Release Date and Streaming Platform
Season 3 of the CBS procedural drama Lioness premiered on February 4, 2025, and consists of 13 episodes airing weekly through May 2025. The series streams exclusively on Paramount+ in the United States, with new episodes available the day after broadcast on CBS. The show is produced by CBS Studios and stars Morgan Freeman's production company, Revelations Entertainment, alongside creator Taylor Sheridan's team.
Paramount+ offers both ad-supported and ad-free tiers, with the full season available for subscribers immediately after the finale airs. International distribution is handled by Paramount Global's international networks, with the series available in Canada on CTV and in select European markets on Sky Atlantic. The premiere drew 4.2 million total viewers across CBS and Paramount+ in its first week, according to initial Nielsen and Paramount reporting.
Cast and Character Details
The main cast returns with Zoë Saldaña as Helen Mira Marquez, the CIA operations officer at the center of the program, and Dave Annable as Joe, her handler and romantic interest. Supporting roles include Laysla De Oliveira as Richelle, a new recruit in the program, and James Murray as the recurring CIA official overseeing the operation. The ensemble also features recurring characters from intelligence and defense contractor backgrounds, grounding the narrative in real-world agency structures.
New additions to the cast in season 3 include actors portraying analysts and field operatives tied to the expanded scope of the Lioness program. The character dynamics continue to explore the ethical boundaries of using women in deep-cover intelligence operations, a premise inspired by the real CIA program called "Euryale" that operated during the Iraq War. The show's casting emphasizes a mix of established television actors and newer faces to reflect the hierarchical structure of the intelligence community.
Plot and Production Context
The season 3 storyline follows Helen Marquez as the Lioness program expands its operations beyond traditional combat zones into a corporate espionage and cyber-intelligence context. The narrative introduces a new private military contractor antagonist, drawing on real-world trends of defense companies like Blackwater, now known as Academi, and their role in modern conflict zones. The plot continues to explore the program's origins, referencing the classified CIA initiative that first used female operatives for long-term undercover assignments.
Production for season 3 took place primarily in Atlanta, Georgia, with additional location shooting in New Mexico and Washington, D.C., to represent operational bases and overseas settings. The series is filmed by CBS Studios, with Taylor Sheridan and John Linson serving as executive producers alongside Zoë Saldaña. The show's technical advisors include former intelligence officers, and the scripts incorporate procedural details about surveillance, encryption, and field operations that align with publicly documented CIA training methods.
Real-World Inspiration
The core premise of Lioness is loosely based on the CIA's "Euryale" program, a real initiative that used female operatives to infiltrate terrorist networks during the early 2000s. The program's existence was first publicly reported by investigative outlets and later confirmed through declassified documents and interviews with former operatives.
Production Companies
The series is a joint production between CBS Studios, 101 Studios, and Revelations Entertainment, with Taylor Sheridan's overall deal at MTV Entertainment Studios providing additional creative oversight and resources for the production.