Special ops series "Lioness" continues its MAGA courtship

Judged on the premise alone, “Lioness” might sound like the kind of progressive Hollywood fare that could alienate MAGA audiences. “Lioness” also portrays government and the fourth estate in ways that closely align with Trumpian fantasies: Though a Democratic President may occupy the White House, the country is actually run by deep state technocrats who don’t even bother to loop him into their machinations; America has “open borders” — an indisputable truth that even Democrats acknowledge matter-of-factly; and the mainstream media is dishonest, biased and cartoonishly woke. “We needed a leader,” Mullins muses, “and a leader arose.” Of his own party’s leaders, Mullins admits, “Right now we don’t have one.” Nicole Kidman as Kaitlyn Meade and Michael Kelly as Byron Westfield in "Lioness" It’s unclear how the tectonic shift in real-world politics might be reflected in future seasons of “Lioness.” The show has only obliquely referenced elections. “Reacher” star Alan Ritchson surprised and enraged that show’s right-wing fanbase when he called Donald Trump “a rapist and a con man” in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. With more than 12 million viewers streaming the second season premiere (a record for Paramount +, it’s clear that “Lioness” has found its audience.