The premiere of Special Ops: Lioness has been cancelled (Picture: Paramount)
The premiere of Nicole Kidman’s upcoming spy thriller series Special Ops: Lioness has been cancelled.
The upcoming show, which was inspired by an actual U.S. Military program, follows the life of Joe (Zoe Saldana) while she attempts to balance her personal and professional life as the tip of the CIA’s spear in the war on terror.
As part of the Lioness Program, overseen by Kaitlyn Meade (Kidman), Joe is then given a new partner to work alongside to thwart the next 9/11.
While the show was due to premiere in Los Angeles this week, the event has now been called off in solidarity with the strikes taking place in Hollywood.
Months after the Writers Guild of America (WGA) began their strike, Sag-Aftra union members have now followed suit, with the strike beginning overnight.
The 160,000 members of that union joining the strike now makes it the biggest shutdown of Hollywood since both unions last went on strike together in 1960.
The show stars Nicole Kidman and Zoe Saldana (Picture: Paramount)
As a result, Paramount Plus officials announced on Thursday evening that the Special Ops premiere would no longer go ahead.
‘In light of today’s news of an official SAG strike, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the red carpet premiere of Special Ops: Lioness, planned for Tuesday, July 18,’ they shared in a statement.
‘We recognise this is disappointing news and apologise for any inconvenience it causes.
Sag-Aftra members have joined the picket line (Picture: Mario Tama/Getty Images)
‘We are very excited to celebrate the series and can’t wait for it to debut to Paramount Plus audiences on July 23rd.’
According to Variety, Nicole and Zoe were expected to hit the red carpet at the DGA Theater Complex in LA with their co-stars Laysla De Oliveira, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Kelly, among others.
Earlier this week Nicole and Zoe promoted the show, which was created by Yellowstone’s Taylor Sheridan, in London.
But its premiere has become one of the first red carpets to be cancelled because of the strike.
It comes after London premiere of Oppenheimer took place an hour earlier than scheduled on Thursday and saw the cast, including Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh and Matt Damon, leaving the event after the strike was officially called.
Special Ops: Lioness will premiere on July 23 on Paramount Plus.
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‘We recognise this is disappointing.’
