BritBox adds another bold original to its lineup with ‘Riot Women,’ a six episode drama created by Sally Wainwright and set in Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire. The series opens with five women forming a makeshift punk rock band in hopes of entering a local talent contest, only to realize that songwriting becomes a release valve for everything they have been carrying.
Across the season, the women navigate demanding jobs, adult children, aging parents, fractured relationships, and long standing personal tensions. Music becomes the thread that pulls them together, turning rehearsals and performances into moments of honesty, humor, and confrontation that move their lives forward.
Each episode deepens the story as a long buried secret begins to emerge, gradually weaving the characters into a complicated web with real consequences. The band is no longer just a creative outlet but a force that reshapes friendships, tests trust, and challenges how each woman sees herself.
There is a jolt of electricity whenever the band locks into its sound, capturing the scrappy thrill of punk as expression rather than polish. That energy carries through the series, giving the story urgency and momentum while grounding it firmly in character driven storytelling.
With two episodes available now and additional episodes arriving weekly, ‘Riot Women’ stands as a sharp, human portrait of creativity colliding with lived experience, where music becomes both refuge and reckoning.