Special Ops: Lioness (2023)

Watchseries; I have to laugh at the all the down-voting tough guys here, blathering on that no woman could ever..., it's impossible, blah blah blah. They're the type of men that drove so many women into the overcrowded women's shelter featured early on in the first episode.

It says it on the tin, "Inspired by an actual US Military program...as the tip of the CIA's spear in the war on terror." With the extensive use of military hardware and footage, it obviously has the backing of the US military.

If Audie Murphy hadn't been widely lionized and publicized as a winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor, how many people would believe that a 5' 4" grade school dropout, weighing 112 lb, was America's greatest ever WWII hero?

How soon these tough keyboard warriors forget that the CIA operative who tracked down Bin Ladin was a woman who was subjected to much of the same criticism and sexist stereotyping that inspires these 'military experts' to give this show one or two stars.

It's not the best 'war on terror' show I've seen, but it's pretty good and if inspires at least one young woman to join the armed forces and achieve even some of the feats shown here, that's a good thing for America and womanhood around the world.

I have to laugh at the all the down-voting tough guys here, blathering on that no woman could ever..., it's impossible, blah blah blah. They're the type of men that drove so many women into the overcrowded women's shelter featured early on in the first episode.

It says it on the tin, "Inspired by an actual US Military program...as the tip of the CIA's spear in the war on terror." With the extensive use of military hardware and footage, it obviously has the backing of the US military.

If Audie Murphy hadn't been widely lionized and publicized as a winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor, how many people would believe that a 5' 4" grade school dropout, weighing 112 lb, was America's greatest ever WWII hero?

How soon these tough keyboard warriors forget that the CIA operative who tracked down Bin Ladin was a woman who was subjected to much of the same criticism and sexist stereotyping that inspires these 'military experts' to give this show one or two stars.

It's not the best 'war on terror' show I've seen, but it's pretty good and if inspires at least one young woman to join the armed forces and achieve even some of the feats shown here, that's a good thing for America and womanhood around the world.

Special Ops: Lioness watchseries. Mr. Sheridan knows how to bring us into testosterone-fueled, macho worlds without cliche and, seemingly, without agenda. It is what it is. No apologies necessary. His characters are always grounded and he's extremely adept at casting. But to be great you need to write good parts for women. The writing needs to be as good, if not better, than it is for men. Dudes are simple. Women are smarter, more complex. Beth on Yellowstone (great character and performance) the barrel riders, the lone female ranch hand (the fantastic Jen Landon as Teeter) all great female characters that fit in the world of the story in a natural, unforced way. They're strong and compelling. Not just 'the partner of...' or T & A. He stepped up his game with the excellent character Faith Hill crushed in "1883" followed by Dame Mirren in the misfire that was "1923". Now we have Zoe Saldana, doing some of the best work of her career. I absolutely buy her as CIA boss in an open marriage (nice touch). I buy De Oliveira as a broken woman with burning rage that won't quit and thank you, thank you, thank you writers/Dir./producers for NOT letting her get the best of a fellow male soldier with an additional one-hundred pounds of muscle. Veracity first and foremost! I think her character is way more interesting if she is someone who has to be knocked out cold or just overpowered on the ground before she'll quit. Now let's talk about Jill Wagner or should I say her hair? What an about face! From schmaltzy Hallmark dreck to super-badass special forces? I'm buying it. Special mention: Ms. Lanier as the nasty teen daughter. I await the arc laid out for this loose canon as long as they continue to steer clear of teen angst cliche. Good actor, it could get interesting...

This is looks expensive and like it must be good but unfortunately falls flat, tethering on the edge of "so bad it's hilarious." I was hoping Morgan Freeman in the poster could come through and save it but he hasn't come up in the first few episodes.

Lower your expectations and brace for clichés. Characters lack depth, their motives are haphazard, and poetic speeches feel forced. Jarring transitions and erratic editing disrupt the narrative flow. Despite its promising premise, "Lioness" is a mishmash of overused tropes and underdeveloped characters. It tries to roar but ends up whimpering, more likely to induce cringes than thrills.

Special Ops: Lioness is one of those shows you get if the writer is just watching a couple of shows or movies of the same genre and has no other experience whatsoever with the world and material and ends up with just adding up one cliche after another, especially character- and dialogue-wise we just get stereotyping deluxe. Also, like other reviewers already stated, there are too many mistakes to the plot to make the story convincing. On top, the personal drama (kids) slows the show down and does not add anything substantial or interesting. On the plus side we get a solid production and a good enough dose of suspense - if you are able to shut down or anesthetize your logical side of the brain. To sum it up: no match for movies or shows like Zero Dark Thirty, The Kingdom, Sicario or the first seasons of Homeland but okay for a little snack in between - if you don't expect something too tasty or too elaborate.

Why, why do they always insist on having one teen character who is continuously angry and acts irrationally? It has *never* done any TV show any good. Zoe Saldana's daughter is full-on stereotype, all the sorry-arse angry teenager tropes bundled in one character. One minute you are watching a show about secret operatives in the Middle East, the next you are subjected to never-ending scenes of family turmoil caused by one selfish teenager that *no one in the world cares about*.

My advice: fast forward all the scenes where she appears. They add absolutely nothing - zip - nada - zilch to the storyline. Skipping them will do wonders for your blood pressure.

Special Ops: Lioness had me hooked from the very first episode. This is the next great series by the mastermind of Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone, 1923, 1883, Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King, etc). I would watch this series if I knew nothing more than Sheridan created it. Then add in the fact of all the star power starring in it...Zoe Saldana, Morgan Freeman, Nicole Kidman, Michael Kelly, Laysla De Oliveira, etc. While this isn't the best show from Sheridan, it's still very entertaining and worth watching. Yes, some of it's unbelievable but if you can just turn your brain off and enjoy it for what it is you'll have a good time watching this. The only negative so far is that you have to wait a week between episodes, I like it better when they release the whole season at one time so you can binge it.