Taylor Sheridan has practically become part of the furniture over at Paramount+ at this point. If the man isn't writing or producing half the slate – reference his handiwork across Landman, Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King, or Yellowstone – then apparently he fancies turning up in front of the camera as well. This summer, he’s been pulling double duty with Lioness, now into its third series, where he’s dusted off his character Cody Spears, CIA officer, after a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo last time round. In all honesty, it’s not the most obvious candidate for his return – Lioness has one of the oddest trajectories in his entire TV stable.
About the Series
The show’s big hook is Zoe Saldaña’s Joe McNamara, a CIA station chief with a knack for quietly running an all-female undercover ops network. It started life with a bit of a shrug from critics, scoring “meh” on Rotten Tomatoes, but clung on for a second season, which oddly enough got a much warmer response. Season 3 landed on 2 August 2026 and it’s managed what you might call “respectable”: currently 82% on the Tomatometer (from 11 reviews – not exactly a stampede, but more than nothing).
Lioness series 3 is now at the top of the Paramount+ global chart and has pulled in its highest ever audience rating: 93% on Popcornmeter from more than 50 reviews.
The real kicker here? The viewers are loving it. The audience score is sitting at 93% Popcornmeter (off the back of 50+ reviews), which actually trounces anything the show has managed in the past – the first two runs couldn’t even clear the mid-70s. Fans, rather than hedging, seem to be full throttle on this one, and more than a few have zeroed in on Sheridan himself turning up on screen.
A Reaction Turnaround
- Season One was met with a lukewarm critical handshake and mixed reviews.
- Season Two improved the show’s standing and reputation among both reviewers and viewers.
- Season Three arrived in August 2026 to noticeably stronger support from both camps, hitting 93% audience and 82% critical scores.
One five-star reviewer called it 'edge of the seat action the whole time… Sheridan does it again… plays a great role in it too. Zoe Saldana is amazing. One of my favourite shows to date!' Meanwhile, others are latching onto how easy the thing is to follow (despite the usual espionage-layer-cake plotting), and more than one has described the show as 'competence on display'. Sheridan popping up in a more significant role has not always gone down smoothly elsewhere, but here it’s a talking point on the positive end of the stick.
Even before Series 3 kicked off, Lioness was coasting into the Paramount+ Top 10 globally, powered purely by all those people speed-running rewatches (don’t ask me how they’ve got the time). Now that it’s out, it’s at the very top of the streamer’s chart – aided and abetted by word of mouth, no doubt.
For anyone keeping count, fresh episodes are dropping every Sunday, winding things up on 20 September. Plenty of time for more of those ‘favourite show’ reviews, or to see if the critics stick with their change of heart.