ACADEMY® AND EMMY® AWARD WINNER NICOLE KIDMAN TO STAR IN AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCE PARAMOUNT+ ORIGINAL SERIES “LIONESS”
Kidman Joins Previously Announced Leads Zoe Saldaña and Laysla De Oliveira in Academy Award Nominee Taylor Sheridan’s New Espionage Series
Series Produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios Exclusively for Paramount+
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| Photo credit: Ryan Pfluger |
Jan. 5, 2023 – Paramount+ today announced that Academy Award® winner Nicole Kidmanis set to star in the upcoming original series LIONESS alongside series leads Zoe Saldaña and Laysla De Oliveira. As previously announced, Kidman will also serve as an executive producer under her production company, Blossom Films. From Academy Award nominee Taylor Sheridan, LIONESS is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios exclusively for Paramount+.
LIONESS is based on a real-life CIA program and follows Cruz Manuelos (De Oliveira), a rough-around-the-edges but passionate young Marine recruited to join the CIA’s Lioness Engagement Team to help bring down a terrorist organization from within. Saldaña will play Joe, the station chief of the Lioness program tasked with training, managing and leading her female undercover operatives.
Kidman will play Kaitlyn Meade, the CIA’s senior supervisor who has had a long career of playing the politics game. She must juggle the trappings of being a woman in the high-ranking intelligence community, a wife who longs for the attention she herself can’t even give and a mentor to someone veering suspiciously close to the same rocky road she’s found herself on.
Academy Award, Golden Globe®, SAG Award® and Emmy Award® winner Nicole Kidman is best known for her critically acclaimed film work, including “The Hours,” which garnered her an Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA Award for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf. She also received Academy Award nominations for her work in “Being the Ricardos,” “Moulin Rouge!,” “Rabbit Hole” and “Lion.” Her other feature credits include “To Die For,” “The Others,” “Eyes Wide Shut,” “Cold Mountain,” “Birth,” “The Paper Boy,” “Nine,” “Killing of a Sacred Deer,” “The Beguiled,” “Boy Erased,” “Aquaman,” “Bombshell” and “The Prom.”
In television, Kidman received Emmy, Golden Globe, Critics Choice and Screen Actors Guild Awards for her portrayal of Celeste in “Big Little Lies.” She also starred in and received several nominations for her roles in “Hemingway and Gellhorn” and “The Undoing.” Additionally, Kidman starred in and served as co-executive producer on “Nine Perfect Strangers” and “Roar.”
Kidman most recently appeared in Robert Eggers’ film “The Northman” and wrapped production on an untitled romantic comedy co- starring Joey King and Zac Efron. Kidman will also star in the upcoming drama series “Expats.”
LIONESS will also star series regulars Jill Wagner as Bobby, a CIA Special Activities Division operative; Dave Annable as Neil, Joe’s husband and the father of their two daughters; LaMonica Garrett and James Jordan as Tucker and Two Cups, respectively, both experienced CIA Special Activities Division operatives on Joe’s team; Austin Hébert as Randy, a tech specialist in charge of surveillance; Hannah Love Lanier as Kate, Joe and Neil’s daughter; Stephanie Nur as Aaliyah, the daughter of a billionaire businessman with ties to terrorism; and Jonah Wharton as Tex, another member of Joe’s team.
The series is executive produced by Taylor Sheridan, David C. Glasser, Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari, David Hutkin, Jill Wagner, Geyer Kosinski, Michael Malone and John Hillcoat.
LIONESS is the latest addition to Sheridan’s growing slate on Paramount+, which includes 1883, MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN, TULSA KING and 1923 as well as the upcoming series BASS REEVES and LAND MAN.
About Paramount+
Paramount+, a direct-to-consumer digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service, combines live sports, breaking news and a mountain of entertainment. The premium streaming service features an expansive library of original series, hit shows and popular movies across every genre from world-renowned brands and production studios, including BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and the Smithsonian Channel. The service is also the streaming home to unmatched sports programming, including every CBS Sports event, from golf to football to basketball and more, plus exclusive streaming rights for major sports properties, including some of the world’s biggest and most popular soccer leagues. Paramount+ also enables subscribers to stream local CBS stations live across the U.S. in addition to the ability to stream CBS News Network for 24/7 news and CBS Sports HQ for sports news and analysis.
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About Paramount Media Networks & MTV Entertainment Studios
Paramount Media Networks & MTV Entertainment Studios is one of the preeminent media entities in the world that connects with global audiences through its nine iconic brands – MTV, Comedy Central, VH1, CMT, Pop, Logo, The Smithsonian Channel, Paramount Network and TV Land – and its Studios arm which produces acclaimed series and movies as well as award-winning documentaries through MTV Documentary Films.
About 101 Studios
101 Studios is a global entertainment company dedicated to the acquisition, financing, development, production and distribution of high-caliber, creator-driven storytelling. 101 empowers content creators through first-class collaboration and innovation. On the television side, 101 produces Taylor Sheridan’s Emmy nominated series “Yellowstone,” “Mayor of Kingstown,” “1883” and the upcoming “George & Tammy,” “Tulsa King,” “Lioness” and “Bass Reeves.” 101 Studios oversees and manages the newly formed Sports Illustrated Studios, a content platform based on the most compelling stories, characters and moments in sports past, present and future. Upcoming projects include “Paradise Found” based on the true story of high school football coach Rick Prinz; a docuseries about the sexual abuse and cover-up at Ohio State University, co-produced by George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures; and the docuseries “Covers,” a behind-the-scenes look at Sports Illustrated’s top cover stories of all time. SI Studios has also exclusively partnered with iHeartMedia to create and distribute original podcasts through the iHeartPodcast network. On the film side, past releases include “The Current War: Director’s Cut,” the Sundance Audience award winner “Burden” as well as the family comedy “The War with Grandpa.”
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