SPECIAL OPS: LIONESS Season 1 Blu-ray Review

Review

Paramount, specifically the blockbuster series available on Paramount+, are becoming synonymous with the incredible voice of Taylor Sheridan. Co-creator of the mega-hit Yellowstone, Sheridan is responsible for prequels 1883 and 1923, he has also co-created the crime thriller Mayor of Kingstown starring Jeremy Renner and Tulsa King starring Sylvester Stallone.

In 2023 Sheridan leant his creative voice to an original series taking inspiration from a real life US Military program. Special Ops: Lioness follows a trio of incredible female leads played by Zoe Saldaña, Laysla De Oliveira and the incomparable Nicole Kidman. The series provides a powerful message about women working against the war on terror, giving a new perspective on familiar espionage territory.

Sheridan is no stranger to this kind of espionage, action-thriller. The writer/showrunner brings some of the sensibilities from his Sicario: Day of the Soldado script to the eight-part drama. The genre is a hot ticket in Hollywood right now. It’s not hard to imagine that Sheridan took inspiration from Reacher and Jack Ryan on Prime, both audience favourites which take the sensibilities of a crime procedural and raise the stakes by adding a layer of international espionage.

Saldaña plays Joe, a highly experienced marine also in charge of the Lionesses. Sheridan imbues her not just with a strength and resolve to undertake the mission. She’s also in a healthy, supporting marriage to Neil (Dave Annable) and is a mother of two. Rarely in this genre do we see female characters with this kind of healthy home life. It plays perfectly to Saldaña’s ability to play strong yet vulnerable characters.

Kidman plays Joe’s boss, Kaitlyn Meade, the head of the Lioness project. She acts from the shadows, pulling the strings and supporting operatives on the ground. Kidman is, of course, a power house name which brings a gravitas to the project. Though she isn’t in the thick of the action, her character reinforces alliance between the leads.

Cruz Manuelos (Laysla De Oliveira) is a character waiting perfectly in the wings. When Saldaña’s Joe is tasked with bringing a new recruit Cruz is ready and waiting. Sheridan goes perhaps a little OTT in showing that the girls are just as good as the boys as Cruz becomes a little overpowering, surpassing all the other potential candidates in training. But whilst her introduction may be a little heavy handed, De Oliveira undoubtedly adds another level of strength to the trio of leads which bolsters the uniquely female take on when is a male dominated genre.

Special Ops: Lioness arrives on Blu-ray in its original 2.00:1 aspect ration, as presented on Paramount+. The series’ eight episodes are spread across three BD-50 discus which allows for a strong bit rate and health presentation throughout. The episodes are spread out as follows:

Disc One:

• Sacrificial Soldiers
• The Beating
• Bruise Like a Fist

Disc Two:

• The Choice of Failure
• Truth is the Shrewdest Lie
• The Lie Is the Truth

Disc Three:

• Wish the Fight Away
• Gone Is the Illusion of Order

The series was shot digitally and so transfers well to Blu-ray with all of the fine detail and crispness in tact. Unlike Sheridan’s Yellowstone, which features a brighter and more colourful palette, Special Ops: Lioness takes place in a darker, unsafe world of terrorism. The subdued palette is filled with low light locations and muted colours. The image challenges the Blu-ray presentation to render darker, inky colours without noise or banding and for the most part it meets that challenge with gusto. Occasional outdoor scenes feature brighter colours and these moments show best the Blu-ray’s colour saturation and depth.

On the audio side, the Blu-ray release features a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack which brilliantly renders the series’ soundscape. Action sequences bring a depth and bass which means every punch, every bullet and every explosion lands with the right amount of strength. It fills the world around making good use of side and rear channels as well as the main, central focus. Dialogue is crisp and clear with no issues and Andrew Lockington’s adept score finds a sweet spot underpinning all of the action.

Special features are also spread out across all three discs with the focus being on the “Behind the Story” portions of the content. Special features are as follows:

Disc One:

• Behind the Story (1080p): Episode-by-episode breakdowns that cover story lines, characters, and behind-the-scenes. 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 for 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 for Wish the Fight Away (7:25) and Gone Is the Illusion of Order (7:30). 
• Embedded with Special Ops: Lioness (1080p, 21:38): Exploring how the series came to be including casting, story and production.
• Battle Forged Calm: Tactics & Training (1080p, 9:02): Exploring the cast’s rigorous training ahead of the series’ production.
• Inside the Series (1080p, 19:00): Series’ actor LaMonica Garrett hosts a behind-the-scenes piece that looks at characters, narratives, and more via interviews and more behind the scenes footage.

Featurettes are more than just talking heads. Each takes time to delver deeper in to motivations behind the series’ various storylines and connections to the real world as well as how the actors approached bringing their characters to life. There’s plenty of insight from Sheridan and other members of the production crew alongside plenty of behind-the-scenes footage.

Verdict

Special Ops: Lioness is a unique attempt to bring a gritty, procedural led espionage drama to the screen with a cast of incredible female leads. The trio of Saldaña, Kidman and De Oliveira are a compelling watch across the series eight episodes and this Blu-ray presentation is perfect for fans wanting to dive a little deeper.

⭐⭐⭐⭐