Judged on the premise alone, “Lioness” might sound like the kind of progressive Hollywood fare that could alienate MAGA audiences. The streaming series, which just concluded its second season on Paramount , stars Zoe Saldaña and Nicole Kidman as leaders of the CIA’s clandestine Lioness program, through which they recruit and train women to infiltrate terror networks and drug cartels. The titular lionesses are lethal, highly effective warriors — who would have no place in the military as reimagined by Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s embattled nominee for Secretary of Defense. 

Only about a third of the storytelling in “Lioness” is shoot-'em-up action, though. The remainder is political intrigue and family drama, and in these realms the show seems carefully calibrated to appeal to politically conservative viewers. Often, the political leanings of the show are subtle, glimpsed in B-story plots and transitional moments between more intense scenes. 

In a recent episode, Saldaña’s character, Joe McNamara, walks in on an argument between her tween daughters and their father, Neal (Dave Annable). The girls have just called Neal transphobic because he balked at using someone’s pronouns. 

“The definition of ‘phobia’ is the extreme or irrational fear of something,” Neal patiently explains while continuing to make breakfast. “Disagreeing with somebody is not a phobia.”

Did you get that? He’s not transphobic; he’s not extreme or irrational. He merely “disagrees” with somebody. About their gender. Never mind that Republicans spent more than $65 million demonizing trans people in election ads this year — handsome, soft-spoken Neal reassures us there’s no such thing as transphobia. 

Joe backs him up. “Ideas are meant to be challenged,” she says. “He has the right to disagree with you.” It’s what makes America great. 

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Back in season one, in another father-daughter moment, Neal admonishes his daughter Kate (Hannah Love Lanier)........

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