Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Special Ops: Lioness: Season One Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 22, 2024

If it feels like just about everything Paramount releases on TV these days somehow, someway, finagles the name "Taylor Sherridan" on the Blu-ray box or other advertising materials, that's because, well, they pretty much all do. He's been the golden cash cow for Paramount for a few years now, his Yellowstone and its various spinoffs becoming the gold standard for TV over the past few years, with name brand recognition spilling over into popular culture to a saturation point that puts on the same playing field as other recent, popular culture hit shows like Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones. Like Sheridan's Tulsa King and Mayor of Kingstown before it, Special Ops: Lioness: Season One is, structurally and visually, a far cry from the world of Yellowstone (in any of its timeframes), yet it's every bit as gritty and personal as all of his shows, here within the arena of covert ops, the war on terror, and other cutting edge narrative pieces that put the show on the front lines of today's headlines. The show satisfies basic criteria, but it lacks much in the way of novelty, playing with familiar feels and classical cadences that result in a very watchable, but also ultimately forgettable, entry in the long line of likeminded content.

Offical synopsis: From Taylor Sheridan, Co-Creator of Yellowstone, comes 'Special Ops: Lioness.' Inspired by an actual US Military program, follows the life of Joe (Zoe Saldaña) while she attempts to balance her personal and professional life as the tip of the CIA's spear in the war on terror. The Lioness Program, overseen by Kaitlyn Meade (Nicole Kidman) and Donald Westfield (Michael Kelly), enlists an aggressive Marine Raider named Cruz (Laysla DeOliveira) to operate undercover alongside Joe among the power brokers of State terrorism in the CIA's efforts to thwart the next 9/11.

Essentially, Special Ops: Lioness: Season One is something of a nuts and bolts military maneuverings and spy and espionage thriller kind of show, one that brings to mind a blend of some of the gritty military elements from films like Zero Dark Thirty while also playing like something out of a season of Jack Ryan or Reacher. The twist is the focus on the females, the "Lioness" program that has evolved from interrogation assistance with female captives to deep cover ops behind enemy lines. The show faithfully builds its plot around well-defined characters with legitimate backstories that develop from episode one forward. The audience becomes deeply invested in their fate, so the show is good there. The problem lies with the more or less generic construction around its surprisingly engaging character studies around their home and personal lives; it is otherwise content to simply wade through familiar action and undercover territory that fails to inspire much of a response. That the characters are carefully crafted makes the show worth watching, but otherwise expect a very rote military-style show that lacks vision for its core components.

The following episodes comprise season one. Summaries are provided courtesy of the Blu-ray packaging:

Disc One:

• Sacrificial Soldiers: Things go awry for Joe and her team during a mission out in the field; Joe is left devastated. Upon her return home, Joe's family life presents its own challenges. Cruz tries to escape a dangerous situation. Joe must choose a new recruit.
• The Beating: Joe continues her training with Cruz; her methods are questionable. Cruz starts to build a relationship with Aaliyah. Kate gets into a fight during her soccer game. Neal has to deliver difficult news to a patient.
• Bruise Like a Fist: Cruz is invited to spend the weekend with Aaliyah and her inner circle. Joe keeps Kaitlyn informed of Cruz's progress. Kyle comes to Joe desperate for help with an asset.

Disc Two:

• The Choice of Failure: Cruz is put in a compromising position while out with Aaliyah and friends in the Hamptons, causing Joe and Kaitlyn to doubt her. Kaitlyn and Westfield confront Kyle over what happened at the border, complicating things further for Joe and her team.
• Truth is the Shrewdest Lie: Joe and Neal deal with the aftermath of Kate's accident. Westfield and Kaitlyn deploy Joe's team to subdue a terrorist threat. Cruz's cover may be in jeopardy.
• The Lie Is the Truth: Aaliyah bonds with Cruz over a spa day. Bobby, Tex, Two Cups, Randy and Tucker confront a threat at the Safe House. Kaitlyn and Joe are scolded for the San Antonio mission in a debrief.

Disc Three:

• Wish the Fight Away: While shopping in Manhattan for the wedding, Aaliyah and Cruz get closer. Kate returns home only to say goodbye to her mom once again. Joe guides Cruz through internal struggle and doubt in completing the mission.
• Gone Is the Illusion of Order: Unforeseen circumstances leave the mission in jeopardy. A suspicious Eshan confronts Cruz before his wedding day. Joe and the team prepare for the worst.

Special Ops: Lioness: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Paramount releases Special Ops: Lioness: Season One to Blu-ray with a well-rounded 1080p transfer, albeit one that, like the show, can be labeled as "effective but forgettable." The image does everything right but nothing remarkably. It's a fairly standard digitally shot TV show on Blu-ray, presenting the viewing audience with good core details and fine colors, even in the darker and more tonally depressed worlds in which the show exists. Clarity is fine, presenting clothes, faces, and environments with crisp details but lacking the ability to really penetrate deeply and capture the sort of depth and tangible excellence of the best presentations. Noise if fairly commonplace, especially in low light, but rarely does it push so heavy as to be considered a nuisance. Color reproduction is fine within the show's subdued palette, which favors lower light and shades of brown and beige and green, though to be sure there are many examples that break the general mold and find pleasing saturation and vividness. Black levels are fine, as are skin tones. There are no real encode issues to report.

Special Ops: Lioness: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Once again the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack is on point but not remarkable in any way. The track offers good combat details and ambience, including heavy weapons fire and explosions that pack a decent enough wallop and plenty of stage stretch to saturate the listening area in firefight elements, but lacking the intensity, volume, and immersive realism to fully draw the listener in. Musical engagement pleases for width and depth, playing primarily along the front but finding some pleasing surround fold as well. Ambient details are nicely integrated and help to define both critical and noncritical elements with good placement and clarity. Dialogue does drive most of the show and presents with healthy front-center placement, faultless prioritization, and lifelike clarity.

Special Ops: Lioness: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Special Ops: Lioness: Season One contains extras on all three discs. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does ship with a non-embossed slipcover.

Disc One:

• Behind the Story (1080p): Episode-by-episode breakdowns that cover story lines, characters, and behind-the-scenes elements. Included are Sacrificial Soldiers (7:21), The Beating (7:14), and Bruise Like a Fist (4:11).

Disc Two:

• Behind the Story (1080p): Episode-by-episode breakdowns that cover story lines, characters, and behind-the-scenes elements. Included are The Choice of Failure (6:16), Truth Is the Shrewdest Lie (4:29), and The Lie Is the Truth (7:43).

Disc Three:

• Behind the Story (1080p): Episode-by-episode breakdowns that cover story lines, characters, and behind-the-scenes elements. Included are Wish the Fight Away (7:25) and Gone Is the Illusion of Order (7:30).
• Embedded with Special Ops: Lioness (1080p, 21:38): Exploring project genesis, casting and characters, story elements, characters, Taylor Sheridan's work on the show, and much more.
• Battle Forged Calm: Tactics & Training (1080p, 9:02): Exploring the physical and weapons training the cast received for the show.
• Inside the Series (1080p, 19:00): LaMonica Garrett hosts another piece that looks at characters, narratives, and more via interviews and behind the scenes footage that build the story of the show and its production on both sides of the camera.

Special Ops: Lioness: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Special Ops: Lioness: Season One falls into that deadly category of so what? Here's a show that is at the same time both perfectly watchable yet perfectly forgettable. It's well cast and offers some satisfactory character study bits, but the action/thriller elements are very much rote and routine, straight out of the TV playbook and nothing of note that hasn't been seen many times before. Fans of these sorts of films and TV shows will find this one well worth a binge over a rainy weekend but probably struggle to find any real staying power or rewatch value. The season does look and sound good on Blu-ray and comes with a satisfactory selection of bonus materials. For fans, and recommended to casual buyers only on a steep sale.