Riot Women (2025)

The critic calls the series a fierce, funny, and profound ensemble dramedy about middle-aged women forming a punk band as an outlet for rage and reinvention. Strong performances, especially from Joanna Scanlan and Rosalie Craig, anchor the exploration of menopause, community, and dark themes balanced with comedy.

This high-pedigree TV drama about midlife women who form a punk band is up there with Happy Valley and Last Tango in Halifax. It is rich, plot-packed, and perfectly seasoned with humour.

Wainwright’s drama is a glorious feminist roar and battle cry for overlooked middle-aged women who form a punk band to smash the patriarchy and fight invisibility. It is not subtle but features excellent character work and performances, especially from Joanna Scanlan and Rosalie Craig.

Riot Women is a rampage against middle age and the menopause with a top-drawer cast, but it is crushingly unsubtle and heavy-handed with the menopause stuff.

The critic praises Sally Wainwright’s series for capturing the bottled-up rage and midlife pressures of its five female protagonists through their formation of a punk band. She highlights the strong ensemble performances, especially Rosalie Craig as the chaotic Kitty, and notes how the show empowers viewers by making menopausal women feel seen.

Sally Wainwright’s Riot Women started with a dramatic punch and kept up the raucously high energy. It is an absolute banger with brio and “f*** you” attitude, though some messages became a bit sermonish.

The critic finds the series a thoughtful if imperfect look at midlife women reclaiming their voices via a punk band, praising the heartfelt tone, strong performances, and focus on overlooked issues like menopause and caregiving. She criticizes heavy-handed writing, excessive violence, one-dimensional male characters, and overstretched episodes.