Ride or Die Season One Early Review

*The following is a spoiler-free review of all 8 episodes of Ride or Die Season 1, premiering tomorrow on Prime Video*

The ‘buddy cop’ subgenre is a tried and tested genre that has brought audiences plenty of entertainment over the years, pairing seemingly incompatible characters and often playing on those differences for comedic effect. While the premise has been attempted countless times across countless films and series, many miss the key to that formula, casting. In order for any project to work, it has to cast properly. In the case of Ride or Die, this action comedy gets it right, casting Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer as its two leads. Perhaps not the first names to come to mind, when it comes to a series like this, their casting is sure to generate some added interest in a way that it is intentional, playing in a different lane that viewers are accustomed to seeing from them. Geared towards older viewers, the pairing of Waddingham and Spencer adds a new spin to a a familiar premise, as they impart their own talents to the series (each also serving as executive producers). The best part of the series, by far, they go through much of the same paces of a traditional ‘buddy cop’ type story and help to elevate what ultimately is another derivative spy tale. Though its roots may not be the most memorable, Waddingham and Spencer will be.

As mentioned, Ride or Die follows Judith (Waddingham) and Debbie (Spencer), two best friends who lives are turned upside down once the latter discovers that her best friend is secretly an assassin. After a hit goes wrong, they are forced to go on the run, as they found themselves the target of a mysterious enemy. Being pursued all around Europe, the best friends also faced a new set of questions as the truth behind Judith set Debbie aback and questioning what she thought she knew about her friend. Despite this friction, all they had was each other in order to survive. Featuring flashbacks, the season offers backstories for both characters and how their friendship came to be, and how it’s lasted for over 20 years. Confronting those deeply-seeded secrets, the most compelling part of the season is watching how their relationship evolves through a predictable series of ups and downs. Presenting viewers the same adversity viewers have come to expect from these kinds of stories, what sets this series apart is the perspective that comes from a pair of women of a certain age. In the end, the true circumstances behind Judith and Debbie’s predicament don’t matter all that much, failing to offer anything viewers haven’t seen before. Placing a derivative spy-adjacent agency at the center of it all, led by The Director (Bill Nighy), it just took up space in the story as a tenuous way to bring it together.

Hitting on the rest of the story, the beginning of the end (or the beginning of the next phase of Judith and Debbie’s friendship) was a failed hit on a man named Billy Donovan (Ed Skrein) who Judith was contracted to kill. Having kept her real profession secret from Debbie throughout their friendship, something had to give, making for a perfect storm that would knock her off her game. An unusual position for the surefire operative, Judith was forced to improvise. Getting up in age and taking more liberties with the rules, this left her in a precarious position with The Agency and The Director, the only life she had ever known. Taught that emotional attachment was a detriment and a sign of weakness, Debbie changed that, snowballing Judith into the person she became. Determined to prove her doubters wrong and that she was still at the top of her game, that snowball of internal conflict increasingly got in the way of that. On the run, the failed hit was only the beginning of that story. Thrown head first in a world of lying, cheating, and backstabbing, finding a way out meant Judith and Debbie uncovering a conspiracy that led back to Judith, and her past. As much as the premise is about playing off the contrast between both women, Debbie proved to be far more than a mere passenger. Smart and principled, she could hold her own, while keeping Judith accountable.

Forcing a change of strategy, Billy became a third wheel for Judith and Debbi’s wild European adventure. Offering his own criminal perspective, the three made for quite the unusual dynamic, but it works. Simply a means to move the rest of the story forward, the fun moments continued, but their ultimate path is still a predictable one. Walking a tonal tightrope, the fun ‘buddy cop’ vibes fight against a more serious spy-adjacent tale that uses derivative story beats to establish emotional stakes. Painting this world with such broad strokes, its foundation essentially doesn’t matter, the further the season goes along and all the truths are unveiled. Those wanting more from that side of the equation will undoubtedly find themselves disappointed. With the relationships between the characters outweighing the plot as a whole, they will be remembered much longer, hoping its casting will distract enough from its narrative flaws. A series (or at least a season) that could just as easily have been a movie focusing on the Judith-Debbie friendship, all dysfunction and friction is undone in favor of a predictable climax, or final stand, that reaffirms their dynamic and sets a path forward for a potential second season. Looking to carryover those same flaws into a potential second season, the first ends on a confounding note that could look even worse should the series not continue.

Now it does without saying that the best part of Ride or Die is Waddingham and Spencer. Arguably not the kind of actresses that come to mind when it comes to a series like this one, that fact makes their casting hit that much more. While it is clear what target audience the series is aiming for through its casting, to their credit, Waddingham and Spencer absolutely rock it as Judith and Debbie. Their chemistry makes them a blast to watch as each get to strut their stuff as characters viewers are not accustomed to seeing them as. As Waddingham handles herself admirably, embracing the action and the physicality of Judith, meanwhile, Spencer excels as a more comedic character (based on her reactions), but can flick a switch and bring emotion when needed. What would not have worked if not for them, one can’t help but want to see them attack another project with better material.

Ride or Die leans heavily on casting as a means to bring something new to the table, in an already crowded genre, but Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer could only do so much.

still courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.