Sicario Meets Jack Ryan In Taylor Sheridan's 2-Part Action Series

Published Jul 16, 2026, 5:33 PM EDT

Essentially The Godfather with horses, Yellowstone blended a mob saga with Western tropes in the story of a billionaire ranching empire and the amoral family at its core. Over five seasons, Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone patriarch John Dutton cheated, lied, and killed to hold onto control of the sprawling titular setting, while his eternally feuding children Jamie, Beth, and Kayce vied for slices of the family’s fortune and its massive ranching business.

In the years since Yellowstone proved a breakout success for Sheridan, the writer/director diversified his output. As well as Yellowstone’s direct sequels, Dutton Ranch and Marshals, and its earlier prequels, 1883 and 1923, Sheridan also created the traditional historical Western Lawman: Bass Reeves, as well as the Neo-Western crime dramas Tulsa King and Mayor of Kingstown. Since then, his drama The Madison and thriller Landman both continued Sheridan’s exploration of Western tropes, making Paramount+’s hit spy thriller Special Ops: Lioness a unique anomaly in his canon.

Taylor Sheridan's Lioness Blends Jack Ryan’s Thrills With Sicario’s Informant Story

Essentially a blend of Prime Video’s Jack Ryan series and one of Sheridan’s earliest hit movies, the undercover drug trafficking thriller Sicario, Lioness centers on the titular clandestine CIA program. The show initially focuses on Zoe Saldaña’s Joe McNamara, an officer running the program as Lioness enlists female operatives and tasks them with infiltrating international criminal gangs and terrorist organizations through an unusual method.

The agents don’t get into direct contact with the villain themselves, but instead befriend their wives, girlfriends, and other close female associates, allowing the CIA operatives to earn intel on their operations without arousing suspicion. With a supporting cast that includes Laysla De Oliveira, Stephanie Nur, and Nicole Kidman, Lioness’s tense tale of an inexperienced agent befriending a terrorist financier’s daughter is as taut and unpredictable as Sheridan’s acclaimed screenplay for Sicario.

Lioness only got darker and more morally complex with its second season, expanding its story to new settings, much like the earlier spy series Jack Ryan. However, in terms of tone, the show is closer to The Terminal List, with a gritty, unsparing depiction of the deceit involved in professional espionage. Despite a starry supporting cast including Morgan Freeman, Lioness’s world of international intrigue is far from the glamorous escapism of a James Bond movie.

Lioness Stands Out Among Taylor Sheridan’s Sprawling TV Empire

As Lioness season 3’s release date approaches, it is clearer than ever before that the show stands out among Sheridan’s massive TV empire. All the creator’s other shows engage with Western mythology, settings, and story elements. In fact, many of his shows are simply straightforward Westerns, such as Lawman: Bass Reeves, 1883, and 1923.

Beyond those examples, Yellowstone, Marshals, Dutton Ranch, Tulsa King, Mayor of Kingstown, and even Landman are all Neo-Westerns that would, if they weren’t for their contemporary settings, be recognizable examples of the genre. Since Yellowstone has more spinoffs on the way and both Marshals and Dutton Ranch have already been renewed, it is clear that Sheridan’s name will remain synonymous with the Western genre for some time to come.

However, Lioness proves that this isn’t the only genre Sheridan can explore. With its daring blend of Sicario’s besieged informant protagonist and Jack Ryan’s tense spy thriller plotting, Lioness is evidence that the writer/director can succeed in other genres despite his prevailing interest in America’s oldest cultural obsession.