Entertainment site TVLine has compiled a list of 15 television series for fans of Paramount+'s espionage thriller Special Ops: Lioness. The recommendations cater to viewers who enjoy high-stakes military and spy dramas. Created by Taylor Sheridan, Lioness follows a CIA officer leading counterterrorism operations worldwide.
Special Ops: Lioness, which debuted in 2023, stars Zoe Saldaña as a CIA case officer directing an elite team against escalating terrorist threats. As the series intensifies with each season, it draws comparisons to other action-oriented programs in the genre.
TVLine's roundup highlights shows spanning network, cable, and streaming platforms, emphasizing globe-trotting missions, personal sacrifices, and intense action sequences. Among the suggestions is Alias from 2001, where Jennifer Garner portrays a CIA mole uncovering secrets about her past while dismantling a terrorist group. The Unit features Dennis Haysbert as a Delta Force leader balancing covert operations with family life in Missouri.
Other entries include Strike Back, a British series starting in 2010 about MI6's Section 20 tackling high-risk assignments; Covert Affairs from 2010, with Piper Perabo as a CIA recruit guided by her handler; and Nikita, also 2010, starring Maggie Q as an escaped assassin targeting her former organization. Homeland, which began in 2011, explores CIA suspicions around a potentially compromised war hero through Claire Danes' performance.
More recent picks encompass Blindspot and Quantico from 2015, delving into FBI investigations and academy training amid terrorist plots; SEAL Team, chronicling Navy SEAL missions over seven seasons; and Killing Eve from 2018, a cat-and-mouse tale between an MI6 operative and an assassin. The list rounds out with Jack Ryan and The Little Drummer Girl in 2018, focusing on CIA analysts and Mossad infiltrations, plus 2024 releases like The Day of the Jackal, The Agency: Central Intelligence, and Black Doves, which feature assassins, double agents, and embedded spies.
This curated selection aims to sustain the adrenaline rush for Lioness enthusiasts, blending procedural elements with deeper character explorations in the spy thriller landscape.