--- title: "We Are Lady Parts" year: 2021 kind: "series" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/we-are-lady-parts" fi1m_score: 80 critics_score: 84 critics_reviews: 9 published: "2026-09-18T10:44:18.170619+00:00" updated: "2026-09-18T10:44:18.883201+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # We Are Lady Parts (2021) Created by Nida Manzoor · Comedy **Fi1m score: 80** · Critics 84 from 9 reviews *In a sentence:* Five women, one loud rehearsal room and a song about honour killing that we were still humming on the bus > Nida Manzoor’s sitcom about an all-female Muslim punk band is quick, rude and warm, with songs that stick and a lead performance from Anjana Vasan that carries six episodes without strain. The men are thin and the plot predictable, and it barely matters. ## Synopsis Amina Hussain (Anjana Vasan) plays guitar beautifully in her bedroom and nowhere else, and is looking, with her parents’ cheerful help, for a husband. Lady Parts is a punk band: Saira (Sarah Kameela Impey) sings, Ayesha (Juliette Motamed) drums, Bisma (Faith Omole) plays bass and Momtaz (Lucie Shorthouse) manages them in a niqab with a vape. They need a lead guitarist. Amina turns up to the audition because Ayesha’s brother Ahsan (Zaqi Ismail) is the bait, and finds she can play but cannot stand in front of anyone without being sick. The band want her; her friend Noor (Aiysha Hart) wants her married; her parents Seema (Shobu Kapoor) and Tariq (Madhav Sharma) want her happy. ## Review Nida Manzoor created *We Are Lady Parts*, wrote it and directed it, and it arrived on 20 May 2021 as six episodes about an all-female Muslim punk band who cannot find a lead guitarist. The one they find is Amina Hussain (Anjana Vasan), a young woman who plays beautifully in her bedroom and vomits when anyone watches. That is the sitcom: a band that needs a shy woman, and a shy woman who needs, though she would deny it, a band. It is quick, rude, warm and better made than most British comedy of its size, and we recommend it to almost anyone. Its real weakness is that the men in it are barely there. The songs are the reason it works. Shez Manzoor is credited with the music, and the band’s numbers are proper three-minute punk songs with jokes in them, and they get ruder as the series goes on. We laughed out loud, alone, at the first chorus, then caught ourselves checking whether we were allowed to, which we suspect is exactly what Manzoor wanted. The songs are played loud and slightly ragged, the way a real band in a small room sounds, and the show never pretends the band is better than it is. Diana Olifirova shoots Amina’s life in bright, flat, sweet colours, pastel cardigans against pale walls, and the band’s rehearsal room in reds and shadow, so that the cut from one to the other feels like a door slamming. Simon Walker and Amy Maguire’s production design gives the rehearsal room the clutter of somewhere people spend their evenings rather than a set somebody dressed that morning. PC Williams dresses the five women so you could pick each out at fifty yards: Saira in a vest and leather, Momtaz in a niqab with a vape never far from her hand, Amina in floral prints that look chosen by a kind aunt. Robbie Morrison cuts fast and lets Manzoor’s fantasy interludes, black-and-white confessions to camera and the odd daydream, land as gags and get out. Vasan holds it together. Amina is a mass of tics, apologies and sudden competence, and Vasan plays the competence as the surprise, so that when she finally plays a solo the band sits up, and so did we. Sarah Kameela Impey’s Saira is the one who wants the band most and has not yet worked out what she would say if anyone listened; Impey gives her a stillness the others lack. Lucie Shorthouse gets the best lines as Momtaz, who negotiates gig fees from behind a veil with the manner of a nightclub bouncer. Juliette Motamed’s Ayesha and Faith Omole’s Bisma are drawn with less detail, but they are never merely the drummer and the bassist. The men are the weak part. Ahsan (Zaqi Ismail) exists to be looked at, which is fair given how much Amina looks at him, but he never becomes anyone. Aiysha Hart’s Noor, the friend steering Amina towards marriage, is written broadly enough that her scenes feel like a different, cheaper show. Amina’s stage fright is resolved roughly the way you will predict from the first episode, and one or two of the fantasy sequences run a beat past the joke. Six episodes is not many, and a strand in the second half about how the band is seen from outside is hurried where it needed room. British sitcoms about young women in bands are not a crowded field, and British sitcoms about Muslim women who are allowed to be rude, randy and wrong are rarer still. Manzoor makes full use of the space that gives her. Amina’s parents Seema (Shobu Kapoor) and Tariq (Madhav Sharma) are the gentlest joke in it, liberal, loving and faintly disappointed that their daughter is not more of a rebel. Most critics have placed the first series a little higher than we do, and we see why; the songs alone would carry a weaker show. A second series of six episodes followed on 30 May 2024. Start with the first, and if the first song makes you laugh, you are in for the lot. *Fi1m score 80, published 18 September 2026.* ## What the critics say The reviews are unanimous in their approval. Critics like that a sitcom about an all-female Muslim punk band lets its characters be funny, rude, confused and devout at once, rather than making a lesson of them. The praise clusters on the band itself: the easy camaraderie between the women, the sisterhood that holds the plotting together, and the original songs, which several critics single out as funny in their own right. The ensemble is admired across the board; Collider picks out Anjana Vasan and Sarah Kameela Impey, and IndieWire credits Nida Manzoor’s direction with drawing a spark from the performance scenes. The spread is narrow. The one clear reservation comes from The Telegraph, which enjoys the premise and the lead but thinks the series tries a little too hard to be cool and paints with a broad brush. One or two others note the chaos of the plotting without holding it against the show. Nobody dislikes it; the disagreement is only about how warmly to recommend it. ### Reviews we read (9) - **Evening Standard** (90/100, inferred): The critic describes the series as a riotous musical comedy fizzing with anarchic energy and instantly memorable characters. She singles out the easy camaraderie of the band and the touching depictions of family ties and female friendships. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/we-are-lady-parts-review-channel-4-b936285.html) - **The AV Club**, Saloni Gajjar (A-): The series is a delightful coming-of-age story with authentic representation of Muslim experiences, featuring catchy original songs and astute commentary. It avoids stereotypical tropes and showcases nuanced takes on representation through strong ensemble chemistry. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/peacock-s-we-are-lady-parts-is-an-endearingly-angsty-te-1846974369) - **The Guardian**, Mina Hussain (90/100, inferred): The critic praises the series as a fresh, stereotype-defying sitcom about an all-female Muslim punk band that allows its characters to be funny, sexual, ridiculous and conflicted. She highlights the strength of the sisterhood and the hilarious original songs amid the cultural confusion and millennial feminism. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/may/20/we-are-lady-parts-review-give-it-up-for-tvs-fearless-muslim-riot-grrrls) - **Vulture**, Jen Chaney (85/100, inferred): The delightful series upends stereotypes about Muslim culture with its brash all-female punk band, delivering energy, joy, and authentic rough music. It lovingly photographs the women and explores their multifaceted identities without pigeonholing them. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/we-are-lady-parts-peacock-series-review.html) - **IndieWire**, Steve Greene (B+): The critic highlights the energetic merging of aspiring artists and the fictional frame, praising the playful flair and distinct twists. Nida Manzoor's direction draws a spark out of the band's performances. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/2021/06/we-are-lady-parts-peacock-review-punk-band-season-1-1234642099/) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Lovia Gyarkye (80/100, inferred): The series is an entertainingly chaotic story of Muslim sisterhood centered on an all-women punk band. The critic praises the sharp writing, zesty style, dynamic performances (especially the lead singer), and the way it handles the characters' relationship to their faith and identity without reducing it to a simple escape narrative. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/we-are-lady-parts-1234962099/) - **The Telegraph** (70/100, inferred): The review calls the series a sparky comedy that joyfully dismantles Muslim stereotypes through its all-female punk band premise. It notes the lovable lead and broad approach but suggests it tries a bit too hard to be cool. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2021/05/20/lady-parts-review-joyful-dismantling-muslim-stereotypes/) - **Collider**, Liz Shannon Miller (A-): The critic calls the series one of the most delightfully punk shows, praising its story of young Muslim women forming identities and a band outside cultural expectations. She singles out the strong ensemble performances, especially Anjana Vasan and Sarah Kameela Impey, the infectious spirit, and the mix of original tracks and covers. [Read](https://collider.com/we-are-lady-parts-review-peacock/) - **Paste**, Shayna Maci Warner (80/100, inferred): The critic highlights how the show celebrates repeated failures as essential to DIY success and queer/marginalized coming-of-age stories. She praises the raucous tone, exciting soundtrack, stylized interludes, and the raw enthusiasm of the sisterhood among the band members. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/we-are-lady-parts/we-are-lady-parts-review) ## Details - **Created by:** Nida Manzoor - **Creator:** Nida Manzoor - **Director:** Nida Manzoor - **Writer:** Nida Manzoor - **Cinematography:** Diana Olifirova - **Editor:** Robbie Morrison - **Music:** Shez Manzoor - **Production design:** Simon Walker, Amy Maguire - **Costume design:** PC Williams - **Producer:** John Pocock, Nida Manzoor - **Cast:** Anjana Vasan as Amina Hussain; Sarah Kameela Impey as Saira; Juliette Motamed as Ayesha; Faith Omole as Bisma; Lucie Shorthouse as Momtaz; Zaqi Ismail as Ahsan; Aiysha Hart as Noor; Shobu Kapoor as Seema - **Release (the US):** 20 May 2021 - **Genres:** Comedy - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPqzoAjxvl4 ## Where to watch in the US - Peacock: streaming, hd - The Roku Channel: add-on, hd - Apple TV: buy, hd *Checked 2026-09-18.* Also available in: AU, CA, GB, IE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Edinburgh International Television Festival 2021: Edinburgh International Television Festival (won) - Rose d'Or 2021: Rose d'Or (won) ## If you liked this - *Derry Girls* (2018), Fi1m 83: Another gang of loud girls, another set of parents who deserve better and get jokes — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/derry-girls.md) - *Chewing Gum* (2015), Fi1m 78: Michaela Coel’s estate comedy, just as rude about faith, family and wanting things — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/chewing-gum.md) - *Linda Linda Linda* (2005): Japanese schoolgirls form a band for a festival; quiet, funny and note-perfect - *Polite Society* (2023), Fi1m 77: Manzoor’s film, in which a sister’s wedding is treated as a martial arts problem — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/polite-society.md) - *The Commitments* (1991), Fi1m 82: Dublin soul band, endless arguments, songs worth the arguing; the template for band comedies — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-commitments.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/we-are-lady-parts