Vancouver-linked actress Elizaveta Neretin lands key role in Lioness season 3, premiering August 2

Elizaveta Neretin, who lived in Vancouver from 2015 to 2021, has landed a key role in season 3 of Lioness, the Paramount+ espionage series starring Oscar winners Zoe Saldaña and Nicole Kidman, premiering August 2.

Neretin first worked with writer/producer/director Taylor Sheridan on the first season of Mayor of Kingstown in 2021, playing the wife of a Russian mob boss — a role that didn't survive the first episode. After the initial day of filming, Sheridan sat down with her and said, "Why did I kill you?" She mentioned she was heading to Juilliard to study theatre, and he was supportive, telling her, "Don't worry about it. Do the schooling. It's a great privilege, and I'll see you on the other side."

A month before graduating from Juilliard in spring 2025, Neretin reached out to Sheridan. "He said, 'I have something for you. I hope you're free.' And I said, 'I sure am'," she recalled in an interview.

By fall 2026, she was on set in Fort Worth, Texas shooting Lioness season 3. The series follows Joe McNamara (Saldaña), a CIA special ops leader who works with civilian intelligence officers and embedded military to fight terrorism, based on a real-life military initiative where female operatives are embedded to get close to the wives, daughters or girlfriends of dangerous terrorists. Season 3 sees the Lioness team face its most dangerous mission, with "hidden networks, foreign operatives, and personal betrayals" colliding as Joe walks the line between duty and home.

Neretin plays an international operative who catalyzes the story. "I'm the spark that begins the story that we're gonna watch unfold," she said, noting that cast members receive episodes just weeks before shooting them, keeping everyone on edge about where the narrative is headed. Sheridan closely guards his storylines.

Neretin, born in Cherkasy, Ukraine, is fluent in Russian, Ukrainian and French — languages that could factor into her role, though nothing has been confirmed about which she uses. She spent her childhood moving across Moldova, Russia and Ukraine before moving to Montreal with her father at age 14. Her mother and other family members remain in Ukraine.

Working on set in Fort Worth, where Sheridan has built his own studio compound, Neretin described a thriving ecosystem. "There's a whole universe. There's a whole city. He's built film studios that are just Taylor Sheridan studios," she said.

On set, she found Kidman "lovely" when they met. As a fan of Moulin Rouge, Neretin had to keep her composure. Saldaña, as the series lead, created a nurturing environment and set a strong example. "You get onto set as a new actor and you're like, can I do this? Can I ask for this? Can I say this? And then you see someone like Zoe who has been doing this for a while and is great at what she does, and she asks for things very politely," Neretin said. During Thanksgiving, Saldaña invited her to spend the holiday with her family and other cast members.