Honestly, when you see Morgan Freeman’s name on a cast list, you expect a certain level of gravitas. You expect the voice. You expect that calm, measured authority that makes everyone else in the room look like they're just playing pretend. In Taylor Sheridan’s spy thriller Lioness, he delivers exactly that, but with a sharp, political edge that most fans didn't see coming during his quiet introduction.
If you’re wondering exactly what is Morgan Freeman's role in Lioness, he plays Edwin Mullins, the United States Secretary of State.
Now, if you only watched the first few episodes of Season 1, you might have missed him entirely. He didn't even show up until Episode 6, titled "The Lie is the Truth." Back then, he was technically a guest star. He was the guy called in to clean up the absolute mess left behind after a high-stakes raid in San Antonio went sideways. He wasn't there to be a hero; he was there to protect the President from the inevitable political fallout.
From Background Player to Series Regular
Everything changed when Season 2 rolled around. Paramount+ didn't just bring him back; they promoted him to a series regular. This is actually a pretty big deal for Freeman personally. Despite a career spanning decades and an Oscar on his shelf, he had never been a series regular on a scripted television show until Lioness Season 2.
Why now? Why this show?
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Basically, it comes down to Taylor Sheridan. Freeman has been pretty vocal about the fact that Sheridan wrote the role specifically with him in mind. When a creator like that tells you, "I wrote this for you," you usually say yes. Plus, as Freeman joked in a recent interview with Collider, the paycheck didn't hurt either.
In Season 2, his role as Edwin Mullins shifts from a reactive "fixer" to a proactive strategist. He is the bridge—or sometimes the wall—between the "killers" (the CIA's Lioness team led by Zoe Saldaña’s Joe) and the white-glove world of international diplomacy.
The Dynamics of Edwin Mullins
Mullins isn't just another suit in a boardroom. He represents the "State" in Secretary of State. While Nicole Kidman’s Kaitlyn Meade and Michael Kelly’s Byron Westfield are busy running tactical operations and moving chess pieces on the ground, Mullins is the one thinking about the global ripple effects.
- Political Firefighter: He describes his job as "tapping and dancing" to keep international disagreements from turning into full-scale wars.
- The Reality Check: He often serves as the moral or pragmatic brake on the CIA’s more reckless impulses.
- The Authority: When he walks into a debrief, the energy shifts. In Season 1, he famously laughed at the CIA's cover story for a domestic raid, calling it "bravo" in the most sarcastic way possible.
Why His Role Matters for the Plot
The show is called Lioness, and it focuses heavily on the female operatives who go undercover. But you can't have a show about state-sponsored assassination and deep-cover espionage without showing the people who actually sign the checks and deal with the ambassadors the next morning.
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Mullins is that guy.
In Season 2, the stakes move closer to home, focusing on a Mexican cartel threat that involves Chinese and Iranian interests. This is exactly where Mullins thrives. He’s the one arguing about whether they can afford to detain a U.S. citizen or if they need to "shift the mission focus" to avoid a domestic disaster. He’s often the only person in the room willing to tell the CIA that their "successful" mission was actually a political nightmare.
There is a specific scene in Season 2 that had fans talking—a long, somewhat polarizing monologue where Mullins lectures a CIA executive at his home. It’s pure Taylor Sheridan writing: preachy, intense, and deeply cynical about the current state of American leadership. Freeman sells it because, well, he’s Morgan Freeman. He manages to make a seven-minute lecture feel like a high-stakes thriller.
Character Breakdown: Edwin Mullins
- Title: U.S. Secretary of State
- First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 6
- Status: Series Regular (as of Season 2)
- Key Conflicts: Constantly at odds with the CIA’s lack of transparency; focused on "plausible deniability."
- Vibe: High-level diplomat who knows where all the bodies are buried but prefers to keep them there.
The Freeman Factor: Behind the Scenes
It’s kind of wild to think that Michael Kelly (who plays Byron) didn't even know Freeman was in the show until the day he arrived on set. He reportedly joked, "God's here!" when he saw him. That’s the level of respect we're talking about.
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Freeman’s approach to the role is surprisingly simple. He doesn't do "method" or over-complicate it. He reads the script, learns the lines, and shows up. He’s noted that playing a Secretary of State isn't that different from playing the President (which he’s done) or the Speaker of the House. It’s all about the posture and the weight of the words.
In Lioness, he brings a necessary friction. Without Mullins, the CIA team would just be running wild. He reminds the audience—and the other characters—that every bullet fired by a Lioness has a political price tag that eventually has to be paid in Washington.
If you’re catching up on the series, keep a close eye on the scenes where Mullins is "off the clock." The show does a great job of showing how a man in his position never truly stops being the Secretary of State. Whether he's in a secure bunker or his own living room, the weight of the world is always visible in the way he carries himself.
Next Steps for Fans:
If you want to see the full evolution of Edwin Mullins, go back and re-watch the Season 1 finale before diving into Season 2. Pay attention to how often the CIA characters mention "State" or "the Secretary"—it sets the stage for why his increased presence in Season 2 is so vital to the show's power structure.