The BBC and BritBox Announce Cast for New Sally Wainwright Drama 'Riot Women'

Though Happy Valley has concluded and both Gentleman Jack and Renegade Nell met unfortunate, untimely ends at the hands of network cancelation gods, that doesn't mean prolific TV creator Sally Wainwright has slowed down. Her latest series, a six-part drama for the BBC, was initially titled Hot Flush before settling on  Riot Women. The production announced today it's officially landed an American streaming home, and will debut on BritBox, which joins the series as filming begins in the U.S.

Described as a punk-rocked fueled take on menopause, the show takes its name from the 1990s feminist countercultural "Riot Grrrl" movement. Its story follows a group of five middle-aged women (and two backing singers) who form a makeshift rock band to enter a local talent contest. But as they each juggle demanding jobs, grown-up children, complicated parents, absentee husbands, and disastrous relationships, the band becomes a catalyst for change in all their lives, and Riot Women is a testament to the power of friendship, music, and the resilience of women who refuse to be silenced by age or expectation.

Joanna Scanlan (A Very Royal Scandal) leads the cast (and the titular band) as Beth, alongside Rosalie Craig (Moonflower Murders) as Kitty; Tamsin Greig (The Completely Made Up Adventures of Dick Turpin) as Holly; Lorraine Ashbourne (Sherwood) as Jess; and Amelia Bullmore (The Buccaneers) as Yvonne. The series also features Anne Reid (The Sixth Commandment) as Nancy, Holly and Yvonne's mother and Sue Johnston (Truelove) as Jess's Aunt Mary, along with Peter Davison (Doctor Who), Claire Skinner (McDonald & Dodds), and Angel Coulby (The Tunnel).