'Perimenopausal women with guns': Hannah Waddingham leads midlife women having all the fun and chaos in must-watch Ride or Die
'It's about women of a certain age, starring women of a certain age' - a TV gem has arrived for midlife women everywhere
If you're a perimenopausal or menopausal woman who needs a little excitement and wants to feel seen, tune in to Ride or Die.
Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer head up Prime Video's 8-part assassin comedy-adventure, where midlife women have all the guns, chaos and drama instead of being bystanders while men get all the action.
Their menopausal status isn't the punchline, and Judith Burton (Hannah Waddingham) and Debbie Claybourne (Octavia Spencer) pave the way for women of any age to "write a new chapter" in their epic adventure where age simply doesn't matter.
The story begins with best friends of 35 years Judith and Debbie having startling revelations. Debbie finds out that Judith isn't the forensic accountant she tells everyone she is, and is actually an international assassin.
Debbie's revelation is more rooted in reality, and she realises that her husband has also been lying to her, in a best friend/husband telling fibs double whammy.
While on the brink of an empty nest she also finally works out that her life has been a constant battle to juggle absolutely everything because she's a woman, and now she's reached a "certain age" and is expected to fade into obscurity and hasn't really lived.
Realising she can create her own destiny (aka not be obscure and live any way she wants,) and choosing to continue her friendship with Judith despite the epic lie, Debbie finds herself in an unimaginable situation.
When a mysterious man from Judith's past turns up and a hit goes badly wrong, Judith finds herself in quite a predicament and ends up on the run with Debbie along for the ride.
Road tripping across Europe and dodging law enforcement, highly trained assassins and the most dangerous criminals, what follows is chaos that's "both physical and mental and spiritual."
Hannah Waddingham knows shows like Ride or Die have been done a "million" times before, but also knows how special this one is because of the age of the cast and the notable female-centric way it's been written.
Describing what audiences will love about the series, the actress says it's about "two women being funny with each other, or two women perimenopausal and menopausal - there’s things with guns, things with cars, clever espionage - all of that."
She also did all of her own stunts, and has something special planned for one of the scars she's been left with.
"I’ve never done stunts like this before," she explains, adding, "I’ve got scars and everything, that’s my badge of honour."
For one of her scars, she says, "I think I might have a little tattoo under it."
For Octavia Spencer, she's also completely in love with the way writers Tessa Coats and Matt Miller "subvert expectations" with the script.
She says the pair have "done a wonderful job making an exciting show about women of a certain age, starring women of a certain age," saying their work is "a love letter" to midlife women.
Octavia shares, "We are seeing two women in their prime. Debbie is a mother who is about to have an empty nest."
"For a lot of women who find themselves in that position, or close to retirement age, I think they think life is over, but it’s a new chapter being written. It is empowering in that way."
All episodes of Ride or Die are available to watch on Prime Video from July 15.
