As Special Ops: Lioness targets an official Season 3 renewal by Paramount+, now is the perfect opportunity to get acquainted with the main cast of characters. The Taylor Sheridan action spy thriller stars recent Oscar-winner Zoe Saldaña as a CIA leader of an all-female espionage group fighting in the Middle Eastern war on terror. Although Paramount has remained mum on Season 3, Saldaña has stated that she signed on for three seasons.
From McNamara’s Lioness team members to the Quick Reaction Force team (QFR) to high-ranking CIA and NSA officials to the U.S. Secretary of State, the principal actors in Special Ops wield tremendous power and influence, and are played by a superb cast of award-winning movie and TV actors. For those looking to join Lioness in Season 3, here’s who the drama revolves around the most.
Zoe Saldaña as Joe McNamara
Fresh off her Oscar victory for Emilia Perez, Zoe Saldaña (Avatar, Star Trek) will continue to headline Special Ops: Lioness in Season 3. Saldaña portrays Joe McNamara, a CIA member tasked with recruiting and leading an all-female undercover spy group, dubbed the Lionesses. The senior field officer is scarred by the memory of leading a past mission in Syria that went badly and claimed a member’s life.
Years later, Joe vows to atone for her past mistakes by recruiting a new Lioness team and handpicks former Marine Cruz Manuelos to infiltrate Asmar Ali Amrohi, someone who secretly funds terrorists in the Middle East. Meanwhile, Joe must balance her dangerous profession with her personal life in the U.S., which includes a husband and two daughters.
Dave Annable as Neal McNamara
Taylor Sheridan TV mainstay Dave Annable (Yellowstone, Walker) plays Neal McNamara, Joe’s husband and pediatric doctor specializing in cancer. As Joe puts her life at risk overseas, Neal tries to keep the household stable, which includes looking after their troubled teenage daughter Kate (Hanna Love Lanier) and younger daughter, Charlie (Celestina Harris).
The distance and time from each other led to marital strife between Joe and Neal. When Joe sustains an injury that requires surgery, Neal expresses worry that her job is too dangerous and that she will not be alive long enough to watch Kate and Charlie grow up. Despite the rift, Joe and Neal love each other and vow to stay together.
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Laysla De Oliveira as Cruz Manuelos
Laysla De Oliveira (Locke & Key, In the Tall Grass) depicts Cruz Manuelos, the most imperiled character in Lioness. A former Gunnery Sergeant Force Recon Marine from Oklahoma, Cruz agrees to join the Lioness program and is assigned to get close to Amrohi, a terrorist secretly financing others in the Middle East. Complications arise when Cruz becomes romantically entangled with Amrohi’s daughter, Aaliyah (Stephanie Nur).
In Season 2, Cruz graduates as a Delta Force operator until Joe selects her for another dangerous covert mission. Cruz’s new mission is to trail Captain Josephina Carillo, who becomes her new love interest. Although Joe calls the shots and bears the brunt when missions go awry, Cruz puts her life and limbs on the line more than any character outside the QRF team.
Jill Wagner as Bobby
Jill Wagner (Teen Wolf, Blade: The Series) plays Bobby, who leads the Quick Reaction Force (QRF) in various Middle Eastern CIA missions. As a supervisor, Bobby oversees and delegates QRF members efficiently to keep missions on target. Bobby’s QRF team members include Tucker (LaMonica Garrett), Two Cups (James Jordan), Randy (Austin Hebert), and Tex (Jonah Wharton).
In addition to training QRF members and working with her boyfriend, Tracer (Max Martini), Bobby’s profession gets complicated when she takes over duties from Cruz and Josephina to spy on Josephina’s father, Pablo Carillo. No matter what transpires overseas, including poorly executed missions, Bobby supports Joe and Josephina.
Nicole Kidman as Kaitlyn Meade
Oscar-winning powerhouse Nicole Kidman (The Hours, To Die For) brings the requisite command as Kaitlyn Meade, a top-ranking CIA official and Joe McNamara’s direct boss. As Special Activities officer with years of political maneuvering, Kaitlyn must ensure the Lioness team is protected at all costs. After expressing doubts about Cruz’s readiness in Season 1, Kaitlyn gets involved in a kidnapping plot in Season 2.
The kidnapping involved a U.S. congressional representative taken by unknown assailants, which Kaitlyn and Joe tie back to Pablo Carrillo and his associates. The more the show progresses, the more hands-on Kaitlyn becomes. At last glance, she joined Joe and the others during the raid on Pablo’s compound in Mexico and will likely have an even more substantial role in Season 3.
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Morgan Freeman as Edwin Mullins
The great movie star Morgan Freeman (Shawshank Redemption, Million Dollar Baby) lends the necessary gravitas to play the U.S. Secretary of State Edward Mullins in Lioness. As the head of the U.S. State Department, Mullins is the chief advisor to the President on foreign affairs. Mullins works directly with Kaitlyn Meade, several NSA advisors, and the POTUS’s Chief of Staff.
Mullins also empowers CIA Deputy Director Byron Westfield to guide missions abroad, which dramatically backfires in Season 2. Between Freeman, Kidman, and Saldana, Special Ops elevates above most TV dramas and ascends to cinematic storytelling. To his credit, Freeman never tips his hand whether he’s a villain or hero in the show, operating in the shadowy gray area between both.
Michael Kelly as Byron Westfield
Michael Kelly (House of Cards, The Penguin) depicts Byron Westfield in Special Ops: Lioness. Byron is the Deputy Director of Operations for the CIA and Kaitlyn Meade’s direct superior. Byron also has the ear of Mullins and the U.S. President, meaning he has more power and influence than almost everyone in Joe’s orbit. Of course, absolute power corrupts absolutely, and eyes must be kept on Byron’s manipulation.
Having graduated from recurring to main character from Season 1 to 2, viewers can expect to see more of Byron when Lioness returns. Given his past, Byron has more ulterior motives and hidden agendas than anyone, which could compromise Joe and her team. The last time Byron was seen, he was lamenting how little change CIA agents make despite the horrible things they’re asked to do in the name of freedom.
Genesis Rodriguez as Josephina Carillo
Genesis Rodriguez (The Umbrella Academy, Time After Time) joined the Lioness Season 2 cast as Captain Josephina Carillo, the newest Lioness team member chosen due to her family ties to Mexican drug cartels. Josie’s father, Pablo, is a drug runner and money launderer who the U.S. targets in Season 2.
As Josie betrays her family to gain crucial intelligence about the kidnapped member of Congress, she falls for Cruz, which blurs the line between business and pleasure. Purposefully chosen to join the Lioness team, Josie uses her experience as an Apache helicopter pilot for the U.S. Army to complete her missions safely. However, her loyalties are drastically tested when she must bring her family to justice. Facing tragedy in the Season 2 finale, Josie is bound to assume a larger role ahead.
Special Ops: Lioness is available to stream on Paramount+
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
