Lioness
2023
Original language: English
- drama
- war & politics
The story
Cruz Manuelos, a rough-around-the-edges but passionate young Marine, is recruited to join the CIA's Lioness Engagement Team to help bring down a terrorist organization from within. Joe, the station chief of the Lioness program, is tasked with training, managing and leading her female undercover operatives.
What it’s like
Lioness has the gritty, desaturated look of a modern prestige action series: sun-bleached desert exteriors, dusty compounds, and cold, flat fluorescent interiors in safe houses and briefing rooms, all shot with a restless handheld camera that stays close to its operatives' faces. Shadows and fast cuts build tension, and the score leans on low synth pulses and sparse percussion that swell during raids and drop away to near silence in quiet, watchful stretches. The vibe is taut, controlled and quietly heavy, the sort of sun-baked unease that suits a late-night binge with the lights down. Pacing alternates between slow surveillance and sudden bursts of action, and the emotional register stays guarded, with the people's arcs following a young Marine learning to trust a team and a station chief learning to hand over control. Violence is present and sometimes sharp, with gunfire, explosions and the aftermath of attacks shown directly, but it is not gratuitous and gore is limited. Sexual content is minimal. This is for viewers who enjoy spy thrillers with real operational texture, ensemble loyalty, and tense, grounded set pieces rather than cozy escapism.
More TV shows like Lioness
Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved Lionessand we’ll explain which ones fit you.
