Sally Wainwright, the genius behind Happy Valley’s 8 million viewers, unleashes Riot Women, a 6-part BBC drama premiering October 26, 2025, with a 94% Rotten Tomatoes score from early screenings, diving into a gritty, female-led punk rock saga set in 1970s Yorkshire. Filmed in Leeds from June to October 2025, the series stars Joanna Scanlan as Beth, a single mother whose raw vulnerability sparks a rebellion, joining four women to form a punk band that defies societal norms, sparking 3.2M #RiotWomenRage posts for its “unflinching honesty.”
The saga’s searing surge? Spellbinding: Episode 1 catapults Beth into a shattering loss, a stage dive etched with doubt, unspooling a web where sisters conceal scars and dreams harbor defiance. Scanlan’s Beth? A “masterclass in mettle,” her broken resolve warping to fierce rebellion, unraveling a ripple of regrets where a “trusted friend” surfaces as sabotage. Co-stars deepen the drama: Siobhan Finneran as a “haunted drummer” with a sting, Jodie Comer as a “fiery guitarist” with secrets. Wainwright’s script quivers with quips—“Punk screams what silence buries”—but the “brutal” stakes bite: a botched gig buries hope, a VVIP viper’s venom turns ally to antagonist.
The “Happy Valley heir”? Volcanic: Building on Wainwright’s legacy, Riot Women amps the “slow-burn” pathos with “gritty” soundscapes and “authentic” 1970s vibes, Yorkshire’s “moody haze” amplifying “raw themes.” The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan raves “pacy, poignant drama” with Scanlan’s “reliably raw” heart; The Times’s Carol Midgley hails Comer’s “Icily Glamorous” intensity and the “haunting” score. Radio Times’s Alison Herman praises the “confidence, style, authenticity.” Skeptics? “Mired in angst,” but the 1-in-2 twist-to-triumph ratio hooks, BARB metrics outgunning The Jetty.
This isn’t punk play; it’s a requiem for the rebellious, Riot Women’s “defiance” a flare for the fearless where empowerment erupts and scars sing. Beth’s band? Bold. The stage? Sizzling. October 26? Not a drop—a deluge. Binge it; the riffs roar, the dramas devastate. Scanlan’s spirit? Spellbinding. The obsession? Overnight, inescapable.
