Zoe Saldaña and Nicole Kidman Dazzle at ‘Lioness’ Premiere

Saldaña was joined onstage at the SVA Theatre by Kidman, who plays Kaitlyn Meade, the CIA official overseeing the entire Lioness program. “I’d never played this type of woman before, where there is an enormous strength and then her allegiance and her protection of her country,” Kidman said. “That’s what she will live and die for.”

Lioness is the brainchild of Taylor Sheridan, who cocreated the hit Western Yellowstone and came up with subsequent spin-offs including 1883 and 1923. But unlike his previous work, Lioness focuses on female protagonists juggling complicated homelives, inner demons, and brutal geopolitical conflicts. If you love complex military acronyms (OPSEC, PID, DLA, TTP), serious gore, and Call of Duty, you’ll find much to love here.

In season three, the show’s characters are forced to evolve. “There were things this year that I didn’t get to try the first season, like, how does Cruz smile? How does she laugh?” cast member Laysla De Oliveira joked during the Q&A. “I don’t know! She’s been brooding for so long.”

“I still never smile!” Kidman added of her own character, laughing.

Saldaña noted that season three also sheds light on the morally gray decisions each character must make. “They understand that bad things can happen to good people, and good things can happen to bad, and that good people have to sometimes do unimaginable bad things in order to accomplish a greater good,” she said. “And to think that that never comes back to haunt you is naive as well.”

“Season three gets more cerebral, and that doesn’t mean to say that we don’t blow a lot of stuff up,” cast member Jill Wagner told VF. “It is a Taylor Sheridan show!”

She later added: “Most of the time, when you’re in the room with him, he is one of the most powerful people in the room, whether he wants to be or not. He is a force, and I do think he puts a little bit of himself in each one of these characters.”

“If someone like Taylor believes in you, then you have no other choice but to believe in yourself,” Saldaña said. “He definitely is incredibly crass and very honest. So if he gives you a compliment, please know it’s true, and then run with it.”

After the Q&A, the screening began. Those in the crowd held their breath—and audibly gasped—as the opening to season three unfolded onscreen. When the house lights came on, some stared at their neighbors in shock.

Then the cast transformed again, this time wearing shorter cocktail dresses for VF’s after-party at The Living Room at Faena New York. Saldaña, Kidman, and the rest of the team milled about a romantic and moody bar as servers circulated with plates heaped with Sarti spritzes and caviar. Other high-profile guests included West Side Story Academy Award winner Ariana DeBose, photographer Hunter Abrams, heiress and entrepreneur Hannah Bronfman, and creative consultant Brooke Wise.

As the night wore on, the crowd got livelier. De Oliveira changed into a stylish black romper and hit the dance floor, grabbing the hands of Hannah Love Lanier and Celestina Harris—the teens who play Joe’s daughters—and jumping to the beat before hopping behind the DJ booth and throwing her hands up in the air.

Moments later, Saldaña pulled De Oliveira into a tight hug, and the pair giggled like old friends. Saldaña, shimmering in Cartier, mingled with costars and hugged fans and friends, giving Kidman an especially tight squeeze.

Saldaña then pivoted to posing for photos with her onscreen family: Lanier, Harris, and a dashing Dave Annable, who plays Dr. Neal McNamara on the show. Faena staff in luxurious red capes circled around them, serving light bites and cold martinis.

For a moment of peace, some partygoers stepped into the fresh summer night for a quick smoke break on the venue’s patio. Light from surrounding Chelsea high-rises illuminated their fabulous outfits, including Abrams’s embellished skirt (paired with dark sunglasses) and the velvet embroidered bodice on new Lioness cast member Elizaveta Neretin.

Elsewhere, Michael Kelly (who plays Byron Westfield on the series) raised a glass of Champagne with De Oliveira; he stayed at the party all night with his wife and younger son. Saldaña, too, was at the party until the final stragglers began to head home.