Taylor Sheridan’s new action thriller storms into the world’s most-watched shows

Between Yellowstone and its sprawling web of spin-offs, Sheridan has done more for the streamer than most of its marketing departments combined. But as much as his cattle-rustling neo-westerns have dominated the conversation, his most full-tilt action outing, Lioness, is now officially leading the charge.

Lioness Season 3 hit Paramount+ and Paramount Network on 2 August and shot straight to the top spot globally.

That’s right, after what felt like an endless two-year wait and a flurry of adrenaline-pumped teasers, Lioness Season 3 is finally out. It only took the premiere episode to push the series straight to number one on Paramount+ worldwide, which—given how crowded streaming schedules are in 2026—is no minor feat. For anyone lagging behind because they lost a weekend to the Yellowstone prequels, you’re not alone. Before the new season even dropped, fans were already rewatching the first two seasons, bumping Lioness into the global top 10. Now, it’s quite literally at the top of the mountain.

The Story—High-Stakes Spies and Complications

If you’ve somehow managed to avoid a single Lioness trailer by living under a rock, the series follows Joe McNamara (Zoe Saldaña in top form), the hard-as-nails boss of the CIA’s Lioness programme. The agency recruits female operatives for deep infiltration assignments—think: worming their way into high-profile targets’ lives, then helping line up hits. Standard spy stuff, Sheridan-style, which is to say, heavy on action with more than a bit of personal mess dragging everyone down. Every episode is basically a tutorial in how to balance work drama and dysfunctional home life, and nobody comes away clean.

• Zoe Saldaña as Joe McNamara
• Laysla De Oliveira
• Dave Annable
• Stephanie Nur
• Genesis Rodriguez
• Morgan Freeman
• Nicole Kidman
• Jill Wagner
• LaMonica Garrett
• Michael Kelly
• Bruce McGill
• Max Martini

Yes, you read that right—Freeman and Kidman, along with just about every gritty screen presence you could hope to cram into one show. The cast list is a who's who of "oh, it’s them" moments.

Sheridan Strikes Again

Season 3 isn’t just big on viewership; it’s scored a solid 75% on Rotten Tomatoes out of the gate, which—let’s be blunt—is about as good as these things get in the streaming age. There’s not an avalanche of audience reviews yet, but with all the renewed bingeing, that’ll fill in soon enough. Sheridan fans apparently aren’t going anywhere. And it’s getting to the point where if Paramount+ actually did change its name to the Taylor Sheridan Streaming Experience, nobody would blink.

Season 4? All Signs Point to Yes

On to the big question: how much longer does the Lioness run go? Officially, Paramount hasn’t put out word on a fourth season. But if we’re being realistic, the odds look solid. The numbers are hefty, the story hasn’t backed itself into a corner, and even cast members are already dropping not-so-subtle hints. Jill Wagner put it about as plainly as possible, saying:

We’re going to get Lioness Season 4.