Zoe Saldana has no plans to add another series to her résumé after three seasons of playing CIA operative Joe McNamara in Lioness.
The actress, 48, told PEOPLE that the workload involved in leading the Paramount+ drama has left little room for another Sheridan project. Saldana is also an executive producer on the series, making her involvement extend beyond simply appearing on screen.
“I think that Joe McNamara and Lioness is all that I can handle at this time,” she told PEOPLE. “I’m number one on the call sheet. I am first one in, last one out. I am prepping months before anybody ever is able to prep.”
She added that she “can’t imagine” taking on more of Sheridan’s universe at present.
Saldana nevertheless described her working relationship with Sheridan positively, saying she was grateful that he viewed her as reliable in much the same way Joe is. She said he knows she is “honest”, “tough as nails” and “vocal and opinionated”.
“I have my views, and I come with all heart, all brains, all muscle at all times,” Saldana said. “So, no, I think I’m good here at Lioness.”
The comments come after the third season placed Joe in a markedly different position. Rather than directing operations from the outside, she became a target herself and was abducted, forcing her to experience the vulnerability normally faced by the she oversees.
“In a way, I almost feel like Joe was the Lioness in season 3,” Saldana said, explaining that Joe became both the target and the operative forced to escape.
Season 3 premiered on 2 August and concluded on 20 September. Paramount+ describes the series as following Joe as she balances her personal life with her role leading covert operations. The show is inspired by a real US military programme and has Saldana, , Morgan Freeman and Michael Kelly among its principal cast.
A fourth season has not yet been officially confirmed. Saldana said she does not know whether the series will return or what Sheridan might do with Joe if it does.
There is, however, already evidence of Sheridan’s tendency to carry actors between his projects. Michael Kelly, who plays Joe’s CIA superior Byron Westfield in Lioness, has joined Season 3 as a series regular, playing oil-industry executive William Crockett.
James Jordan has also appeared in both shows, playing Two Cups in Lioness and Dale Bradley in Landman. Ian Bohen, meanwhile, joined Lioness after his long-running role as Ryan in .
For Saldana, though, another Sheridan series appears to be a workload too far for now.
