Two beloved actresses, Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer, will work together in the upcoming “Ride or Die.” They’ve been chatting about how that came to be. Suffice it to say, neither star needed much convincing.
The action adventure comedy series will premiere on July 15, 2026, exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.
Per IMDb, the plot is as follows: “Two best friends, Judith and Debbie, discover Judith is secretly an assassin. After a hit goes wrong, they go on the run while being targeted by a mysterious enemy, forcing them to confront the secrets between them.”
Hannah Waddingham, 51, plays Judith Burton and Octavia Spencer, 56, plays Debbie Claybourne in the series. Moreover, it also features Bill Nighy, Ed Skrein, Sylvia Hoeks, Calam Lynch, Savannah Steyn, Jamie Parker, and Kathryn Drysdale.
Waddingham and Spencer were guests on BBC One’s “The One Show” in the United Kingdom on Tuesday, June 23. There, they discussed how their team-up came to be.
Both Actresses Took Very Little Persuading
Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer chatted with “The One Show” hosts, Alex Jones and Roman Kemp, about “Ride or Die.”
An 86-second video of them discussing their castings has been uploaded to the show’s official Instagram account and shared with its 286,000 followers.
Octavia explained that, during her recruitment to star in the show, Waddingham was the actress everyone, including her, wanted to co-star. She said, “Well, it’s, it’s funny, because she was the person on all of our minds. You know, I did what I wasn’t supposed to do. They pitched me the show, and I, it’s like someone asking you to marry them on the first date and I said, ‘Absolutely, I will!'”
She went on, saying, “Then they, they literally asked, ‘Well, who do you think should be Judith?’ And I said, ‘Hannah Waddingham.’ And they were like ‘Thank God! Because that’s how we think, as well!’
The pair then discussed a subsequent Zoom call that was arranged to discuss “Ride or Die” with Waddingham.
Hannah Waddingham Calls the Role ‘Career-Changing’
Waddingham said, “We were on a Zoom call and it’s not every day you have Octavia Spencer’s face on a Zoom call like that. And Tessa Coates, our writer, they kind of read the treatment of it all, the plot line to it, and I hadn’t really kind of concentrated on what the meeting was about, I was just so overwhelmed to be on this meeting.”
She continued, saying, “And I said, ‘Oh, you know, what do you want me to do?’ Like, you know, say something about the script, help you with that or whatever. And her whole face fills the screen, and she goes, ‘We want you to play Judith, ya dummy!'”
The British actress then said, “And I just thought, ‘I have to, I have to do this, it’s going to batter me senseless.'”
Waddingham concluded, “But you have to go, ‘Do you know what? This is going to be, for both of us, absolute career-changing moment. You have to do it and especially in our 50s, to be able to do roles like this, it’s proper pinch me time.”
Followers of “The One Show” flocked to the comments section of the video to have their say on the pair.
‘The One Show’ Fans Love Waddingham & Spencer
GettyThe comments section of the video is filled with love for Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer.
One Instagram user commented, “Octavia Spencer is a complete gift in every way ! 👏🙏”
Another person wrote, “Hannah, the Goddess 🔥.”
Someone else said, “Love these two Fabulous women! Can’t wait for their project to launch 🔥.”
An excited individual wrote, “From the moment I saw the trailer I was like “OMG! this is a combo. I didn’t know I needed!” I’m excited to see the show.”
Finally, a complimentary fan of Waddingham and Spencer said, “Both are hilarious and wonderful actresses. 🔥”
We can’t wait to see Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer in “Ride or Die.” It really does look fantastic. Fortunately, Wednesday, July 15, is only three weeks away.
