Real Military Operatives Slam Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Lioness’ for ‘Corrupting’ Their Legacy

Taylor Sheridan has dominated the small screen with intense thrillers and sprawling dramas, but his Paramount+ hit *Lioness* is facing heavy fire from the very people who inspired it. While the action-packed series returned for its latest season on Sunday night with big names like Zoe Saldaña and Nicole Kidman leading the cast, real-life military veterans say the show strays far too deep into Hollywood fantasy. The television drama follows a shadowy, elite CIA task force that deploys female service members undercover to gain the trust of terrorists' wives and daughters in order to stop global attacks. But the actual military task force that carried the name Team Lioness operated under completely different circumstances during the Iraq War in 2003.

The real Team Lioness was established by the U.S. Marine Corps to address a crucial cultural and security challenge on the ground. At the time, official U.S. Department of Defense regulations strictly banned female personnel from taking on specific combat roles. To navigate these rules while managing security checkpoints, the military gathered female mechanics, engineers, and combat medics to accompany male patrols. These female service members stepped up to search local women and safeguard military translators in active war zones. In doing so, they defied expectations and became some of the first female troops to take part in offensive ground combat operations across American military history.

BUZZBEAT

Despite their historical achievements, original squad members feel Sheridan's fictional plot completely erases their true legacy in favor of CIA intrigue and high-stakes espionage. Former Lioness operative Ranie Ruthig spoke out against the Paramount+ hit in an interview with *The Telegraph*, making her anger over the creative direction abundantly clear. Ruthig slammed the Hollywood adaptation, stating that it makes her angry that the series refuses to accurately depict what the women actually accomplished in Iraq. She bluntly added that the showrunners took their personal history and corrupted it for dramatic effect. Taking dramatic liberties is standard operating procedure for television, but for the women who risked their lives on the frontline, watching their service be rewritten as a CIA assassination fantasy leaves a bitter taste. Neither Sheridan nor Paramount+ have commented on the veterans' backlash.