When you think of Morgan Freeman, TV is not the first thing to come to mind; Freeman’s legendary movies are. However, that’s starting to change, because following his first season on Lioness, he was upgraded to a regular for Season 2 – which is the first time that’s ever happened to him. Now, he’s opening up about why he joined the Paramount+ series, and his answer makes complete sense.
As you well know if you follow any of the Yellowstone shows or Taylor Sheridan’s various other series, the list of A-listers he has roped in for them is remarkable. The cast of Lioness is no exception, either. Led by Zoë Saldaña, it also features Nicole Kidman, Michael Kelly and, of course, Freeman. While speaking to TV Insider about his part in the drama, The Shawshank Redemption star explained why he said yes to it, and his two-word answer mirrors the reason why just about everyone decides to join these projects:
Taylor Sheridan.
Over the years, I’ve heard many big-time movie actors talk about why they said yes to a Taylor Sheridan show, and almost always, they’ll cite the prolific writer, director and producer. Morgan Freeman is no different.
Elaborating on why he was drawn to Sheridan’s CIA thriller, the Se7en actor said:
I’m so enamored of him and his work. He’s so prolific, and it’s always good.
Let it be known that Morgan Freeman saying yes to a scripted, dramatic TV series is a super big deal. Early in his career, he was a regular on the variety show The Electric Company, and he’s appeared in a few miniseries here and there. Outside of that, he’s had small roles on shows like The Twilight Zone, The Kominsky Method and Madam Secretary. However, Lioness marks his first time starring in an episodic drama for more than one season.
In Lioness, The Bucket List actor plays the U.S. Secretary of State, Edwin Mullins. In Season 2 specifically, he has a much bigger role to play, seeing as he was upgraded to a regular. The Oscar winner explained that he was excited to join the drama in part because Sheridan wrote this role for him, and that was incredibly “flattering:”
I was cast by him to play the role that he wrote. So it’s almost as if he’s saying to me, ‘I wrote this for you,’ which is flattering in and of itself. After that, there’s nothing like putting on a pair of comfortable shoes.
So, the mix of Sheridan’s writing and specific vision for Freeman’s character is what pulled him into Lioness, which is the case for many of the prolific writer's shows.
To prove that point, at the moment, Taylor Sheridan has two other dramas airing on the 2024 TV schedule alongside Lioness.
On one hand, he has the final episodes of Yellowstone – the Western that began his wild run of series and starred Kevin Costner (who is no longer there) – dropping weekly on the Paramount Network. Over the years, the cast has prised Sheridan’s writing, specifically, plus, their roles in the modern Western have turned them into stars.
Meanwhile, Season 1 of Landman is also airing, and it stars Billy Bob Thornton in a role that was literally written specifically for him, as the actor told CBS News.
So, Morgan Freeman’s reasoning for joining Lioness is right in line with a bunch of other A-listers who have been cast in various other Taylor Sheridan shows. Plus, I’d assume that when your roster of actors across a whole slew of projects includes names like Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, Sam Elliott, Kevin Costner, Jeremy Renner and literally so many more, there’s a good reason to join.
All-in-all, this beloved actor’s reasoning for saying yes to Lioness makes a ton of sense. And if you’d like to see him performing in the series, you can stream it now with a Paramount+ subscription and catch new episodes there every Sunday.
