Discover The Best Movies and TV Shows Like Lioness To Binge Watch

Created by Taylor Sheridan, *Special Ops: Lioness* follows the high-stakes, covert world of the CIA’s Lioness program, which uses undercover female operatives to infiltrate and dismantle dangerous terrorist organizations from within. Driven by relentless ambition and a haunting sense of duty, CIA senior officer Joe leads the program, balancing her grueling, classified missions with a fracturing home life as her marriage and relationship with her rebellious daughter steadily unravel.The first mission centers on Cruz Manuelos, a fierce and resilient young Marine escaping an abusive past. Recruited for her raw survival instincts and lack of digital footprint, Cruz undergoes brutal psychological and physical training. Her handlers insert her as an undercover operative tasked with befriending Aaliyah, the wealthy, sheltered daughter of a billionaire oil tycoon suspected of secretly financing global terrorism. As Cruz immerses herself in luxury to get close to her target, the lines between her manufactured persona and genuine emotion begin to blur. A complex, intimate dynamic develops between Cruz and Aaliyah, forcing Cruz to constantly suppress her growing moral conflicts. The tension escalates as Joe orchestrates a perilous wedding-day strike in Mallorca to eliminate the terrorist patriarch, sacrificing deep-cover assets and pushing Cruz to her absolute psychological breaking point.In the subsequent season, the threat shifts closer to home as a prominent American oil executive is kidnapped by a ruthless cartel backed by foreign adversaries. With the geopolitical stakes higher than ever, Joe is forced to draft a new operative, Josie, diving back into the treacherous cycle of deceit. Meanwhile, Cruz struggles with severe PTSD, isolated and deeply resentful of the agency that used her. Joe faces intense political crossfire from her superiors, Kaitlyn Meade and CIA Director Morgan Freeman, who demand results regardless of the human collateral damage. As the CIA tracks the cartel's movements across the border, Joe launches a desperate rescue mission in Mexico, relying on her elite quick-reaction force to execute a chaotic, blood-soaked extraction. Back home, Joe’s husband Neil desperately tries to hold their family together amidst the constant barrage of classified lies. The operation succeeds, but the ultimate cost is devastatingly high. Joe is left battered and reflective, questioning the true cost of her patriotism. The series paints a grim, gritty portrait of modern warfare, exploring the heavy toll exacted on the women who fight the shadows, forever trapped between the ruthless demands of national security and the desperate yearning for a normal human life.