“Lioness” season 3 first look: Zoe Saldaña teases Joe's 'demanding' new mission (exclusive)

Derek LawrenceFri, June 5, 2026 at 2:00 PM UTC

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Zoe Saldaña in 'Lioness'Credit: Emerson Miller/Paramount+Key Points -

Here's the first look at season 3 of Lioness.

Zoe Saldaña discusses the "demanding" new installment of Taylor Sheridan's spy thriller.

The action-packed series returns this summer to Paramount+.

Zoe Saldaña and the Lioness crew are about to be back with such a "demanding" season 3 that the Oscar winner wasn't initially sure if she could accomplish what was being asked of her.

"I had various conversations with Taylor [Sheridan] in terms of where he was gonna take it, and I really am so happy and proud of the direction that he eventually took," she tells Entertainment Weekly of the prolific creator. "It was very demanding, I'm not gonna lie. [Laughs] And I didn't even know if I was gonna be able to pull it off."

Saldaña's big-screen bonafides are unmatched, considering she is the highest-grossing actor in cinema history, and she then added an Academy Award to her résumé last year. But Lioness and her character Joe McNamara has provided her with maybe the meatiest role of her career, as the CIA officer constantly puts her life on the line for her country and squad, all while trying to find a way to still be present and emotionally available to those closest to her.

"What I love the most about the show is that it strikes a rare balance between high-octane action and genuine emotional depth," Saldaña shares. "I don't think I would be able to be a part of a show that would only be action without having these intersectional relationships with these incredibly complex women."

Zoe Saldaña and Nicole Kidman in 'Lioness'Credit: Ryan Green/Paramount+

During the first two seasons, Joe recruited two new lionesses — Cruz (Laysla De Oliveira) and Josie (Genesis Rodriguez) — to go undercover in the team's latest war on terror. A season 2 finale mission put Joe and company at risk, to the point that they were preparing to sacrifice themselves rather than be captured. Thankfully, backup arrived before it came to that. With many of her colleagues injured, Joe returned to D.C. and reunited with her husband Neal (Dave Annable).

In season 3, Joe must walk the line between duty and her home life, as hidden networks, foreign operatives, and personal betrayals collide. Aided by CIA deputy director Westfield (Michael Kelly) and her boss and mentor Kaitlyn (Nicole Kidman), Joe confronts enemies operating in the shadows, forcing her to reckon with a war that now reaches into every part of her life.

Nicole Kidman in 'Lioness'Credit: Emerson Miller/Paramount+

Ahead of Lioness returning Aug. 2 to Paramount+, EW has the exclusive first look at season 3. Read on for Saldaña's take on the evolving relationships between Joe and her lionesses, as well as the joy she continues to feel in sharing the same air as Nicole Kidman.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Given your franchise work, you're no stranger to returning to characters on the big screen every few years, but what is it about Joe and this world of Lioness that keeps you wanting to come back?

ZOE SALDAÑA: Getting to know people in service and trying to the best of my abilities to walk in their shoes and understand the amount of sacrifice, pressure, and devotion that you need to have to put political bias aside and put your life in danger for the sake of so many others. I wanted to understand what that was about. And these characters feel real and conflicted. They are characters who know a lot about loyalty and moral ambiguity, and every episode they have to deal with so much. The action sequences are intense and feel credible to me, but the relationships between all the women at the heart of the story feels like the real power of the show.

Zoe Saldaña, Thad Luckinbill, and Laysla De Oliveira in 'Lioness'Credit: Emerson Miller/Paramount+

The season 2 finale almost ended in tragedy, with the team cornered and preparing to take their own lives to avoid capture, before getting saved just in time. How was Joe changed by that experience?

Joe is really finding herself at a crossroads. She is a woman that gave an oath and has every desire in fulfilling it — until she can't anymore. What she wasn't expecting was to be pulled back home. By choosing to start a family, that kind of duality has become a quite intense and stressful life for her to live, to try to make sure that she's not failing in any of these places. And that feels relatable to me. Once women become mothers, we have to work twice as hard, and there are moments in which it does feel achievable, and there are moments in which you're failing at everything because you have to give 120 percent in both places. But you're only human.

Joe can't accept her humanity, but her humanity is what makes her such an interesting character. Joe really tries to separate her heart from her duty, and she can't. She has an innate ability to carry on a lot of responsibility, but she can't separate how she feels with how she thinks. She has to always stay loyal to what feels right to her, and sometimes Kaitlyn has to remind her that it's not about feeling, it's about duty. And there's so many women like her, but I don't see women like Joe getting the celebration that they so deserve in storytelling. So I feel a responsibility to embody her, to really research her, and to honor her. And by doing that, I know that I'm honoring so many women that move the needle in our nation day in and day out but go unseen.

Laysla De Oliveira and Genesis Rodriguez in 'Lioness'Credit: Ryan Green/Paramount+

Season 2's final scene is Joe returning to Neal, who says she'll always have a home to come back to. Obviously she's struggled to keep those relationships strong at home, but, as we get into season 3, what is the state of her family life? Has she been able to figure out that dynamic?

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My heart breaks for Neal, and for every partner that has to be home and say goodbye in a very supportive way to their partner, knowing that their partner has given an oath that may very well take their life from their family. I don't think that any man can accept that, and Neal is an extraordinary man, but even he's human. He has these needs and this responsibility to his daughters, and for him, it's very clear that, by choosing to start a family, he has to honor his daughters before he honors other people's daughters, and he doesn't understand why Joe can't see it that way.

Zoe Saldaña and Dave Annable in 'Lioness'Credit: Lauren Smith/Paramount+

If I was in Neal's shoes, I don't know if I would stay, if I would be this accepting. And that's the tension that Joe always has to keep at home between her and Neil. He's promising her that he's gonna be there, but the question is, can she be there? I think their love is so beautiful, and Taylor doesn't want this love story to be broken. He really wants their love to beat all the odds. And he gives that message that it is possible for love to survive journeys that require so much more of you than what you could ever imagine. We've seen people in service come home to fractured families and fractured bonds with their children, partners, and parents, but there are also families that are making it work, that every day are choosing each other. And I love the fact that Taylor wanted to make the McNamaras be that kind of family,

Judging from the official synopsis and photos, it looks like Joe's work is about to get more personal than ever. What can you say about this new mission?

There's just so much that is constantly being asked of Joe. And I had various conversations with Taylor in terms of where he was gonna take it, and I really am so happy and so proud of the direction that he eventually took for Joe. It was very demanding, I'm not gonna lie. [Laughs.] And I didn't even know if I was gonna be able to pull it off. But Joe and the team deserved so much more from me, and so I really wanted to step up to the best of my abilities — and I hope I did.

Taylor's a very educated man, and he's very curious about foreign and domestic affairs, and he really has a lot to say about all the information that he's able to take on. And I do have to call him a whole lot, asking, "What does this mean? What does this stand for? Is this how it really happened? Why is there conflict here? What do you understand about this?" And I'm just grateful that, when he is able to pick up the phone, because he's so busy, he's this fountain of information. And it's so helpful, because otherwise I don't know how I would be able to say the mouthfuls of dialogue that he has for us.

Morgan Freeman on 'Lioness'Credit: Lauren Smith/Paramount+

Both Cruz and Josie are still around, so we're starting so stack up lionesses. Joe has obviously butted heads with both of them as she brought them in and went through their growing pains, but how do those relationships between her and her lionesses continue to evolve as the women are no longer these fresh newbies?

Joe may not be a cuddly mentor or maternal with these women, but she offers them a sense of security. You are gonna put yourself on the line for this program, for your country, and I can promise you that my job is to make sure that you come home alive. Cruz and Josie are from fractured pasts, and this program has given them a family, a purpose, and an ability to make a difference. And that means a lot. Even though they butt heads with Joe, they eventually see who Joe is. And Joe's hope for the future is that they will fill her position, because Joe knows women like her will always be needed. Her way of paying back what has been given to her is making sure that these women stay alive, because she does really care about these women. It may seem like masculine relationships for women to have, but these do exist, and I appreciate that we are shedding light on that.

Morgan Freeman, Michael Kelly, Nicole Kidman, and Zoe Saldaña in 'Lioness'Credit: Ryan Green/Paramount+

We can only get so much of it because Nicole's character doesn't really get into the field, but Joe and Kaitlyn together often feels like the most impactful relationship. How important does that dynamic continue to be for Joe? It also does seem like Michael Kelly's Westfield is becoming more and more involved, turning them into a bit of a big three.

It is a dream come true for me to just share air with Nicole Kidman. And then learning who Michael Kelly is and how he works and his repertoire, it's such an honor. I've learned so much from them, and I do pass that down to Joe. Even though she butts heads a lot with Westfield, she really respects him. But her loyalty is to Kaitlyn. She gave Joe an opportunity at a time in Joe's life where she didn't think that she could ever have a shot at anything that would give her purpose, and Joe recognizes that every single day.

I believe that Kaitlyn sees herself in Joe, and they are much more alike than Joe and Cruz, and Kaitlyn is always there to remind her who she is. And I think that half of what Joe does is to never be able to let Kaitlyn down. Kaitlyn means a great deal to Joe, and what Kaitlyn stands for is what Joe strives to stand for. And yes, Kaitlyn may seem very cold and almost icy, but it's because she really is unconditional in her service and duty, and Joe tries to emanate that as much as possible.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Thad Luckinbill in 'Lioness'Credit: Emerson Miller/Paramount+

Ian Bohen, Sandi Todorovic, and LaMonica Garrett in 'Lioness'Credit: Emerson Miller/Paramount+

Zoe Saldaña, Laysla De Oliveira, and Ian Bohen in 'Lioness'Credit: Lauren Smith/Paramount+

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