Unveiling the Impact of Special Ops Lioness: Yellowstone Creator's New Show Sparks Debate

Summary

Taylor Sheridan's latest series, Special Ops: Lioness, is receiving mixed reviews and falls short of the success of his other projects, such as Yellowstone and its spinoffs.

While some viewers may find Lioness to be captivating and engaging, it has faced criticism for being unoriginal and adhering too closely to genre conventions.

Regardless of one's opinion on Special Ops: Lioness, Taylor Sheridan's latest series perpetuates a concerning pattern. Known for revitalizing traditional network dramas in the streaming era, Sheridan has gained fame through his immensely popular Yellowstone series and its spinoffs, 1883 and 1923. Although Yellowstone explores the lives of a multi-generational ranching family in a neo-Western setting, Special Ops: Lioness takes on the form of a spy thriller, boasting A-list actors such as Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, and Morgan Freeman.

With Sheridan at the helm, the Paramount Plus original delivers the kind of family-centered drama that the co-creator of Yellowstone is known for. Special Ops: Lioness also adds some espionage action of varying plausibility to the mix. However, this combination of elements hasn't been as well-received as Sheridan's other projects. This is disappointing for viewers looking forward to Sheridan's take on a spy thriller and it highlights a recurring pattern in the Sheridan-verse.

Why Special Ops: Lioness's Reviews Are So Mixed (& How It Compares To Yellowstone)

Sheridan's Yellowstone has received an aggregate critical score of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes for its five seasons. While season 1 of Yellowstone has a disappointing score of 56%, the other seasons have impressive ratings, with season 3 holding steady at 100%. Even the show's spin-offs have retained impressive ratings: the prequel series 1883, featuring Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, has a solid rating of 89%, while 1923, led by Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, narrowly surpasses its sibling series with a score of 90%.

A departure from Sheridan's typical Western programming, Special Ops: Lioness receives a significantly lower rating compared to any other show within the Yellowstone universe. While Rotten Tomatoes rates it at a disappointing 57% among critics, the audience rating stands at a more favorable 74%. The show itself reflects this mixed reception. It manages to be a captivating character study or an engaging slow-burn thriller on certain occasions. However, at other times, Lioness turns into a derivative, run-of-the-mill series that relies heavily on genre clichés and presents a simplistic view of morality. Nevertheless, Lioness, created by mastermind Taylor Sheridan, surpasses the viewership record of Yellowstone on Paramount Plus, making it the streaming platform's most-watched global premiere.

Special Ops: Lioness Continues Taylor Sheridan's Bad Rotten Tomatoes Trend Outside Yellowstone

Taylor Sheridan's shows outside of his Yellowstone universe projects aren't doing well. Special Ops: Lioness, a creation of the prolific showrunner, continues the downward trend. His other non-Yellowstone projects, Tulsa King and Mayor of Kingstown, also have disappointing scores. Despite Sylvester Stallone's charm, Tulsa King, though not terrible, ranks just below the Yellowstone shows with a 79% rating. But what's troubling is the emerging pattern. Mayor of Kingstown, featuring Jeremy Renner, is Sheridan's worst-reviewed show, garnering only a 42% on Rotten Tomatoes. While the Yellowstone universe seems poised to survive Kevin Costner's exit, Special Ops: Lioness is evidence that Taylor Sheridan's other shows simply don't live up to the hype.

Sources: Rotten Tomatoes, Rotten Tomatoes, Rotten Tomatoes