Nicole Kidman’s latest major project hasn’t had the ideal critical reaction after reviews were released earlier this week. The actress, who is a household name due to her Hollywood career but who also has had huge television show successes including The Undoing and Big Little Lies, most recently starred in the new Taylor Sheridan creator, Special Ops: Lioness.
The show, which also stars Zoe Saldana in the lead role, was met with very mixed reviews, with Variety writing that the characters were "narrow archetypes", while The Daily Beast called it "talent-wasting dreck" and "patriotic drivel".
The reviews were based on the first episode of the eight-part season, which was released on Sunday. Fans also had something of a mixed reaction, with one person tweeting: "The first 2 episodes of #SpecialOpsLioness was kinda trash.. let’s hope the other 6 are better."
However, some fans loved it, with one writing: "Also makes sure check out Special ops: Lioness if y’all enjoy Taylor Sheridan shows and movies. It’s pretty interesting so far with two episodes just release. #SpecialOpsLioness," while another person added: "Watched the first 2 episodes and thought this was brilliant. Well worth a watch."
Despite the mixed reaction to her new show, Nicole has been enjoying the press tour to the new show, sharing snaps of herself and Zoe as well as photos of a recent trip to London.
The actress served as a producer on the show, and wasn’t initially going to star until discovering that Zoe would be playing the lead, saying: "When Zoe signed on to play the lead, I was like, ‘This is great.’ I wasn’t gonna be in it, and then I was like, ‘Well…’ It was too enticing."
Chatting about working with Nicole, Zoe told RadioTimes: "She’s exactly what I imagined and hoped she would be. She’s dedicated, she’s the most prepared on set, knows all her lines. She stays in character sometimes and it’s a bit freaky."
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Special Ops: Lioness is inspired by a true-life US military program. It "follows the life of Joe (Zoe Saldaña) while she attempts to balance her personal and professional life as the tip of the CIA’s spear in the war on terror".
"The Lioness Program, overseen by Kaitlyn Meade (Nicole Kidman) and Donald Westfield (Michael Kelly), enlists an aggressive Marine Raider named Cruz (Laysla De Oliveira) to operate undercover alongside Joe among the power brokers of State terrorism in the CIA’s efforts to thwart the next 9/11."