Yet another actress has come out in support of how Taylor Sheridan writes women.
In just a few days, Lioness – starring Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, Laysla De Oliveira, Morgan Freeman and Dave Annable – will return for its third season after a bit of delay following Season 2. That got sorted out, and now the fan-favorite show from the mind of Taylor Sheridan is set to air new episodes.
Lioness centers around a CIA operative named Joe (Zoe Saldaña) who tries to balance work and personal life while on the frontlines of her agency’s war on terror. Kidman plays Kidman plays a character named Kaitlyn Meade, who is a long-tenured CIA Senior Supervisor. Like Mayor of Kingstown, it’s one of Sheridan’s most underrated series, and its highly anticipated third season premieres on Paramount+ in just a few days.
Saldaña has been out on the press tour because of that, and when she stopped by CBS Mornings, she spoke about how excited she is for the series to continue, and praised Taylor Sheridan for keeping things fresh and challenging from season to season:
“I feel like I’m an old soldier. I get tired a lot. But someone like Taylor Sheridan, when he believes in you, you have no other choice but to start believing in yourself again. I love the fact that every season, he manages to surprise us all with the challenges that he throws at (us). We feel challenged as actors and as artists. We also feel like we learn a lot about the complexity of people who live in service.”
The Avatar and Guardians of the Galaxy star also touched on how grateful she is to be able to do a third season, which is becoming increasingly rare in the modern age of media.
When she was asked how it was working for Taylor Sheridan, Saldaña had nothing but praise for the prolific writer, director and creator. One of the critiques that is often thrown at Sheridan is that he can’t write for women. He’s been labeled a misogynist for a number of shows, including Yellowstone, Landman, 1923, and more.
The star and executive producer of Lioness couldn’t disagree with those labels more. Saldaña feels very fortunate to work with Taylor Sheridan, and showered him with praise for how he writes and sees women:
“If there’s one thing that I love the most, it’s men that really see women, and know how to write women. I’ve been very fortunate to work with a lot of creative men that do that… Taylor Sheridan writes great, complex, wholesome women that may not be perfect. But then again, human beings weren’t made to be perfect.
I love that there is an accurate depiction of Joe – a woman that, in front of her team, she never breaks and she’s able to carry so much responsibility on her shoulders. And yet, when she’s in her private quarters, you see this human being grapple with having to make everything work.”
So while all of the critics and keyboard warriors out there call Sheridan a misogynist, all of the female stars of his shows say he’s one of the best men in the business when it comes to creating powerful roles for women.
Ali Larter, who plays Angela in Landman, has also offered similar thoughts on Sheridan. She has previously called him a “brilliant talent,” and has called the narrative that the Yellowstone creator sexualizes women in his shows “false.”
Saldaña clearly feels the same way, and mentioned Sheridan’s name alongside all-time-great directors like James Cameron.
