Zoe Saldaña is warning Lioness fans that Joe McNamara’s toughest mission in season 3 may not happen on a battlefield.
The Oscar winner, 48, is returning as the elite operative in Taylor Sheridan’s Paramount+ thriller, but this time, Joe’s personal life is getting pulled directly into the danger zone.
Saldaña believes that is exactly what makes Sheridan’s storytelling so addictive.
“I think that [Joe] is a woman that was conditioned very early on in her life to take on a great deal of responsibility, and as long as she convinces herself with the woman that she stares at in the mirror, that she can do it all, she’s gonna be okay,” Saldaña told People magazine at the season 3 premiere in New York.
“What Taylor does so beautiful is showing us, by challenging Joe with unexpected events in her personal life but also in her work life, that maybe she can’t [do it all]. And it makes you question whether or not that’s bad, if you can’t do it all,” she added.
Season 3 promises to bring hidden networks, betrayals and enemies closer to Joe than ever, forcing her to balance duty with family.
Saldaña also sees a tiny piece of her own life in Joe’s struggle. As a working mom, she said her challenges are “similarities” to the character’s — just considerably less intense.
“The only thing is that mine are much more diluted,” she said, explaining that her children are getting older and becoming more vocal about where they want to live.
“You’re here today, you’re somewhere else tomorrow. And it’s not necessarily for every family…,” she continued. “I’m only dealing with, like, one decimal of what Joe has to deal with. I think that she handles it with so much grace.”
And when Kaitlyn asks Joe, “This isn’t the end of a fight. It’s the start of one. Are you up for it?” Joe has one answer: “I’m up for it.”
Lioness season 3 releases Sundays on Paramount+.
