Happy Valley creator's star-studded "punk rock" drama confirms release window with dramatic new first-look trailer

The trailer opens with Beth (After Love’s Joanna Scanlan) asking: "Do you ever feel like you’re living in an alternative universe, where women of a certain age become invisible?"

But that all changes when the band begins to materialise and becomes a catalyst for change in her and the other women's lives, with the footage showing us a glimpse of them having a riotous time in band practice, as well as when they take to the stage for a performance. "This is our time, we need to grasp it," one of them says.

However, it’s not long before an obstacle rears its head, threatening to destroy everything, as Jess (The Buccaneer’s Amelia Bullmore) says of the band’s lead singer Kitty (Moonflower Murders’ Rosalie Craig) and her erratic behaviour: "She’s chaotic. She’s flaky. With her like that I think we call it a day."

You can watch the trailer below:

Alongside Scanlan, Bullmore and Craig, the cast of the series also features Tamsin Grieg (Friday Night Dinner) as Holly, and Taj Atwal (Line of Duty), Chandeep Uppal (Holby City) and Macy-Jacob Seelochan (Shadow and Bone) as the group's backing vocalists.

The official synopsis reads: "As they juggle demanding jobs, grown-up children, complicated parents, husbands who’ve buggered off, and disastrous dates and relationships, the band becomes a catalyst for change in their lives, and it’s going to make them question everything."

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It continues: "The six-part series is a testament to the power of friendship, music, and the resilience of women who refuse to be silenced by age or expectation.

"As the story progresses, it’s more than music that binds them; a deeply potent, long-buried secret begins to surface – one that unexpectedly entangles Kitty and Beth, the two unlikely creative masterminds behind the band, in a complex triangle – and threatens to tear everything apart."

Riot Women will premiere on BBC iPlayer and BBC One in October 2025.

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