Paramount+'s spy thriller Lioness has become one of the world's biggest streaming hits, with its third season currently topping the platform's charts. Created by Taylor Sheridan, the series blends the tension of Homeland with the visceral action of Sicario, following Zoe Saldaña as CIA officer Joe McNamara, who runs a covert unit of female operatives infiltrating dangerous targets from within.

The show, inspired by a real CIA programme, has evolved across its run: earlier seasons followed operatives such as Cruz Manuelos (Laysla De Oliveira) and Josie Carrillo (Genesis Rodriguez) going undercover against oil-funded terrorists and a Mexican cartel, while Season 3 shifts to a more action-driven style and, for the first time, tells its story across two timelines as the CIA confronts Russian intelligence operating on US soil. Throughout, the series emphasises the brutal personal cost borne by Lioness agents, who train relentlessly, sacrifice their identities, and receive no guarantee of rescue if their covers are blown.