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The Ridge has dropped all of its episodes on the BBC iPlayer, but what's it about, who’s in the cast and where have you seen them before? It’s been a manic period for the broadcaster, with two of its most-anticipated series of the year currently airing receiving rave reviews. Fresh off of appearing in the third season of The White Lotus, Sex Education’s Aimee Lou Wood stars in Film Club, which she wrote in her screenwriting debut with House of the Dragons’ Ralph Davis. Airing on BBC Three, the series follows Aimee as Evie, who uses her weekly film club as a chance to spend a few uninterrupted hours with her best friend Noa. Earlier in the month also marked the premiere of Riot Women , which arrived from the mind of West Yorkshire native Sally Anne Wainwright, best known for her acclaimed series Happy Valley. Set in Hebden Bridge, Riot Women follows the fortunes of five menopausal women who form a punk rock band to take part in a local talent contest. Consisting of six episodes, the series is described by creator Sally Wainwright as ‘even more Hebden-centric than Happy Valley '. With the band consisting of a teacher, a police officer, a pub landlady, a midwife and a shoplifting freeloader, they navigate complicated family lives, relationships and ageing through their music. Despite the amount of content they’ve released in recent weeks, the BBC’s new series may be its best one of the past 12 months. The Ridge is a 6-part series which centres around a woman named Mia, who receives a wedding invitation from her alienated sister Cassie, who is marrying her partner Ewan in New Zealand. Sadly for Mia, she soon discovers upon arriving in the Oceanic country that her sister Cassie is dead, sparking a chain of events full of twists and turns. Its synopsis reads: “Believing Cassy was pushed and murdered, Mia sets about hunting for the killer. As Mia grapples with the shock of her sister’s death, she becomes entangled in the small town’s web of secrets and lies. “Mia learns that Cassy, a staunch environmentalist, was involved in a heated conflict with local farmers, and there are unsettling indications that her relationship with Ewan was not as perfect as it appeared. The deeper Mia investigates, the more convinced she becomes that her sister was murdered. “Meanwhile, Mia has her own problems to contend with. She struggles with a secret opioid addiction and her supply is dwindling. With unresolved charges of professional misconduct looming over her, haunted by a tragic incident from her childhood, and drawn romantically to Ewan, Mia finds it increasingly difficult to escape her past. “Determined to uncover the truth about her sister’s mysterious death, she soon soon finds that familiarity among a small community breeds lies and tensions, endangering the brittle fabric of the town itself. Undeterred, Mia embarks on a relentless search for buried secrets.” The Ridge is led by Lauren Lyle, best known for her work as Marsali MacKimmie Fraser on the BBC series Outlander. Additionally, she starred in ITV thriller Karen Pirie and appeared in Toxic Town, Something in the Water and The Outrun. New Zealand actor Jay Ryan rose to fame as Jake Scully on Neighbours between 2002 and 2005, going on to land roles in Beauty & the Beast, Mary Kills People Creamerie. Horror fans will recognise him from It Chapter Two , one of the highest grossing rated R movies of all time, where he played the adult version of Ben Hanscom. Also appearing in The Ridge is The Replacement’s Taqi Nazeer, Concordia’s Dulcie Smart, Phoenix Forgotten’s Florence Hartigan, Grafted’s Chloe Parker and Sweet Tooth David Von Horn. All 6 episodes of The Ridge are available to stream now on the BBC iPlayer
