Skydance Corporation
10/20/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/20/2026 13:55
‘Lioness’ Roars to Record-Breaking Season Three
The stakes have never been higher for Joe and her team in Lioness, and audiences have responded in record numbers.
The Paramount+ original series, created by Taylor Sheridan and starring Academy Award® winners Zoe Saldaña and Nicole Kidman, wrapped its third season with its strongest performance yet, averaging 8.5 million viewers per week, a 62% increase over season two.
Viewership climbed every week of the eight-episode season, culminating in a series-record finale, which drew 9.7 million viewers in its first seven days, the largest audience for any episode in the show's history. The finale also ranked fifth among all Paramount+ original series finales, marking another milestone for the hit thriller.
Nicole Kidman in Lioness
Eight Weeks of Growing Momentum
Lioness appeared on both Nielsen's Top 10 streaming charts and Luminate's Top 10 every week of its eight-week run, reflecting sustained audience interest throughout the season.
According to Nielsen's October 1 report, Lioness also achieved its first billion-minute viewing week. Across season three's eight-week run, the series generated 3.9 billion viewing minutes, a 62% increase over season two's seven-week release period.
Plus, audiences weren't just watching the newest episodes. Seasons one and two generated an additional 2.5 billion viewing minutes during the same period, demonstrating how the latest installment brought viewers back to earlier chapters of the story.
A High-Stakes Season
Season three plunged Joe (Saldaña) into an increasingly dangerous world of hidden networks, foreign operatives and personal betrayals. As unseen forces threatened both her mission and her family, the line between her professional and personal lives became harder to maintain.
Zoe Saldaña, Thad Luckinbill and Laysla De Oliveira in Lioness
With Kaitlyn (Kidman) and Westfield (Michael Kelly) guiding her through an escalating web of threats, Joe faced enemies operating in the shadows and a conflict reaching into every corner of her life.
Morgan Freeman and Michael Kelly in Lioness
The series features an ensemble cast including Laysla De Oliveira, Genesis Rodriguez, Dave Annable, Jill Wagner, LaMonica Garrett, James Jordan, Austin Hébert, Jonah Wharton, Hannah Love Lanier, Thad Luckinbill, Ian Bohen and Academy Award® winner Morgan Freeman.
Genesis Rodriguez and Laysla De Oliveira in Lioness
Building on a Record-Breaking Year for Paramount+
The success of Lioness adds to a string of major milestones for Paramount+ originals this year.
Dutton Ranch became the biggest original series debut in Paramount history and charted on Nielsen's Top 10 originals list for nine consecutive weeks. Meanwhile, The Madison delivered Academy Award® nominee Taylor Sheridan's biggest freshman series debut.
Created by Sheridan, Lioness is produced by Paramount Television Studios and 101 Studios. The series is executive produced by Sheridan, David C. Glasser, Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, Ron Burkle, David Hutkin, Bob Yari, Michael Friedman, Jill Wagner, David Lemanowicz, Geyer Kosinski and Keith Cox.
Source: Paramount+ Global Internal Metrics, first 7 days of each episode. Total Minutes/ Runtime. Domestic based on D2C, Channels and Wholesale/MVPD/vMVPD. International based on D2C + ALC + HB where data available
Skydance Corporation published this content on October 20, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on October 20, 2026 at 19:56 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]