Becoming The Muse

Ride or Die TV Series Review

Ride or Die is an action drama comedy television series created by Tessa Coates.  The 8-episode series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 15 July 2026

The show follows two long-time best friends, Judith and Debbie, with Judith secretly an assassin for a shadowy agency. When their worlds collide, they must confront the secrets between them.

The Good

The soul of the show is the effortless chemistry between Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer. Their banter, tension and emotional connection feels authentic and their midlife dynamic adds a certain level to the ludicrous storyline.

Its refreshing to see, two fifty-something women leading an action-comedy caper without making that stage of their life simply a punchline, but serving as a source of wit and depth Waddingham’s character is acting out possibly due to a woman of a certain age while Octavia Spencer’s character Debbie, has been sacrificing her dreams for a husband who has been taking it for granted.

Ride or Die doesn’t pretend to be high art, it’s stylish, fast, and entertaining, with mobsters road trips, assassins and deadly secrets that you will find yourself hooked watching episode after episode.

The Bad

Its not groundbreaking and its rather formulaic, you can spot the plot twists from a mile away if you are familiar with espionage-comedy hybrid viewing.

Ride or Die starts strong but it falters in the middle episodes and then recovers its momentum. It could have done with a reduction in episodes and losing subplots that arent central to Debbie and Judith as they don’t quite land.

Its not very believable, you may want to exercise a lot of restraint in not being analytical of the over-the-top glam assassin antics and implausible stunts.

The Ugly

The assassin/spy trope is starting to feel tired, and if its not introducing something new, its just like reheating leftovers, they might be great but you wont invite your friends over for dinner.

There is a child exploitation and grooming subplot that’s just referenced and never effectively explored or concluded and thus comes across as they just wanted it for the shock value but were reluctant to commit

Final Thoughts

Ride or die isn’t your best friend, but fun to be around you forget to care. What it lacks in originality or realism, it makes up for in the lead characters’ performances.

Have you watched Ride or Die? Does it sound like something you would watch?