We Are Lady Parts from creator and director Nida Manzoor brings comedy to punk rock. Set in England, four Muslim women and their manager join together in a band called Lady Parts. Amina (Anjana Vasan) tells the story. She plays lead guitar. All the actors actually played their own instruments in this. It’s very much an ensemble piece.
We Are Lady Parts is all about busting free of stereotypes. Each of the women are English and Muslim, but they are all different. The plot is about Lady Parts finding gigs and learning to perform, but the thematic underpinnings have to do with being true to yourself and living the life you want.
The series is so well written, it manages to put meat on the bones of every character despite the short time available.
Saira (Sarah Kameela) is estranged from her family. She leads the band. She has a boyfriend but chooses the band over him. She writes songs with lyrics like “I’m going to kill my sister.”
Bisma (Faith Omole) plays bass. She has a husband and a child. She’s an artist.
Amina is a Ph.D. student in microbiology. She wants to find a husband. She loves to play guitar. She has horrible stage fright and teaches guitar instead of performing herself.
Ayesha (Juliette Motamed) is the drummer. Amina develops a crush on Ayesha’s brother Ahsan (Zaqi Ismail). Ayesha develps a crush on an influencer named Zarina (Sofia Barclay). Ayesha and Zarina become a couple.
The band’s manager, Momtaz (Lucie Shorthouse), seeks out Zarina because she wants to get the band online to build an audience and she sees Zarina’s million plus followers as the ticket to accomplish that. We never see Momtaz’s face, even when she’s home alone in her bedroom.
There are six short episodes in season 1. The band and the characters go through major successes and setbacks in that time. The series is funny and heartfelt. Each of the major characters gets an emotional arc to work through, even though the majority of the attention is on Amina.
If you haven’t seen the trailer for series 1, it’s worth a look. It gives you a sense of what you’re in for.
Season 2 will release May 30, 2024 on Peacock. If you watch season 1 of this delightful series, I’m sure you’ll want to watch for season 2. It’s streaming on Peacock.