BritBox's Trailer for 'Riot Women' Sees Your Favorite A-Listers Rock Out

Every woman of a certain age knows that menopause is far worse than anyone tells you. I'm not even talking about the stereotypical wildly fluctuating body temperature issue that every male-written show assumes is the bulk of it. I'm talking about the brain fog. (What was I about to write up again?) I'm talking about the complete sleep pattern disruption, the sudden violent mood swings, zits like you were a teenager, and the sudden inability of your knees and ankles to bounce back after a day of traversing a convention floor. Worst of all are the doctors who dismiss it all, or tell you you'll be fine, just lose 20 pounds. It's enough to make you want to riot.

What I'm saying is God Bless Sally Wainwright and her new highly anticipated series Riot Women. Wainwright, whose credits include Last Tango in Halifax, Gentlemen Jack, and Happy Valley, has rounded up five women who are A-list staples of British television and cast them as five middle-aged misfits, all of whom cannot believe this is all there is in life. The quintet forms a punk band, but these are no Riot Grrls of the 1990s, yelling about equality while falling for "feminist" men and wondering why progress never comes. 

These are the punk band screams of women who have been through childbirth. These are the punk band screams of women who have held down jobs while holding it down for their families. 

These are Riot Women.

Here is the series' finalized synopsis:

A teacher, a police officer, a pub landlady, a midwife, and a shoplifting freeloader: five menopausal women form a punk rock band to take part in a local talent contest, and suddenly find they have a lot more to shout about than they ever imagined. As they become closer, the teacher, Beth, and freeloader, Kitty, discover a surprising, heartbreaking connection.

(And Hand to God, if this show is not a hit, I will riot.)

The series leading ensemble is comprised of Joanna Scanlan (Slow Horses) as Beth, Rosalie Craig (Moonflower Murders) as Kitty, Tamsin Greig (The Completely Made Up Adventures of Dick Turpin) as Holly, Lorraine Ashbourne (The Crown) as Jess, and Amelia Bullmore (Vienna Blood) as Yvonne, with Taj Atwal (Line of Duty), Chandeep Uppal (Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators), and Macy Jacob-Seelochan (Shadow & Bone) as Nisha, Kam and Miranda, the band’s riotous backing singers.

The supporting cast for Riot Women features Anne Reid (Sanditon), Kevin Doyle (Miss Scarlet), Ellise Chappell (Poldark), Peter Davison (Doctor Who), Claire Skinner (Vanity Fair), Amit Shah (Mr Bates vs the Post Office), Natalia Tena (Game of Thrones), Mark Bazeley (Broadchurch), Sue Johnston (Downton Abbey), Rick Warden (Indian Summers), Angel Coulby (Merlin), Jonny Green (It's a Sin), Tony Hirst (Pistol), Shannon Lavelle (The Hardacres), Ben Batt (Domina), Oliver Huntingdon (Sherwood), Richard Fleeshman (The Sandman), Olwen May (A Very British Scandal), Nicholas Gleaves (After the Flood), Thomas Flynn (Masters of the Air) and Melanie La Barrie (London Road).

The series was created by Wainwright, who wrote all six episodes and also served as the series' lead director. Jessica Taylor is the producer. Riot Women will feature original songs from the band ARXX, the Brighton punk duo of Hannah Pidduck (Guitar/Vocals) and Clara Townsend (Drums). Wainwright is also the executive producer, along with Robert Schildhouse & Jess O'Riordan for BritBox, Roanna Benn for Drama Republic, and Tanya Qureshi for the BBC.

Riot Women will premiere on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, with two episodes on BritBox, followed by one episode a week on Wednesdays through the end of November. The BBC has also confirmed the show will premiere in October 2025, in the U.K., but has not provided an exact date.