First two Special Ops: Lioness episodes airing free on TV

Zoe Saldana in Special Ops: Lioness
Zoe Saldana in Special Ops: Lioness (Image credit: Lynsey Addario/Paramount+)

Non Paramount Plus subscribers that are interested in the new series Special Ops: Lioness are going to have the chance to try before they buy, as the Paramount Plus original series is going to air its first two episodes on TV, specifically the cable channel Paramount Network. Episode 1 of the new series premieres at 9:15 pm ET/PT on Sunday, July 23, while episode 2 airs on Sunday, July 30.

After the first two Special Ops: Lioness episodes air on TV, the rest of the season is only going to be available to stream on Paramount Plus. If you already are a Paramount Plus subscriber, then both of the first two episodes are going to be immediately available to stream on July 23.

Special Ops: Lioness is a brand new series from Taylor Sheridan, the creator of Yellowstone and other Paramount Plus series 1883, 1923, Tulsa King and Mayor of Kingstown. This new show follows Joe, who is the tip of the spear on the CIA's war on terror as she helps run the agency's Lioness program. Working alongside the program's supervisors, Joe recruits an aggressive Marine Raider named Cruz to go undercover among the power brokers of State terrorism as they try to prevent the next 9/11.

The series stars Zoe Saldana, Nicole Kidman, Michael Kelly, Laysla De Oliviera, Jill Wagner, LaMonica Garrett, Dave Annable and Morgan Freeman.

This is not the first time that Paramount Plus has deployed this strategy with new Taylor Sheridan shows. 1883, 1923 and Tulsa King all got special broadcasts on Paramount Network when they first premiered, often paired with new episodes of Yellowstone. Yellowstone season 5 is not on air to be paired with Special Ops: Lioness, but episodes of 1883 are currently airing on Paramount Network, with the new series following the Yellowstone prequel series the next two Sundays.

To watch Special Ops: Lioness on TV over the next two weeks, you need a pay-TV subscription that carries the Paramount Network or a live TV streaming service with the channel, which includes FuboTV, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV and YouTube TV

If you find yourself hooked to the show and want to continue watching after the first two episodes, then you are going to need to subscribe to Paramount Plus.

Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.