Zoe Saldaña And Taylor Sheridan Disagreed Over Lioness' Season 3 Finale — And She Won

The "Lioness" Season 3 finale dealt a devastating blow to Zoe Saldaña's Joe McNamara with a turn of events the star pushed showrunner Taylor Sheridan to include. 

At the end of "The Unraveling," Joe finally returns home after her harrowing kidnapping and rescue, only to find a "For Sale" sign in the front yard and discover that her husband Neal (Dave Annable) and their children have left. Joe's family life was on the ropes before "Lioness" Season 3, but the added strain of Joe's abduction by then-unknown men and her refusal to accept a desk job were enough for Neal to leave with Kate (Hannah Love Lanier) and Charlie (Celestina Harris).

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Saldaña explained why she advocated for Neal to finally draw a line in the sand. "I just kept calling Taylor as he was writing this season and sharing with him, 'I don't know why he would stay ... If violence and threats approach the door of our home because of what my partner does, I would have to put my children first and leave,'" she said. "Taylor and I would have these little micro-disagreements about it. He believes in their love and that their love can withhold and survive everything. And that may very well be the case. I am grateful to Taylor that he gave Neal the f***ing strength to leave her in order for him to make a point."

"Lioness" is still waiting on a Season 4 announcement from Paramount+ as of this writing, leaving the future of Joe's fractured family uncertain. But Zoe Saldaña has already made it clear that, if the series returns, she hopes Neal's departure at the end of "Lioness" Season 3 isn't where their story ends.

In the same Entertainment Weekly interview, Saldaña touched on her view of Joe and Neal's relationship and what she would like to see from them in a potential fourth season. "I'm selfish, and if we are able to come back and do a Season 4, I wouldn't want their story to just have ended like that. Because these are two people who really found each other. I feel that Joe and Neal are like doves, they mate for life," she explained. 

For now, it remains unclear what role Neal and the children might play if "Lioness" returns for Season 4.