes fumbles in its rush to get to the next dramatic set piece.

Season 2 starts with adrenaline and never really takes a breath. A high-stakes chase kicks off the first episode, and from there it’s a whirlwind of Iranian militias, shadowy mercenaries, and heavy-handed geopolitical tension.

Sheridan inserts himself into the mix as Cody, a grizzled figure from Joe’s past who brings a little backstory but not much else. It’s a move that feels more self-indulgent than essential. And while the action is often slick and brutal, the plot begins to sag under its own ambition. Multiple storylines start and stop without resolution, making the season feel both rushed and overlong.

The characters are a mixed bag.

Joe remains the most interesting figure—torn, competent, and trying to hold her life together by a fraying thread. Cruz, the Marine recruit introduced in Season 1, is still around, though her role is minimized to the point of feeling like an afterthought. Nicole Kidman’s Kaitlyn Meade is back as the CIA string-puller, delivering cold strategy with a polished, unreadable surface, but she rarely moves beyond function. Dave Annable does what he can with Neal, Joe’s sidelined husband, whose scenes mostly serve to remind us how incompatible domestic life is with black ops. Jill Wagner brings welcome grit as sharpshooter Bobby, and Michael Kelly and Morgan Freeman show up to lend gravitas. Freeman, in particular, elevates every moment he’s in—but his role is mostly symbolic, like a prestige stamp on the package.

The performances are the strongest element holding the show together. Saldaña is magnetic, balancing control and emotional volatility. Kidman is sharp, if slightly distant. De Oliveira does solid work with what she’s given, though her reduced presence is a missed opportunity. Sheridan, to his credit, doesn’t hijack the screen, but his inclusion still feels more like branding than storytelling.

Sheridan’s trademarks are all over the place—rugged settings, hard-edged characters, big speeches, and moral ambiguity—but Lioness tries to balance too many tones at once. It wants to be a spy thriller, a war drama, a character study, and a meditation on the cost of service.

Occasionally it gets close. There are strong moments—quiet phone calls between Joe and her family, long stares loaded with guilt or resolve—that give the show emotional weight. But too often these are drowned out by narrative clutter or overwritten intensity.

Ultimately, Lioness Season 2 is gripping in parts, but frustrating as a whole.

It has the bones of a great series—strong premise, capable cast, high production value—but gets bogged down by its desire to be more than just a thriller. Sheridan’s instincts are solid, but here they’re spread thin, which is a shame since there are only 8 episodes.

The result is a season that’s watchable and occasionally moving, but rarely as sharp or cohesive as it wants to be.