5 best shows like 'Lioness' to watch right now

Zoe Saldaña stars as Joe in "Lioness"
(Image credit: Paramount Plus)

The second season of Paramount Plus's spy thriller "Lioness" is currently airing, but if you're hungry for more, we've got recommendations.

The series follows an elite CIA program where female operatives infiltrate dangerous criminal organizations by getting close to the families at their centers. Starring Zoe Saldaña and Nicole Kidman, it's an exciting blend of high-stakes missions and personal drama brought to us by Taylor Sheridan.

If you're feral for more, we've hand-picked five shows like "Lioness" that you should add to your watchlist. From "Homeland" to "The Night Agent", these shows serve up a similar brand of adrenaline-pumping action that makes "Lioness" such a great watch.

'Homeland' 

Homeland Season 1 (2011) | Official Trailer | Claire Danes & Damian Lewis SHOWTIME Series | SHOWTIME - YouTube Homeland Season 1 (2011) | Official Trailer | Claire Danes & Damian Lewis SHOWTIME Series | SHOWTIME - YouTube
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Homeland follows CIA operations officer Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes), a brilliant but unstable intelligence agent who struggles with bipolar disorder. When U.S. Marine Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) is rescued from being held captive by al-Qaeda for eight years, Carrie is immediately suspicious. She believes the "war hero" has been turned into a sleeper agent.

Working alongside her mentor Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin), Carrie takes on increasingly dangerous missions while investigating Brody. She also becomes personally entangled with Brody, all while fighting off terrorist forces threatening America.

Watch on Hulu

'Quantico'

Quantico Season 1 Trailer - YouTube Quantico Season 1 Trailer - YouTube
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Alex Parrish (Priyanka Chopra) is an FBI recruit who becomes the prime suspect in a terrorist attack on Grand Central Station. The show alternates between two timelines: Alex's days at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, and the present day, where she's on the run trying to clear her name.

As she works to determine who really orchestrated the attack, Alex finds out one of her former classmates may be the true culprit. With her world turned upside down, she must use her training to expose a vast conspiracy within the FBI itself. And that's when she isn't working to get one of the beautiful blowouts she's rocking throughout the show.

Watch on Hulu

'Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan'

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan Season 1 - Official Trailer | Prime Video - YouTube Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan Season 1 - Official Trailer | Prime Video - YouTube
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James "Jack" Ryan (John Krasinski) goes from a desk-bound financial intelligence officer to a field operative suddenly handling global conspiracies. When he stumbles onto a terrorist network one day at the job, he soon finds himself working on dangerous field missions across the world.

Every season of "Jack Ryan" finds the agent handling a new international crisis, like tracking Islamic extremists to preventing nuclear war. Working alongside his mentor and fellow operative, Ryan has to figure out how to balance his day job with the dangerous dealings of his new anti-terrorism missions — and get out alive without slipping into even more risky situations.

Watch on Prime Video

'Reacher'

Reacher - Official Trailer | Prime Video - YouTube Reacher - Official Trailer | Prime Video - YouTube
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Based on Lee Child's novels, the series follows the titular former military policeman Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson), who arrives in Margrave, Georgia and is immediately arrested for murder. After clearing his name, he uncovers a massive conspiracy involving corrupt police in the small town.

Standing 6'5" and built like a tank, Reacher is a force to be reckoned with, using his stature, strength and internal sense of justice to fight for what's right. Working alongside the local Margrave cops, he works to dismantle the criminal empire while in town. That's just the first season; the series spans 16 episodes over two seasons with more on the way.

Watch on Prime Video

'Nikita' 

Based on "La Femme Nikita", this series follows the titular Nikita Mears (Maggie Q), a former assassin seeking revenge against Division, a secretive government agency. It once recruited her from death row and transformed her into a highly skilled operative.

Now, Nikita is on the run and waging a one-woman war to expose and destroy the organization. One of her goals is to save new recruits like Alex Udinov (Lyndsy Fonseca), who she secretly trains as her mole inside Division. While Nikita is working hard to take Division down, she also stumbles upon plenty of dark government conspiracies ... you know, as you do. This spy thriller has plenty of girl power, but it's also stuffed to the gills with action and fantastic fight sequences.

Watch on The Roku Channel

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Brittany Vincent

Brittany Vincent has been covering video games and tech for over 13 years for publications including Tom's Guide, MTV, Rolling Stone, CNN, Popular Science, Playboy, IGN, GamesRadar, Polygon, Kotaku, Maxim, and more. She's also appeared as a panelist at video game conventions like PAX East and PAX West and has coordinated social media for companies like CNET. When she's not writing or gaming, she's looking for the next great visual novel in the vein of Saya no Uta. You can follow her on Twitter @MolotovCupcake.

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