We Are Lady Parts

You can feel the plot straining at the confines of just six episodes, and an easy solution would be for someone to please, for the love of little green apples, greenlight a second season. Because what We Are Lady Parts does well, it does extremely well, and its infectious spirit and charming characters deserve a chance to play on.

The British comedy comprises only six half-hour episodes, but manages to pack a punch with its fast-paced, comprehensive storytelling and cogent, comical writing.

It’s a lot sharper, and more humane and ambitious, than so many of the comedies that come across “my desk.” ... The six half-hour episodes are a triumph of reach and representation as they make each of the band members, as well as their families and friends, into unpredictable characters who, like most of the real people I’ve met, are faceted and contradictory. You can’t easily pigeonhole any of them.

Manzoor taps into a love for rock mythology and its power to bind people to music with profound reverence. Even that is outdone by the affection with which she's written these women.

For all its familiar touchstones, We Are Lady Parts also feels like something I haven’t quite seen before, in the same way that Fleabag felt. ... Another major We Are Lady Parts asset is its music. ... What’s so special about this series is that it’s impossible to pigeonhole anyone or anything in it.

Electrifying. ... There is a lot to love about We Are Lady Parts. The dialogue is sharp and funny. Vasan’s performance is endearingly vulnerable. There are trippy animations, clever pop-culture homages, catchy original songs.

The more “We Are Lady Parts” focuses on the original spirit that courses through this group, the more the show around them sings.

Like any good punk song, We Are Lady Parts is short, intense, and unapologetic.

“Lady Parts” becomes the unassuming powerhouse that it is when it dives deeper into Saira’s backstory and the group’s minor members court some Internet fame, to predictably disastrous results.

Its refusal to fit in by sanding down character edges or forcing predictable arcs, is so refreshing.

We Are Lady Parts is not always laugh-out-loud funny, but it’s sharp and quick witted, with Manzoor’s writing and the zesty style (some episodes emphasize Amina’s overactive imagination, bringing her daydreams to visual life with lots of pink and the occasional puppet) elevating the comedic moments. The performances — dynamic, confident, seamless in hitting different emotional beats — also add to the show’s affecting quality.

This is a very funny show, with a cast of versatile and game performers. Anjana Vasan is a particular delight, with an innate understanding of how to get laughs just from small changes of expression, intonation, and posture.

A fresh, cheerful, unexpected triumph. It helps that it is sharply written and pretty fearless.

The silliness can get a bit one-note, and the jokes don’t always land. But the main characters and the strength of their sisterhood are beautifully drawn, and the original songs, written by Manzoor and her two siblings, are hilarious. ... Its silliness is its strength.

"We Are Lady Parts" captures the spirit of punk rock in a way that's both entertaining and resonant.