'Lioness' star Nicole Kidman reflects on third season's 'dense' script

Nicole Kidman recently got candid and revealed what she makes sure she and her co-star Morgan Freeman understand before recording their scenes in Lioness.

For those unaware, the 59-year-old Australian-American actress and film producer portrays Kaitlyn Meade and the 89-year-old American actor and film producer plays Edwin Mullins in Taylor Sheridan’s CIA thriller series. The show has an ensemble cast, including Zoe Saldaña, Jill Wagner, Laysla De Oliveira, Genesis Rodriguez, Dave Annable, and others.

While attending Paramount+’s The Icons of Taylor Sheridan’s Universe event, Kidman said the work never stops behind the scenes even when the cameras are not rolling.

Alluding to her castmates, she said, “We have to understand every single thing we’re saying,” because the scripts were “dense” and they have to work through them in every episode, adding, “And that is a huge [undertaking].”

The Eyes Wide Shut star quipped, “It has to come trippingly off your tongue. You have to understand everything, and it has to [seem like] something that you are using as everyday language all the time, which obviously we’re not.”

“Michael Kelly and I, and Morgan Freeman, we are just thorougly always working,” she shared.

Before a take, Kidman and her co-star always make sure to completely understand their lines.

“We also do, ‘What does that mean? Decipher it.’ Definition, definition, definition. So that we constantly understand what we’re talking about,” she explained.

It is pertinent to mention that Lioness season three premiered on Paramount+ on August 2, 2026, and new episodes come out every Sunday.