Hannah Waddingham's new comedy caper Ride Or Die is the most purely enjoyable television show of the year, a series that takes a genre — the middle-aged woman finding herself — and injects it with enough action, wit and genuine emotion to make it feel entirely new.
Waddingham plays a former intelligence officer who has settled into a quiet life running a bookshop in a Cotswolds village, a retirement from espionage that is interrupted when her former handler (played by David Oyelowo) turns up with news that a figure from her past has resurfaced and that the bookshop's quiet life is about to become considerably less quiet. What follows is a road trip through the West Country that combines car chases, gunfights and a surprising amount of discussion about the menopause.
The show's genius is that it takes both its action and its emotional content seriously. The fight sequences are genuinely well-choreographed, and Waddingham, who is 52, performs most of her own stunts. The emotional content is treated with the same respect: the show's frank discussion of perimenopause, its effects on mood, memory and libido, and the near-total absence of that conversation from popular culture, is woven into the plot rather than bolted onto it.
The supporting cast is excellent, particularly Juliet Stevenson as Waddingham's mother, who turns out to have a surprising facility with firearms, and Romesh Ranganathan as a hapless accountant who gets swept up in the adventure. The writing, by a team led by Sarah Morgan, is sharp and generous, giving every character a reason to be there and a moment to shine.
Ride Or Die is that rare thing: a show that is genuinely for adults, about adult concerns, that is also enormous fun. It deserves to be a hit.
Join in — free. Comments on Daily Junction are for members, so real names stay rare and bots stay out.
One field. We email you a 6-digit code — no password needed. Your comment is kept while you do it.
Under 13? You’ll need a parent’s OK first — it takes them one click.