Two years ago, Mallorca was the setting for Lioness, a series that brought renowned actors Nicole Kidman, Zoe Saldaña and Morgan Freeman to the island. The two-season series, which can now be seen in Spain on SkyShowtime and Movistar Plus+ Ficción Total, turned Mallorca into a real television set during January and February 2023. This Paramount production began filming on 11 January in the heart of Palma, more specifically at the five-star Hotel Glòria, located on Calle Sant Jaume: an authentic Mallorcan mansion with luxurious rooms and a large courtyard.
That same week, filming continued at the Pueblo Español, a well-known open-air museum in Palma located in the Son Espanyolet neighbourhood, which recreates some of the country’s main monuments on a smaller scale. A few days later, the cameras moved to Parc Bit, a business park on the outskirts of Palma that is home to mainly technology companies. It was here that the first images of Nicole Kidman were captured, who had arrived on the island a few days earlier on board her private jet.
Alongside Saldaña, Kidman continued filming the series at the Son Bonet aerodrome, which was Mallorca’s main airport until the 1960s and is located in the municipality of Marratxí. The Paramount production also took the artists to the Club Náutico de Palma, founded in 1948 and considered one of the most important nautical clubs in the world, and to the Velòdrom Illes Balears, a multi-sports pavilion in Palma designed by Dutch architect Sander Douma.
One of the most emotional moments took place in Pollensa, when Kidman received a round of applause from her colleagues after shooting the last scene, a nice way to recognise her professionalism.
The Australian actress took advantage of her stay on the island to discover some of its most charming villages, such as Valldemossa and Deya, visits she shared on Instagram accompanied by the text ‘I love Mallorca’. The actress was also seduced by El Camino, a luxury restaurant on Calle Brondo, where she enjoyed calçots, grilled octopus, bread with tomato and courgette flowers with some of her colleagues.
Morgan Freeman also wanted to sample the cuisine on offer in Mallorca, although in his case he went to the Italian restaurant Sandro: the experience was so good and he liked the Bolognese so much that he returned three times. Zoe Saldaña, accompanied by her husband, former footballer and artist Marco Perego, and their three children, Bowie, Zen and Cy Aridio, took a family stroll along a cove in Bendinat.
The series Lioness focuses on the story of Cruz Manuelos, played by Laysla de Oliveira, a young marine who joins the CIA’s Lioness programme to take down a terrorist organisation from within by befriending the daughter of one of its leaders. The series was a huge hit, which is why a second season was filmed, although Mallorca does not appear in the latter.