Lioness Officially Sets Up The Perfect Taylor Sheridan Spinoff Before Season 4

Published Oct 7, 2026, 11:30 AM EDT

Ben Sherlock is a Tomatometer-approved film and TV critic who runs the massively underrated YouTube channel I Got Touched at the Cinema. Before working at Screen Rant, Ben wrote for Game Rant, Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop. He's also an indie filmmaker, a standup comedian, and an alumnus of the School of Rock.

In the age of streaming, when a show is a big hit, it’s not good enough to just keep it going for as many seasons as possible; the streamers have to spin them off into a larger universe, too. The Boys was followed by Gen V. The Mandalorian was followed by The Book of Boba Fett. Reacher was followed by Neagley. Yellowstone was followed by 1883, 1923, Marshals, and Dutton Ranch.

So far, Yellowstone is the only Taylor Sheridan show that’s been spun off. But it won’t be the only spun-off Sheridan show for long. Samuel L. Jackson’s Tulsa King character is getting spun off into Frisco King, it’s only a matter of time before Landman expands beyond the flagship show, and Lioness’ best possible prequel is an action thriller masterpiece waiting to happen.

Lioness is one of Sheridan’s best shows. It has one of his most stacked casts — led by Zoe Saldaña, with strong support from Morgan Freeman and Nicole Kidman — and it’s the darkest show in the Sheridan-verse, with the most gruesome violence and the most shocking twists and turns. Lioness combines the gritty realism of Sheridan’s Sicario script with the globetrotting espionage of the James Bond franchise.

As of yet, Lioness doesn’t have any spinoffs — and, unlike Tulsa King, it doesn’t have any in active development, either — but there are plenty of opportunities for franchise expansion. Now that Cruz has been promoted to Sergeant First Class, we could follow her on her own high-stakes missions. Kidman’s Kaitlyn Meade could take center stage in a shady Washington-set spy thriller about the search for a double agent in the CIA’s Clandestine Service. Out of all the possible Lioness spinoffs, I’d love to see a prequel exploring Joe McNamara’s early career in the Lioness program, in the immediate aftermath of 9/11.

Joe McNamara's Origin Story Would Make The Perfect Lioness Prequel

Sheridan has expanded the world of Yellowstone with sequels and offshoots, but he’s also gone back into the past to explore the history of the Dutton family. He should take this approach with the inevitable spinoffs to his other shows. A Landman prequel following T.L.’s career on the oil fields could double as an exploration of a bygone era in the oil industry and a deeper look into Tommy’s tragic childhood. A Lioness prequel following Joe McNamara’s career as, well, a Lioness, could be even more exhilarating than the main show.

When we catch up with Saldaña’s Joe, her Lionessing days are long behind her. She was a renowned Lioness back in her glory days, but now, she’s a case officer working with new Lioness recruits. At this point in her career, Joe is a jaded veteran, pushing the rookies to their breaking point so they’ll be prepared when their terrorist captors do the same. That’s a fascinating story in its own way — Joe is far from a traditional action hero — but it would be equally fascinating to go back into Joe’s past and explore those so-called glory days. This is a show about the War on Terror, but that “war” (if you can even call it that; it’s an ideological conflict) is 20 years past its prime.

Lioness has given us plenty of hints at Joe’s early career, in the ashes of 9/11, and how she was crucial in bringing down al-Qaeda, but we don’t know the details. Whenever anyone meets Joe in the flagship series, her reputation precedes her — she’s renowned for having killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the “Sheikh of slaughtering” — but it would be interesting to go back and see what really happened. A prequel exploring Joe’s origin story, and looking at the ugly truths behind her claims to fame, would make for a nail-biting thriller — perhaps even nail-bitier than Lioness itself.

Lioness