Riot Women - Season 1

Riot Women is a loud and moving tribute to middle-aged women and the challenges they face. Writer Sally Wainwright has, over the past few years, penned several series about women in unlikely positions. From police chiefs in rural communities (Happy Valley) to lesbian landowners in the nineteenth century (Gentleman Jack) to highway robbers with supernatural powers (Renegade Nell). In her latest series, Riot Women, she once again places female characters in a unique setting; this time, five middle-aged women form a punk band.

A few years ago, I was quite charmed by We Are Lady Parts, about a punk band consisting of Muslim women. But while We Are Lady Parts is mainly a comedy series that occasionally touches on serious topics, Riot Women is quite the opposite. It contains plenty of light and funny moments that work very well, but it's primarily a serious drama series that tackles heavy subjects.

One of the main characters mentions that she sometimes feels invisible and that there is no attention for the problems faced by her and women of her age; menopause and all the physical discomforts that come with it, elderly parents who can no longer live independently, and adult children who are not yet fully self-sufficient. Wainwright addresses these issues with the subtlety of a wrecking ball.

The way Riot Women addresses issues works excellently.

For Beth (Joanna Scanlan), Kitty (Rosalie Craig), Holly (Tamsin Greig), Yvonne (Amelia Bullmore), and Jess (Lorraine Ashbourne), subtlety is out of the question; their campaign against invisibility is a neon sign, a megaphone, an elephant in a china shop. Situations are exaggerated and reversed, which works excellently in a series about protest music filled with blistering guitar solos and screaming vocals. The story, the design, and the themes intersect in just the right way, thereby reinforcing each other.

Issues like abuse, neglect, sexism, and depression also tie into that feeling of invisibility. Women have been walked over for too long, with all the consequences that entails. The Riot Women have had enough and are fighting back. This is well illustrated in the storyline of Holly, a retired policewoman. When a young officer is assaulted by a colleague, Holly fights for justice with little subtlety. But as it often goes in the real world, nothing is black and white, and every statement is followed by caveats, which is immensely frustrating.

Another strongly highlighted theme is adoption and everything that comes with it, such as the pain of giving up a child or the questions a child might have about their origins later in life. This storyline is incredibly intense and manages to escalate at just the right moment in an outstanding way. Thanks in part to the acting of Joanna Scanlan and Rosalie Craig, this is, in my opinion, the highlight of this first season.

Intense themes are addressed, but it never becomes too heavy.

Although this all sounds intense, the series is never truly too heavy and leaves room for humor. For instance, the storyline surrounding the dementia-stricken mother of Holly and Yvonne (played by a magnificent Anne Reid) is both heartbreaking and hilarious. Wainwright manages to maintain the balance between light and dark without going off the rails. The music (a combination of original songs and covers) is delightful, and the actors all perform very well.

Riot Women, in my opinion, is once again a hit. The series succeeds in putting a spotlight on a group of people who feel invisible and intertwines this with personal and societal issues. While the season ends beautifully and appropriately, many questions remain unanswered, and it's clear that Sally Wainwright is far from finished with this punk band. Let's hope the BBC agrees and announces a second season soon.