Lioness Star/EP Jill Wagner Hails ‘Heightened’ Season 2, Previews ‘Really Gnarly, Nail Biter’ Finale
No matter how things may go for Lioness‘ badass Bobby in the Season 2 finale streaming this Sunday, the Paramount+ espionage drama has been a mission accomplished for Jill Wagner.
Years ago, the former Wipeout co-host and Hallmark/GAF movies vet was reflecting on her career — and her status as a fortysomething actress — when, with a nudge from her husband and his experience with military intelligence, she became well-versed on the real-life Lioness program. She eventually pitched a series to the prolific Taylor Sheridan, her former acting coach, and now here we are.
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TVLine spoke with Wagner, an executive producer on Lioness, about the show’s dynamite sophomore run and where Sunday’s finale might leave Joe (Zoe Salda?a), Bobby and the QRF team once the dust settles….
TVLINE | Lioness just landed on our Best Shows of the Year. From where you sit, in what ways did Season 2 improve on Season 1?
First of all, when I watched Season 1 with Taylor [Sheridan], the first thing I said to him after the finale was, “How are you going to top this?,” and he was like, “No problem,” very easily. I thought Season 1 was almost perfection, but for Season 2 the intensity is so heightened — in particular with Joe’s character. For some reason, I’m very connected to Joe’s character and I’ve watched Zoe [Salda?a] navigate that world and all of the stress that comes along with that. I remember telling her…. We were in the scene, and right after the scene I was like, “You’re going to win awards for this.” She’s so incredible, but I won’t take it away from everybody else including Genesis [Rodriguez, who plays Josie] and Laysla [de Oliveira, who plays Cruz]…. Everybody that is in the show in their own right is really just amazing. It takes a village, right?
TVLINE | Something I said to Zoe at the start of the season was that with Taylor’s writing, No. 1, I feel like these characters absolutely know what they’re talking about, because everything is so smart and specific. And No. 2, with his dialogue they each have very distinct and colorful ways of expressing themselves.
Yeah. It’s crazy. I sit there and think about it, because you know all of this comes from Taylor’s brain. [Sheridan wrote all of Season 1 and Season 2.] It’s not to say that he doesn’t have help — I know that he has multiple sources, people, that are teaching him things — but it’s amazing how he writes, because it’s like he’s all of these people in one.
TVLINE | I’ve never seen a second of Yellowstone or Landman, and I watched like a half of a Tulsa King, no Mayor of Kingstown…. But one recurring knock from some of my peers in the industry is that Yellowstone, Landman, they don’t write women well. Do you and Zoe and Nicole and Genesis and Laysla think Taylor is doing something particularly unique here on Lioness with the female characters?
So, I have a difference of opinion, because when I look at Beth on Yellowstone, that is a character I would kill to play. I mean, she’s given every bit of fire and complexity, she’s an incredible character. Different people have different opinions, but I think for this show in particular, it is from the viewpoint of a female. And that was why when my husband [executive producer David Lemanowicz] and I took this project to Taylor, I was very specific about wanting to tell the story of a hero from the female perspective — which is not to say that the male perspective doesn’t matter. Of course, I love all my male warriors. I mean, I married one! I have all the respect in the world for our military, whether it be male or female, but I feel like this story in particular hasn’t been told, or at least it hasn’t been told in a way that I think fully captured the truth of who these women are — and I’ve met a lot of these women.
In fact, I called a lot of Lionesses in doing research for this show, and in talking to them and talking to females in general that served, they’re all so amazing. They’re really special people. And I think that Taylor captures it. He’s very specific on each character. I mean, Bobby is very different than Joe, and very different than Josie…. The characters all have their own niche.
TVLINE | I know Nicole Kidman is on, like, 20 different TV shows right now, but in this one, when Kaitlyn walks into a room, you can feel men’s knees buckle out of fear.
It’s so wild, because when you’re dealing with Nicole when it’s just Nicole, she’s just lovely and so pleasant — and then Kaitlyn comes in the room and it’s totally different. I remember the first time I had a scene with her, it was like, “Oh god, just don’t look her in the eye,” but then I have to remember, “OK, you’re also Bobby.” There’s not a lot of things that can scare my character either. I’m just honored that she wanted to be a part of this project and that she loves it, because she is so good as Kaitlyn. I mean, Taylor wrote the role for Nicole, and she’s perfect for it in every single way.
TVLINE | How would you describe the Bobby/Joe relationship, and how it has evolved over two seasons?
I think that relationship is really important. Zoe and I both talked about this, because Bobby is the only other female around Joe [on the QRF]. The team is all guys, so we both were trying to find little moments that weren’t written, little connections, whether it be just a glance or standing close to each other…. There were a couple of times this season where the boss, Taylor, did write some scenes for those two women, because I think they’re very similar because they both are playing their roles as very important people, right, and doing their jobs. They’re very strong women. So, yeah, I think it’s really important that Joe has some sort of a female ear to talk to about what she’s going through. I would assume that they probably talk offline; you don’t see it, but that’s what Zoe and I have created in “our little backstory,” because Taylor doesn’t give you a lot of that. He’s like, “You don’t need backstory. Just save lives.” So we do as we’re told. Yes, sir!
TVLINE | Have you enjoyed your banter with Max Martini’s Tracer, Bobby’s ex, this season?
[Laughs] Oh my gosh… I wish we could have a behind-the-scenes camera following Max. He’s a character. He’s so quirky. He’s so funny, and to watch him on screen, he’s perfect. Like, he’s just so nonchalant and kind of bored with it all. He gets a kick out of Bobby, and their relationship is really funny to me. I think we need those moments of levity because the show is pretty heavy. Taylor I actually think is a very good comedic writer. If he would ever do a comedy, I would watch it because there’s some really funny moments in there.
TVLINE | When Two Cups was bellowing, “Red alert!!!” in the latrine….
[Laughs] I remember when Taylor called me and said, “OK, so you’re going to have a shower scene…,” I was like, “Oh no, no, no, no,” because I’ve begged Taylor. I’m like, “Look, Bobby needs to not have any kind of romantic relationship. She just needs to go kill bad guys.” Like, I’ve had enough of that in my career. I don’t need the romance side of it. I just want to go and be an operator and be one of the boys and fight. And then he explained to me what the shower scene was, and I was like, “How in the world do you dream this stuff up?” But it works, and James Jordan [as Two Cups] can do no wrong.
We are so lucky to have James; I consider him Taylor’s lucky charm because he’s in every single one of his shows. He’s one of the best actors that I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with. He is so good and skillful with improv, which not a lot of people can do, but you just got to know when to let him out of his cage. That’s what Taylor said: “You have to keep Jordan in a cage, and then occasionally you let him out then you have to put him back in.” That’s exactly right.
TVLINE | When’s your Wipeout buddy John Henson going to guest-star as a Tier 1 operator?
That would be something. I’ll have to call him on that and see if he’s game….
TVLINE | All right, we’re heading into the Season 2 finale…. The mission just completely changed, abruptly changed…. How gnarly is it going to get in Iran?
It’s going to get really gnarly. I was speaking to Taylor about this. He called and was so excited about what was happening in the last episode. He was like, “It’s very, very intense.” I have seen the last episode and it’s a nail biter, and there’s a ton of action. So, get ready.
TVLINE | I was going to ask, how does the battle scene in the finale compare to others?
For me, there’s no comparison. I mean, it’s epic. It’s something that you see in movies. You don’t see this on TV.
TVLINE | There are so many extras! The bad guys just keep showing up and showing up….
I know. I know. The really amazing thing — and the gift is for us as actors — is that when you’re doing this there’s no green screen. We’re in it. He makes it so real for you that all we have to do is show up. He makes it so real that you almost think you’re getting shot at. It’s incredible, and it makes me have so much more respect for the men and women that actually do have these roles and are a part of our military and are really getting shot at.
One thing about this show that I want to remind everybody is when you walk around in your daily life, you can go to the grocery store or you can go to church if you want. You can go to the mall. You can do all these things and you don’t even think about it, but you can do these things because behind the curtain there’s a lot of men and women sacrificing for you to have all of these freedoms. It takes all of this for you to have your freedom, and I want to remind people of that when they watch the show.
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TVLINE | How are viewers going to be feeling when Sunday’s finale comes to a close?
Oh gosh, I think they’re going to need to breathe, because you’ve probably been holding your breath for the whole episode. I know I was! The way everything was edited, like, you really don’t know what truly happens in the end, meaning if people die or if people live. It’s not really clear, and it’s so intense, and it’s so good. I’m so proud of this show.
Want scoop on Lioness, or for any other TV show ? Shoot an email to [email protected], and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line!
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