For Jill Wagner, Lioness is a dream come true. When Wagner and her husband, Major David Lemanowicz, first came up with the idea for a drama series inspired by the real all-female military unit Team Lioness, they knew they had to identify the right visionary to bring the story to the screen. In the wrong hands, Wagner feared that the series could become too much like “Barbies with guns.” “People have to understand that there are many female heroes in the world, and they’re not necessarily in Marvel movies,” explained Wagner. “They’re out there sacrificing for our country, and they have really interesting stories to tell.”

Luckily, Wagner knew the right person for the job: her old acting coach, Taylor Sheridan. “I knew that he had a love for our military and that he knew how to write women,” said Wagner. As an EP on the series, Wagner also noted how “important” it was for the story to be told from Station Chief Joe McNamara’s (Zoe Saldaña) perspective to show what women “give up to go fight for their country.” Of course, Sheridan was all for it. “Taylor made the story far larger than anything I could have ever comprehended,” said Wagner proudly.



In addition to her creative role, Wagner also plays Bobby, the team leader for the Lioness’s QRF and McNamara’s right-hand woman. Wagner notes that it was important for her and Saldaña to have a discussion about their characters’ connection. “We asked, ‘Who are these women to each other?’,” remembered Wagner. “Women in the military are very guarded.” However, once McNamara is “blackjacked” by enemy operatives in the Season 3 premiere, Bobby springs into action. “Bobby’s more activated than ever before,” said Wagner.

Wagner stopped by the Decider studio to chat about the upcoming season, reveal what makes Sheridan a “creature of wonder,” and share the feedback she’s received from women in the military.

DECIDER: You attended the Lioness Season 3 premiere earlier this week. What was it like to watch that first episode with an audience that had no idea what was coming?

JILL WAGNER: It might be my favorite episode that we’ve ever filmed in all of our seasons. I think every single person should be able to see the Season 3 premiere in a theater because it is so massive and the scope is so large. It’s still going to be great on your TV screens though, I promise [laughs]. Just to see the reaction that we had was super special because the show is very close to my heart. It’s probably my most personal project ever.

It’s no secret that you and your husband gave Taylor Sheridan the treatment and the idea that inspired Lioness. Could you ever have dreamed where he would take this story?

When my husband and I came up with this concept in our backyard in Tennessee—around a bonfire and a bottle of whiskey—my old acting coach Taylor Sheridan kept popping into my head. We had watched Sicario, and he flawlessly executed dialogue in that world. I knew that he also had a love for our military and that he knew how to write women.

I feared that someone would get a hold of this idea and just create Barbies with guns or try to make the women feel too superhero-like. People have to understand that there are many female heroes in the world, and they’re not necessarily in Marvel movies. They’re out there sacrificing for our country, and they have really interesting stories to tell. Because of Taylor’s voice and his mind, I knew he was the one person who could do them justice. So that’s why I went to him.

Last time you spoke with Decider, you had said that your one regret in life was that you never joined the military. How fulfilling has your role as both an executive producer and a star on Lioness been for you?

Have you gotten any feedback from any servicemen or women about the show? I’ve always said that it was my biggest regret that I never joined [the military]. I come from a long line of servicemen. My dad was a Marine, my husband is in the Army, and my grandfather was a Marine. Obviously, I’m too old to join now [laughs]. But I think being able to give them something in my own way through my craft has been very fulfilling for me.

I’m very close with a group of women who actually do the jobs that we portray on TV. After Season 1 premiered, I went to the SOF [Special Operations Forces] event in Florida. These women came up to me and said: “Thank you for telling our story.” It’s so important to them, but it’s also so important for the American people to see what they sacrifice. They’re leaving their families to go do this work. Being a mother myself, I wanted to tell the story from Joe’s perspective to show what they give up to go fight for their country.

Taylor made the story far larger than anything I could have ever comprehended. I mean, I remember we went to his place in Utah. We were talking about the pilot, and he started flowing out ideas. Everybody was writing down notes and trying to keep up with him. He’s a creature of wonder, that man.

Lioness is definitely one of the most topical narrative shows on television right now. Are people aware of that responsibility on set?

Yeah. I think the amazing thing about our cast and crew is that everyone has a profound respect for our military. The subject matter is very complicated and can get very dark. What Taylor does so brilliantly is state facts rather than opinions. He allows the audience to decide where they want to go with the information that they have.

Lioness fans are obsessed with your character, Bobby, but she’s definitely an enigma. What questions do people ask you the most about her?

Everybody wants to know: is she going to have a love interest? Taylor once told me: “Once I give someone a love interest, there’s a crack in the armor.” I don’t know—at this point— if we want to see that vulnerability in Bobby. I don’t know that that character necessarily needs that. I like her focus, and I like where she’s at. She’s a machine. She’s got one eye on Joe at all times and the other eye on her country. She’s very loyal to those two things.

There’s a really funny thing I don’t think anyone knows because we didn’t actually air it as we wrote it. Taylor initially wrote his character Cody as Bobby’s ex-husband. The Tracer character, played by Max Martini, was always meant to be Bobby’s ex-boyfriend. In Season 2, those three characters were all going to have to work together. Unfortunately, Taylor had to go deal with issues on another show, so he wasn’t able to be present during the entire season. It would have been very funny.

You brought up Taylor Sheridan playing Cody. It’s such a treat to see him on screen. Is it fair to say that he’s just as good an actor as he is a creator?

I know a lot of Delta guys, and Taylor plays that role so perfectly. I think it’s the best acting he’s ever done because he’s just so seamless. Taylor is one of the most admirable people in the business. That doesn’t mean there are not tough parts about him. He’s not necessarily always nice, but he is fair. And when he tells you he’s going to do something, he does it. That’s rare in the industry.

When I called him and asked him to do the show, he could’ve very well taken it and done it on his own without me. But he didn’t. He’s included me in every step along the way. He wanted me to learn. I think that’s incredible. He’s very loyal to his friends and the people he works with. He lifts people up, and that’s really special.

This season explores Russia’s war in Ukraine, and I feel confident in saying that the battle zone sequence in the Season 3 premiere is one of the most harrowing depictions of war to ever be on television. What was it like to be on set for those scenes?

That is my favorite episode ever on Lioness. Although, the one part I don’t like is that QRF is told to stand down [laughs]. I think one of the most amazing things about being on a Taylor Sheridan set is that he immerses you entirely in the world of the show. Authenticity is very important to him. It’s not like these sets are a bunch of green screens. He drops you in the middle of a war zone. He builds it out. Obviously, it’s very expensive to do that. Sorry, Paramount [laughs].

It is so realistic on set. Clearly, we’re not getting real bullets fired at us, but there are helicopters, and there are explosions, and there are real drones. Each drone was coded to move in a different direction to recreate a warzone atmosphere. They might have added a few drones in CGI, but most of it was real. For the actor, it just creates a world in which you really don’t have to act. I remember I looked over at James Jordan when we were filming that and I was thinking to myself, “There are men and women who actually go through this.” I hope that people understand that when they see this scene.

In the Season 3 premiere, Joe gets blackjacked, which sets off a chain of events. How will this incident change Bobby, and how will she step up?

Zoe and I have spoken about this because we asked, “Who are these women to each other?” Women in the military are very guarded. I don’t think that they’re going to brunch together and having a glass of wine. It’s not that kind of relationship. But they have an understanding of each other, and there is an unspoken trust there.

I think Bobby has probably saved Joe a few times—not that Joe is a woman who needs saving. Joe and the ORF are Bobby’s family. If your family member gets kidnapped, how does that change your intensity? So, I think Bobby is more activated than ever before…if you could possibly activate Bobby more [laughs].

New episodes of Lioness drop Sundays at 3:01 a.m. ET on Paramount+