Zoe Saldaña has spent three seasons navigating the dangerous world of “Lioness,” and the Oscar-winning actress says one Taylor Sheridan universe is plenty for her.
Saldaña, who stars as CIA operative Joe McNamara, has made it clear that the demanding television role leaves little room for another Sheridan project. As the series lead, her responsibilities begin well before production gets underway and continue through long days on set.
The workload appears to be part of what makes the character both rewarding and exhausting. Saldaña has described playing Joe as the most challenging performance of her career, even acknowledging that she questioned whether she could handle everything required of her heading into the show’s third season.
Still, the demanding experience has also produced a strong professional relationship with Sheridan. After three seasons together, Saldaña believes the writer and producer understands what she brings to the production, including her reliability, determination and willingness to speak her mind.
That relationship extends to Saldaña’s appreciation for the way Sheridan created Joe.
Rather than building the character around conventional expectations about gender, Saldaña believes the role succeeds because Joe is first presented as a capable and complicated human being. That approach has allowed the actress to tackle a character whose authority, vulnerabilities and responsibilities drive the story.
For Saldaña, that makes portraying one of Sheridan’s female leads especially meaningful. It also demonstrates how roles written around character and ability can create opportunities for a broader range of performers.
But admiration for Sheridan’s work does not mean Saldaña is searching for another assignment in his expanding television world. “Lioness” already demands substantial preparation and commitment from its star, and for now, Joe McNamara appears to be more than enough.
The third season concluded September 20, with Joe’s professional and personal worlds colliding as the dangers surrounding her CIA career increasingly affected her family and marriage.
Whether Saldaña will have another season of those challenges remains unresolved. At the time of the report, Paramount+ had not announced a fourth season of “Lioness.”
For an actress who has already tackled some of Hollywood’s biggest franchises, Saldaña’s comments offer a reminder that sometimes the strongest career move is not adding another job. It is knowing exactly how much one demanding role deserves.
