Way back in the early dark days of 2022, in my ‘Favorite TV of 2021’ post I very briefly wrote about the first season of the UK’s Channel 4 TV show WE ARE LADY PARTS, solely comprised of two lines from the show:
“A confused mix of hash anthems and sour girl power. […] It was kind of like therapy, but with a lot of screaming.”
“I’m the lamb, by the way.”
Obviously, that does a disservice to such a uniquely brash and singular punk show, so I’m here to right some wrongs and rave in more exacting ways about the show.
WE ARE LADY PARTS centers around LADY PARTS, a punk band comprised of three Muslim women musicians and Momtaz (their ever-vaping manager) and they are seeking a lead guitarist to bring their sound together. They find one in Amina, an microbiology PhD student who used to performing but her nerves caused her body to violently react against her. Regardless of Amina’s unsavory bodily expulsion, LADY PARTS’s lead singer Saira is insistent that Amina is the one who will musically complete the circle. What follows is a lot of doubt, a lot of insecurity, and yes, some bodily fluids.
While WE ARE LADY PARTS feels very modern in that it’s still a pleasant surprise to see such a varied collection of characters, but I feel it’d be at home on 80s network TV or even a film. Creator/writer/director Nida Manzoor has gone on record citing the anarchic cult 80s BBC show THE YOUNG ONES as an inspiration for WE ARE LADY PARTS. I also can’t help but see a bit of LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE FABULOUS STAINS! in it.
Given that this show is centered around a fictional band, you’d better hope that the songs are fucking appropriately punk and makes you want to throw fingers, and Manzoor delivers. She took on song duty along with siblings Shez and Sanya Manzoor and Benni Fregin, plus all of the performers actually play their instruments! (I’ll note that Nida has gone on record that it helps that they’re punk, so they can be a bit sloppy musically and lyrically.)
Here are just a few of their numbers:
Bashir With the Good Beard:
Ain’t No One Gonna Honour Kill My Sister But Me:
Voldemort Under My Headscarf:
In November 2021 — a handful of months after the first season aired — WE ARE LADY PARTS was renewed for a second season. Then 2022 rolled around, and no second season. 2023? No second season. I’d given up hope but here we are! It’s 2024, a tad over three years after the first season premiered, and the second season dropped on peacock on May 30th!
I haven’t been able to watch the second season yet but if you’re extremely online like I am, you have probably heard of a surprise appearance from a very exceptional person. (I will not spoil who it is, but I am very excited to see it unfold.)
”This is us, by us, for us.”
Season One trailer:
Season Two trailer:
