FORT WORTH, Texas — Dave Annable wasn’t too familiar with Fort Worth before joining the cast of “Lioness.”

That all changed when the 46-year-old New York native arrived in Cowtown for Season 2 filming back in 2024. He plays Neal on the Paramount+ show, the husband to Joe (Zoe Saldaña) and a pediatric surgeon in his own right.

It didn’t take long for Annable to fall hard for the city, especially after spending several months in Fort Worth again for Season 3.

“Obsessed with Fort Worth, I really am,” he said.

Ahead of “Lioness” Season 3, Episode 7, Annable spoke to the Star-Telegram about the show and his experience in Fort Worth.

The conversation contains spoilers for the seventh episode, which aired on Sunday, Sept. 13. Make sure to watch that before diving in.

[This interview has been edited for clarity and length.]

Q: We’re three seasons into “Lioness,” what still excites you about this show and makes you ready to come into work?

A: Oh, great question. Well, first of all, it’s Taylor’s [Sheridan] writing. Every time I would get a script in my inbox, I was so excited to open it and read it, and in a sense, learn about the world, learn about this world specifically. Going to work with these actors, it’s a real “pinch me”-type situation. And they’re also wonderful people, which is not always the case. I’ve been doing this a long time, and to be able to go to work and have incredible actors I’m standing across from and friends, that’s such a gift. I hope this goes 90 more years [laughs].

Q: One of the big themes this season is morality and how far you’re willing to go to save the person you love. For Neal, I see that in his refusal to take gun safety lessons and refusal to take a human life because of his oath to medicine. I find that admirable, despite the stakes being never being higher this season. What do you think that says about Neal’s character that he has this line? And, do you think he would cross it to get Joe back?

A: That’s a great question, and was something I sort of questioned as the scripts were coming in. Why would Neal not take the gun, right? Why would Neal not take the gun class? It was an interesting exercise as an actor because I remembered in my training that you can’t judge your character, because I was certainly judging him. I was like, “Pick up the gun, dude. You got kids. Like, what are you doing?” I got two daughters. I mean, I’d fire that off.

But I really respect Neal’s oath and his line and his beliefs, right? I believe that he doesn’t think that maybe deep down that his family or himself is in immediate danger, and I do think if there was immediate danger, Neal would pick up that gun quicker than anybody else in the house, right? Because he’s a dad, he’s a father. But at that point in that conversation, I think training with a gun is not something he’s necessarily interested in, right? I think that the oath plays a very big part in that. I have to respect it. I don’t know it, I don’t get it, but I gotta respect it.

Q: I’ve been watching this show for three seasons and I didn’t realize something about the title sequence until recently. Whenever it gets to your card and says, “Dave Annable,” your face is superimposed over a fire, which I think is a good symbol for Neal. He has all this stuff going on underneath. Am I crazy for making that connection, and do you see that at all?

A: Not once, but I love it. I think maybe that is sort of a window into Neal’s journey in this show. Again, I think Neal and Joe have a wonderful love story, and I think it started with support and love but has evolved. Anytime danger is knocking on your front door, I think there’s a real wake-up call for the parties involved. I do think Neal has a lot of fire in him. I think to be a surgeon you got to have some version of a God complex. I think Neal knows his lane. Now that you know what’s happening to Joe is happening, and when he gets her back, I think there’s a very big conversation that needs to happen with some real stakes.

Q: There’s a line towards the end this episode, where Joe tells Two Cups that when you have children you can either live for your life or live for theirs. I think for a lot of parents that sentiment runs true. I want to flip the question to you. You’re a working actor and a dad, how do you balance doing things for you and doing things for them?

A: Oh man, it’s a never-ending battle. You want to be there with your kids for absolutely everything that they’re going through. At the same time, we gotta eat, we gotta work, and my job happens to bring me other places for short periods of stay. But I’ve had that conversation with my daughters, and I think they understand as much as possible. It’s like you’re either getting all of dad, [laughs] where I’m here all the time and they’re pretty sick of me, or I’m gone for a couple weeks and I get to come home and visit. I think my wife [Odette] and I have a really good sort of one-two. We’ve been very fortunate in our careers when she’s been working, I’ve more or less been home and vice versa. But I think my kids got a good grasp on it. You know, [I’m] not in the CIA. Our lives are really not at stake [laughs], so I think that really helps the cause a lot.

I think my wife and I have learned a lot from Neal and Joe, and we really have over the years learned about support. We happen to also be in a job where saying no hurts you. If you say no over and over again, especially with jobs being sort of scarce. It’s hard. I’m here, drove to school this morning. I was in the carpool, full Neal right now, picking them up. But if we’re able to go back to work [on Season 4], then I’ll be gone for a bit. I think they got, like I said, a pretty good grasp on that.

Q: I want to ask you about Fort Worth. You’ve made the last two seasons of “Lioness” here and have spent some time in the city. Generally, what are your thoughts on living and working in Fort Worth?

A: Obsessed. Obsessed with Fort Worth, I really am. I had zero knowledge of it before going up there for season two, and again, I live in Austin, so it’s a wonderful gift that I can drive three hours up there, work and either spend the night or come home or whatever I got to do. That’s a real gift. But the city of Fort Worth is ... I’m obsessed with. The people are amazing. The Stockyards and Clearfork. I just really enjoy working there. I know the cast does as well. We have a lot of fun. We have a lot of fun there.

Q: Do you have any favorite spots you like to check out while in town?

A: You know, certainly hit up the bars with the team. I’m like, let the doctor in, let me come hang out with you guys [laughs]. Was it the White Elephant [Saloon] or? Yeah, we put some clocks and miles there. Actually, the food is so good, and we obviously go to Cattlemen’s [Steakhouse], which is great. The hotels there. I was staying in the Clearfork area, which was great being able to walk along the [Trinity] river every day is really peaceful. And like I said, in my real life, it’s three hours away. My kids have come up and spent the weekend with me, and taken a few daddy daughter trips up there with the kids. Yeah, I just I love it.

Q: When I spoke to Jill Wagner recently, she mentioned how the dance floor at the White Elephant would open up when the “Lioness” crew walked in.

A: When I came though, they put a lot of people on the dance floor, so I couldn’t make my way on there just because they saw my hips and thought I pulled something [laughs]. But yeah, no, it’s a rowdy cast for sure.

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“Lioness” airs Sundays on Paramount+.

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