Zoe Saldaña Says Shooting Lioness Season 2 Was 'Easier' Because of Her 'Beautiful Friendship' with Nicole Kidman (Exclusive)

Returning for another season of the adrenaline-pumping espionage drama sounds potentially daunting, but it helps if you have a good friend by your side.

During a recent interview with PEOPLE, Zoe Saldaña explained how her bond with Nicole Kidman was important in revisiting Lioness, which premiered on Sunday, Oct. 27. In addition to starring in the Paramount+ series, Saldaña and Kidman are executive producers, alongside Yellowstone's Taylor Sheridan among others.

“I feel like it gets easier to collaborate with people that you're familiar with, and we do have a beautiful friendship — it's genuine,” Saldaña says.

Saldaña, 46, and Kidman, 57, explain that they have a “lot of things” in common — “We're both Geminis!” Saldaña muses — but beyond that, they’re also extremely “devoted” to their families.

Saldaña shares three sons with Marco Perego — Cy, 9, Bowie, 9, and Zen, 7. While Kidman has four children whom she has with husband Keith Urban and ex Tom Cruise, including Bella Kidman Cruise, 31, Connor Cruise, 29, Sunday Rose Kidman Urban, 16 and Faith Margaret Kidman Urban, 13.

The two actresses also share a deep love for their craft.

“The one thing that I admire so much about Nicole is that she's very passionate about what she does. She loves what she does,” Saldaña continues. “So there's a level of preparation that she brings to the table, that repurposes you if you're working alongside her. And I get to work with someone that I've truly respected and admired for such a long time. And now, I get to tell my friends like, 'I'm friends with Nicole!'"

Kidman, for her part, says the two have a truly collaborative process.

“We'll go, ‘What about this and what did you think of that? And should we do this?’” she says, adding, “We work together. So, it really is about a team. And we're able to go in together as a united front, which is so good.”

Kidman previously told PEOPLE in July 2023 that production for Lioness is a demanding but ultimately gratifying process.

“There’s an enormous amount of action in this show," she said then. "We both had to work really hard, because they would share this fantastic dialogue, and you want to deliver on that. But it's also very physical and demanding. It's a rollercoaster ride.”

While there can be challenges on set at times, Saldaña tells PEOPLE the cast developed a sense of fellowship and generosity that comes in handy, particularly now that the show is on its second season.

“If we were doing those heavy scenes with the rest of the cast, they would all jump in and run lines with us in order for us to lock in a cadence, so that by the time we're ready for camera, we were just like extensions of each other,” she explains. “That kind of camaraderie, you can only be so lucky to have on set.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

New episodes of Lioness drop Sundays on Paramount+.