Ride or Die, an American TV series billed as action adventure comedy, is an Amazon Prime exclusive.
This new Prime exclusive was created by Tessa Coates, writer, comedian, and one third of the sketch group Massive Dad, and has showrunner Matt Miller with his action acventure creds like the TV series Lethal Weapon and Chuck.
Ride or Die stars well-known actors, Octavia Spencer, Hannah Waddingham, Ed Skrein, and Bill Nighy, along with a larger cast you'll find listed below.
PREMISE
Two friends, Octavia Spencer as Debbie and Hannah Waddingham as Judith, have to go on the run from a multitude of highly trained assassins when Judith's secret life as an assassin is exposed.
FULL CAST
Hannah Waddingham is Judith, an English woman with a secret life as an elite assassin.
Octavia Spencer, is Judith's BFF Debbie, an American wife of a member of Parliament (MP).
Ed Skrein as Billy Donovan, is a member of a crime syndicate.
Calam Lynch is Sam, Judith's handler.
Savannah Steyn is Queenie, Judith's tech and weapons specialist.
Jamie Parker is David, Debbie's husband and an MP.
Sylvia Hoeks is Ana, a fellow assassin and former friend of Judith's.
Bill Nighy is The Director, Judith's employer.
Jacky Ido is Jacques, an Interpol agent.
Cathy Tyson is Mrs. Williams, Queenie’s mother who is training her daughter to take over assassin support. Side note: Cathy Tyson is the niece of legendary actress Cicely Tyson.
Camille Chamoux is Colette, a French police officer according to Cast Notes.
MY THOUGHTS
Although this series premiered on July 15, 2026, I didn't watch it until this past weekend. I have mixed emotions about this series. So, let's start with the
Pros.
Love the premise—2 women who have been best friends for many years. They think they know everything there is to know about each other, but they don't because 1 is in a dead-end marriage and the other is a paid killer.
Love the settings—from London to Monte Carlo to other European cities.
Love the acting—how can you go wrong with Waddingham, Spencer, Skrein, and Nighy? Waddingham and Skrein together are believable. So is the friendship between Waddingham and Spencer. Nighy has had a lot of experience playing amoral villains with a minute glimpse of human emotion that shows he has a human heart.
Now, the Cons. Character actions—Too many scenes where characters simply do not behave as humans would act and react. They act and react like cardboard characters that the script says should do or say this in this scene.
Moving the Plot Forward—Transitions between scenes are eleminated. This happens frequently in today's movie making world.
A character is in a scene doing something then boom. They're in a different location undertaking what the character must need to move the plot forward. This kind of jerks the plot along.
Scene Logic—Characters end up doing things that don't seem realistic given who the characters are as they've been established.
Humor—Billed as an action adventure comedy, this series is amusing in places, but I wouldn't call it a comedy. Action adventure comedy is a hard act to pull off.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
Should you watch it or skip it? I picked it because there were no really good options.
If you watch it for the acting chops, the action adventure with Waddingham really pulling her weight, and don't look for the comedy or the logic, you'll find it entertaining and be clicking next episode every time.
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When I was a kid, my Dad planted a huge garden every summer. When the Yellow Crookneck Squash started producing, we had enough to supply the entire neighborhood.
