How Will Lioness Pay Off that Cliff-Hanger in Season 4?

2 min readLioness fans spent all of season 3 racking their brains over who was behind Joe’s (Zoe Saldaña) kidnapping. The third season of Taylor Sheridan’s CIA drama focused on the team’s efforts to recover their fellow agent, who was abducted in the premiere, while running down a list of all possible assailants. But as the weeks went on, Lioness’s “most personal mission yet,” as Paramount teased, only seemed further away from landing at the right suspect. That is, until Stephanie Nur returned in the finale.The actress, who previously played Aaliyah in Lioness’s first season, was a much-welcomed surprise return in the season 3 finale. Joe and her team destroyed her life in season 1 when they both killed her father and her fiancé on suspicion of bankrolling terrorism in the Middle East. So, no other named character had more motive to attack Joe directly than her. Her reintroduction as the villain behind Joe’s kidnapping was the perfect finale cliff-hanger.Turns out, it was a surprise to Nur too. According to the actress, she assumed that Sheridan was calling her about another series when he rang her up about Lioness. “Him and I have worked together before, and he’s known for having an ensemble of cast that he uses in different shows,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “I just assumed that he was calling me about a different show, because it had been three years.”Instead, Sheridan told her about his idea for the finale and she was floored. “I was very surprised as well that Aaliyah was back, very honored, and of course, very happy because I’m super attached to her, and she resonated with so many people,” Nur said in an interview with TV Insider.Lauren "Lo" SmithStephanie Nur returned as Aaliyah in the Lioness season 3 finale.Over 7 million viewers tuned in to watch the premiere of Lioness season 3 in its first week, but Paramount has yet to reveal how many viewers stuck around for the finale. Still, even with such a strong fan response, the series has not been renewed for season 4 just yet. That’s certainly a must following Aaliyah’s cliff-hanger, and Nur is hoping that she can return to finish out her character’s story.“Selfishly, I care about her,” Nur continued. “So I want her to have the best outcome that she can have, and I’m sure Taylor will write that, whatever it is.”“Every woman wants a redemption story,” she said.We’ll find out when Paramount finally announces if Lioness will return for season 4, which can’t be too far away.