The Cutprice Guignol

Do you know what the world of action-thrillers have really been missing? No, not gunfights, or gritty international espionage, or someone leaning seriously over a laptop saying enhance. What they’re really crying out for is a good, solid bit of platonic female friendship. Which is, luckily enough, exactly where Ride or Die comes in.

Created by Tessa Coates, Ride or Die kicks off with Judith (Hannah Waddingham) as the two sides of her life finally clash – one where she’s a best friend to Debbie (Octavia Spencer), talking book clubs and antique hunting, and the other where she’s an ultra-competent assassin taking out targets across the world with a reputation spanning more than three decades. When Debbie finds herself in the middle of one of Judith’s jobs thanks to her husband’s involvement with the Albanian mob, the two take off together in an attempt to survive the onslaught of the various formidable opponents. And maybe finally get that apothecary cabinet that Judith has been wanting for so long.

Ride or Die is basically an excuse for Hannah Waddingham to Bond it up in every way imaginable, and she does it in spades – in an era where Bond feels a bit dead on the vine, it’s enormously fun to see shows like this take up the mantle of the British secret service agents caught up in international espionage, and Waddingham is exactly the woman for the job. Impossibly charismatic, she balances the inherent silliness of the role with real charm and some decent action chops, and, as the character inches towards more vulnerability over the course of the show, she delivers it without cheese or schmaltz. Octavia Spencer (from whom I am still patiently waiting for a Ma sequel) is typically brilliant, delivering a few moments of real heartfelt emotion in between the breezy thriller dialogue, and I love the way Coates and the rest of the writer’s room furnish her with well-seeded skills of her own; she’s not just running around trying to keep up with her best friend, but a canny, intelligent, and adaptable asset in her own right. And she runs a book club which I urgently need an invitation to, so, you know, I’ll keep an eye on my email.

The rest of the world the show inhabits are equally well-drawn, leaning in with a shameless glee to classic British thriller tropes – the secret vault of high-tech gadgets hidden behind a shoe shop, the agent handlers desperately trying to keep things on track, the supercilious agency director (as played here by Bill Nighy, occasionally subject to an absolutely heinous de-ageing filter for flashback sequences that make him look like a plasticine mask of his own face) with a cold outlook and plummy accent. Sylvia Hoeks is on duty as the batshit villain here, and she chews up the scenery in a fun, off-kilter performance in which she takes as much joy throwing a man off a building as she does taking shots with her best friend. Ed Skrein spends most of his screentime admiring his own cheekbones in the lens reflection, but his chemistry with Waddingham and Spencer is so good I don’t even care that much. The writing’s light-footed and breezy, the pace is brisk and keeps things moving at a fair clip right up until the final episode, and the rolodex of setpieces (skiing through the mountains, fistfight on a train, heist in a vault, escape in the back of a moving car, take your pick) never leaves the action feeling repetitive.

What I love most about Ride or Die, though, is how it places a platonic relationship at the heart of its story – and takes it seriously. So often in fiction and even real life, romantic connection is valued higher than friendship or other platonic connection. And look, I’m someone who loves a good ol’ bit of romance, but it’s a decidedly refreshing change to see this friendship act as the engine of this story without question or second-guessing. Judith and Debbie’s love for each other is profound, deep, and spans decades of their lives. As someone who has a few friendships that fit into exactly this category, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that they have been as important in shaping me as a person and bringing joy, comfort and support into my life as any romantic connection has been.

Ride or Die is an enormously fun slice of televisual thriller entertainment, buoyed by the excellent performances from Waddingham and Spencer and the seriousness with which the show treats their relationship. It scratched the itch that Frauds left me with last year, but I’d love to hear about other recommendations you have for shows in a similar vein in the comments below!

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(header image via Hollywood Reporter)