Blu-ray Review: SPECIAL OPS: LIONESS – SEASON 1

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Jan 22 Posted by Kyle Nolan in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

CIA operative Joe (Zoe Saldaña) is in charge of a unique Special Ops program called Lioness. Her team locates the wives, girlfriends, and daughters of high-value targets and places female operatives close to them, waiting for the opportunity to take out their target. Providing surveillance, backup, and protection for the embedded “Lioness”, and helping to safely extract her when the mission is complete or compromised is the QRF (Quick Reaction Force) team. Joe’s QRF team consists of an elite quad of soliders—Two Cups (James Jordan), Tucker (LaMonica Garrett), Tex (Jonah Wharton), Randy (Austin Hébert), and team leader Bobby (Jill Wagner). They are like a family, and would do anything to protect one another and their Lioness. Unfortunately, Joe’s latest asset was compromised and captured while undercover, and this has left her a bit frazzled and wary about taking on another.

An opportunity to take town a high value suspected terrorist presents itself, and the Lioness team is called into action. Joe enlists new recruit Cruz Manuelos (Laysla De Oliveira, Locke & Key), a fourth-year Marine who aced all of her physical and mental exams, but is a rookie when it comes to undercover work. Joe is determined not to make the same mistake that got her last asset killed, and puts Cruz through the ringer to make sure she can handle what she’s about to face.

Cruz’s mission is to befriend Aaliyah Amrohi (Stephanie Nur), the daughter of the target, and wait for the opportunity to take out her father. Due to her complicated past, Cruz has learned to put on a tough exterior, but for this mission she’s going to need to allow herself to be vulnerable and honest. She’s not used to Aaliyah’s world of wealth, and doesn’t really fit in with Aaliyah’s snobby, two-faced friends. However, as Cruz gets closer to Aaliyah and the two open up to one another, a genuine friendship starts to form, and she begins to question whether or not she will be able to go through with the mission.

This mission is more of a long con, and so while Cruz embeds herself into Aaliyah’s life, the QRF team is also sent on other, more action-packed raids and missions. Joe reports to Kaitlyn Meade (Nicole Kidman), a high-ranking CIA official in the Lioness program, who’s very hands-on. While she’s a friend and cares about Joe’s wellbeing, she also has people she needs to report to—such as CIA Deputy Director Byron Westfield (Michael Kelly) and Secretary of State Edwin Mullins (Morgan Freeman). She is constantly putting out the fires, and dealing with the political fallout from the actions of Joe’s team, and those of Joe’s more renegade colleague, Kyle (Thad Luckinbill).

Meanwhile, the series also follows the personal drama and home life of the characters. Joe and her husband, pediatric oncology surgeon Neal (Dave Annable), still love each other very much, but the weight of their jobs has definitely affected both their marriage, and the lives of their two young daughters—especially rebellious 14-year-old Kate (Hannah Love), who resents her mother for disappearing for 6 months at a time. We also see how the job affects life for Kaitlyn and her husband Errol (Martin Donovan), a high ranking financial investor with just as many secrets as his wife.

Special Ops: Lioness is the latest series from prolific TV writer Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone, Mayor of Kingstown, 1923, Tulsa King, 1883), and is based on a real CIA program. As the series opens, we find the characters in the middle of a battle zone, trying to extract a compromised asset. At first I thought this is what the entire series was going to be about—soldiers in battle. However, it quickly switches gears into much more of a character drama, following the home lives of Joe and her husband, and the backstory of what led Cruz to become a Marine. We also get a slow burn as Cruz embeds herself and often has to think on her feet. The season does have some more action-packed scenes with the QRF team going on raids, helping out with an ill-conceived side mission that goes awry, and the explosive final extraction, but in general, the series is more character-driven than action-driven. I found the relationship between Joe and her husband to be fascinating, and the series does a nice job of showing the stress that their situation has no only on them, but also their teenage daughter. They are constantly trying to balance things while dealing with issues both at work and at home. We also see Cruz thrown into this new situation and forced to lower her guard in order to win over her mark, but this is not something she is used to doing, and it’s causing her to reevaluate things. The viewer is even made to feel sympathetic for the billionaire’s daughter, Aaliyah, who is in a terrible position herself, looking at a potential future devoid of any free will. And finally, there is all of the political drama between the higher-ups in the government. I was quite impressed with this writing—these discussions, trade-offs and justifications that come up feel so wrong and yet so realistic and likely accurate.

I binged all 8 episodes of the season over the weekend, and found the first season to be quite satisfying. It has a nice blend of action, tension and drama, and does an excellent job of fleshing out the characters and making them feel multi-dimensional. The cast is amazing—not just the huge powerhouse names like Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman and Morgan Freeman, but also Laysla De Oliveira and Dave Annable, who are given some very emotional scenes, as well as the QRF team members who having this great chemistry and feel like a time that’s been together for a long time. The first season tells a complete story—the series could end here and it would feel finished. However, I would certainly welcome a season 2!

Paramount Home Entertainment has released this first season of Special Ops: Lioness on Blu-ray and DVD. I was sent the Blu-ray for review, and the presentation looks and sounds excellent. The picture is clean and clear, with a solid level of detail, whether the action is taking place on a sunny beach, or during a nighttime raid. The audio track provides clear dialogue throughout, and makes nice use of the stereo and surround channels to put the viewer in the middle of the action..

The eight episodes are spread across 3 discs, which are placed on either side of a standard-sized Blu-ray keepcase (discs 2 and 3 are stacked on the right peg), and covered with a glossy carboard slipcover. The discs contain over 100 minutes of interviews and behind-the-scenes featurettes with the cast and crew.

What’s Included:

Episodes: (5:53:37)

All 8 episodes of season 1:
Disc 1 (2:07:41): “Sacrificial Soldiers”, “The Beating”, “Bruise Like a Fist”
Disc 2 (2:01:14): “The Choice of Failure”, “Truth Is the Shrewdest Lie”, “The Lie Is the Truth”
Disc 3 (1:44:42): “Wish the Fight Away”, “Gone Is the Illusion of Order”
1080p / Widescreen 2.00:1
Audio: English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD, German 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English SDH, German, French

Extras:

Behind The Story (52:11)
Along with each episode is a “Behind the Story” featurette going into more depth on each episode with the cast and crew. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with stars Zoe Saldaña (“Joe”), Michael Kelly (“Byron Westfield”), Laysla De Oliveira (“Cruz”), James Jordan (“Two Cups”), LaMonica Garrett (“Tucker”), Jonah Wharton (“Tex”), Dave Annable (“Neal”), Stephanie Nur (“Aaliyah”), Nicole Kidman (“Kaitlyn Meade”), Austin Hébert (“Randy”) & Morgan Freeman (“Edwin Mullins”), and military advisor Jared Shaw. These can be found on the discs with their respective episodes. Select from:
- Sacrificial Soldiers (7:21)
- The Beating (7:14)
- Bruise Like a Fist (4:11)
- The Choice of Failure (6:16)
- Truth Is the Shrewdest Lie (4:29)
- The Lie Is the Truth (7:43)
- Wish the Fight Away (7:25)
- Gone Is the Illusion of Order (7:30)
Embedded With Special Ops: Lioness (21:38)
The cast and crew discuss the series, and how the Lioness program blurs the lines between geopolitics, espionage and the military. They also talk about how they got involved in the project, casting the series, preparing for and researching their roles, working with Taylor Sheridan, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with executive producer/writer Taylor Sheridan, executive producers Nicole Kidman & Zoe Saldaña, and actors Morgan Freeman, Michael Kelly, Laysla De Oliveira, Stephanie Nur, Dave Annable, Jill Wagner (“Bobby”), LaMonica Garrett & James Jordan.
Battle Forged Calm: Tactics & Training (9:02)
A look at the military training the cast went through to make their performances as authentic as possible. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with military advisor Jared Shaw, armorer Russell Cannon, and stars Jill Wagner, LaMonica Garrett, James Jordan, Jonah Wharton & Austin Hébert.
Inside The Series (19:00)
A look at the cast and characters, working with Taylor Sheridan, the requirements to becoming a Lioness, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with stars Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, Morgan Freeman, Michael Kelly, LaMonica Garrett, Dave Annable, James Jordan, Jonah Wharton, Austin Hébert, Stephanie Nur, Laysla De Oliveira & Jill Wagner. (Some of this footage also appears in the previous featurettes.)

Final Thoughts:

My Rating

Episodes:

Video:

Audio:

Extras:

Highly Recommended

Special Ops: Lioness is a really entertaining series with interesting, well-developed characters. The first season tells a complete story from start to finish, and finds a nice blend between tense character drama and exciting action sequences. It is a really well-written show, and I would happily watch another season. Paramount’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds great, and includes a nice selection of bonus material. This is an easy recommendation for Taylor Sheridan fans, fans of the cast, or anyone looking for a solid new drama.