A review from Variety magazine trashed an upcoming series from "Yellowstone" creator Taylor Sheridan as an "unabashed work of military propaganda" that "positions the United States Armed Forces as the ‘strong’ who ‘protect the weak.’"
"Special Ops: Lioness" is described on the Paramount+ as being "inspired by an actual US Military program" and following the life as an agent "while she attempts to balance her personal and professional life as the tip of the CIA's spear in the war on terror." It then described the "Lioness Program," as one that "enlists an aggressive Marine Raider named Cruz (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."
While filmmaker Taylor Sheridan’s "Yellowstone" has been described by some as liberal values in conservative packaging, his upcoming military series has been condemned by one reviewer for using girl-power narratives to lionize the military.
"Sheridan has long cultivated an image in contrast with liberal cultural elites without quite aligning with their opposite" variety TV critic Alison Herman observed, noting Yellowstone’s "ambiguous" politics. By contrast, she argued that "Lioness" has "no such ambiguity" and is an "unabashed work of military propaganda that positions the United States Armed Forces as the ‘strong’ who ‘protect the weak,’ a group that apparently includes the entire Middle East as well as vulnerable members of U.S. society."
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She also derided the show for pushing the idea that "it’s a global superpower’s job to look out for the underdog by any means necessary" and warned, "If you don’t agree with that vision of U.S. hegemony, this is not the show for you."
Herman also criticized the show for giving the female military characters storylines that are usually associated with male characters.
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"Sheridan doesn’t just give the leads of ‘Lioness’ masculine names like ‘Joe’ and ‘Cruz’; he also gives them stereotypically masculine conflicts like feeling estranged from their children due to a stressful job," she wrote. "Even Cruz’s abuse segues into a storyline in which her physical strength is equated with her worth."
The reviewer then torched the show for using "pop feminism" packaging to "weaponize women’s liberation" in service of a pro-war agenda.
"It is perhaps predictable that the Sheridan take on pop feminism would weaponize women’s liberation in service of the military industrial complex," Herman wrote. "After all, that rhetorical sleight of hand is as much a cliché as the rest of ‘Lioness,’ which shows the strain of a single writer cranking out scripts for each of his half-dozen shows on air."
Fox News Digital reached out to Sheridan for comment on the Variety review. This article will be updated with any response.
