Octavia Spencer, Hannah Waddingham, Tessa Coates, and Matt Miller spoke with Kyle Meredith about Prime Video’s Ride or Die, the action-comedy series that throws a best-friend story into the blast radius of an international assassin thriller. Spencer plays Debbie Claybourne, whose life gets violently rerouted when she learns her longtime friend Judith Burton, played by Waddingham, has been hiding a very lethal second résumé. Creator Coates and showrunner Miller built the series like an eight-hour movie, sending the duo across Europe with law enforcement, killers, and criminals closing in, while never losing sight of the real combustible material: two women, a massive secret, and a friendship strong enough to survive almost anything.
Story and Casting
For Waddingham, stepping into full action mode felt like a long-delayed payoff. “Because of coming from theater, I’ve wanted to be more physical,” she tells Meredith, saying Ride or Die gave her the chance to “marry my two worlds together” while working opposite what she calls the “magnificent Oscar winner” Octavia Spencer. Spencer says the show’s real power comes from giving women something messier and meatier than the usual boxes. “We have to celebrate women no matter what age,” she says, adding, “We don’t get to see women in such complex roles. We’re either just the one thing or just the other.”
Writing and Production
Coates echoes that from the writing side, saying the mission was to make “a female action show” where the assassin doesn’t go back for “a husband” or “a kid,” but for her best friend. That idea was there from the jump, along with some of the series’ biggest set pieces. “The ski sequence has existed exactly as it is right from day one,” Coates says, explaining that the show was born from wanting to see women in more aspirational, ass-kicking roles. Miller, meanwhile, says the series was “always designed to be eight episodes,” but structured so that “it should feel from beginning to end like you’ve watched an eight episode movie.”
The globe-trotting trick is part of the fun, even if most of the world tour was really one very flexible production hub. “We shot all of those countries in Prague,” Miller admits, with the exception of the opening ski sequence in Austria. And when it came to casting Spencer and Waddingham, Coates says it never went anywhere else: “It was just always for them.” Judging from the chemistry, the chaos, and Spencer’s proudly chaotic “hodge of Judi Dench” English accent, Ride or Die knew exactly who should be behind the wheel.
Ride or Die debuts July 15th on Prime Video. The series is available to stream now, and fans can sign up for Prime Video to watch it. With its unique blend of action, comedy, and female-led cast, Ride or Die is sure to be a hit with audiences. Be sure to check it out and see what all the fuss is about.
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Pixel P. Snarkbyte: proving that life, much like a buggy open-world game, is better with a little lag-induced chaos.
