Nida Manzoor breaks down We Are Lady Parts season 2

We Are Lady Parts made a triumphant return with a daring, sublime season two, which premiered May 30 on Peacock. The British comedy is a true breath of fresh air with its incisive humor and observations about the power of representation in art. It centers on five members of an all-female Muslim punk-rock band as they navigate their careers against all odds.

The show is created, written, and helmed by Nida Manzoor, who made her directorial feature-film debut with last year’s Polite Society. Manzoor is clearly determined to tell noteworthy, grounded South Asian stories—many of which stem from her experiences in the film and TV industry—with her work. The A.V. Club spoke to Manzoor about her inspirations for We Are Lady Parts season two, using genres to subvert expectations, and whether she’s down to continue the show.

Nida Manzoor: Yeah, I didn’t know when I was making season one that I would have a season two. At the time, my thought was if this was going to be it, let’s just go out with a bang. When we did get greenlit again, I had to step away for a bit to go and make a film. I was lucky because I got to come back with some fresh ideas, whereas before I was nervous if I would even have any ideas.

As soon as I sat down at my desk, I was brimming with them. It felt like I had a toolbox ready to go when it came to these characters and the world we had created. I mainly wanted to challenge each of them and go deeper with some others, not just Amina and Saira. I also love responding to audiences and seeing what they think. So there are some storylines where I was riffing off what I was hearing from fans about what they were hoping for. Then I was responding to the actors who inhabit the roles. It’s interesting to hear their insights.

The best thing I had was a writers’ room with a very diverse group of Muslim women. We had these amazing conversations and chats. Any time the room got into a heated discussion or debate, I was excited because I knew it had to be in the show. Broadly speaking, we wanted to unpack what success means for the band. It’s also something I was maybe grappling with myself, this kind of uncomfortable tension between creating art and trying to use it to make a living, the push and pull between that.

AVC: A big season-two theme is how Lady Parts can stay true to who they are while finding fame, and it comes to a head in episode five, when they argue about it and then Saira writes “Glass Ceiling Feeling.”

NM: That episode-five conversation is one of those we had in the writers’ room. We were all agreeing and disagreeing with the points made. It was electrifying to hear from a group of Muslim women who have various points of view, and I knew it was the exact tension I wanted to give my band. I’m always drawn to areas where I don’t have concrete answers and can get into the meat of an issue. I’m lucky that I’ve been so supported by Peacock and Channel 4 to be able to go into those spaces, the corporate gray areas that are knotty and difficult to talk about. It also just comes from having made season one. I know the people I’m working with, from my actors and my crew to the studio execs and producers, so it gave me a level of trust and safety in going to those difficult places.

AVC: What was the process of writing “Glass Ceiling Feeling,” which I fell in love with, and figuring out what you wanted to say with it? That question probably applies to all the songs on the show.

NM: One of the reasons I even pitched the show back in the day when I was trying to get it made was because I wanted an excuse to write music with my siblings. [Laughs] I’m glad you want to talk about “Glass Ceiling Feeling” and that you loved it because it was the hardest song to write. It’s such a departure from the kind of traditional Lady Parts punk sound. It’s a bit grungier but slower. There are more harmonies, too, so I was very nervous about it. But I trust my brother Shez, sister Sania, and Benjamin Fregin, who work on the music. Even they were like, “Okay, this is cool.” They encouraged me to go into that space. We had a lot of song references that we loved and we were sort of throwing around. We did that with all the songs in the season because we wanted to push ourselves with the original tracks. With “Malala Made Me Do It,” we were wondering what a Lady Parts Western would sound like. Or with “Villain Era,” I thought, “What would Amina’s swearing song sound like?” So we wanted to switch it up and move a bit from the stuff we’d heard in season one.

AVC: Do you remember any references you might have used?

NM: We started off thinking very grunge Nickelback. Then we went more into the kind of slower System Of A Down songs. But yeah, they usually have beautiful harmonies, so we were drawn to them and got them going. Season one helped us learn that this cast is full of great musicians, so we knew we could give them tougher harmonies and they’d nail it.

AVC: Another thing I love is the relationship Amina has with her mother. It’s such a relief to see they’re just hanging out, honestly talking to each other, and not fighting over stuff. It’s grounded. Was it a conscious choice?

NM: Yes, absolutely. It’s important to see that kind of representation. I so love writing for Shobu Kapoor as Seema. I also knew I wanted to upend the idea that South Asian moms are at loggerheads with their kids. Seema is sassy and edgy. She’s less conservative than Amina. So for season two, I wanted to play into that and give her more jokes. She’s so capable of pulling it off, and it’s joyful to see. Shobu and Anjana have these little two-handed small scenes and there’s always so much love between them. I’m glad we get to show that.

AVC: Lady Parts gets a rival in the form of another Muslim band who enters the music scene. They’re competing at first before everyone comes together. Why was it important for you to depict that multiple voices can exist in the same space?

NM: It spoke to a truth of the experiences that I and some of the other writers have had. We’re always made to feel like there’s only one spot for one of us, so we’re going to compete and couldn’t possibly co-exist. That’s just how the world is, and we wanted to break away from that. It’s been a process for me personally to discover this, so I wanted it to be a process for the band. We’ve all experienced this, right? You break through and then you see someone else doing it; there’s a sense of competition. I wanted to interrogate where that feeling comes from and realize we can all only pull through together. There is space for everyone, and I wanted that to be the overall arc of the show. I mean, it’s also fun to see Lady Parts be a bit threatened and feel insecure about their place. It’s nice to pull the rug from under them and see how they react. But ultimately, we knew we had to get them to a place where they were about the greatest sisterhood.

AVC: Do you have a process for how you draw from your experiences and put them in a film or TV show?

NM: I don’t know if it’s a conscious thing or if it’s something that just happens now. The only time I’ve felt like, “Oh, this is gold,” is when I’ve been on awkward dates. That hasn’t happened in a long time—I’m happily married now—but back in the day, I knew when a bad date was going to be great writing material. But in terms of big events, it’s not on purpose but I’m sure in some way in my mind, I’m making notes. I realized that when I went back with it to the writers’ room. I also think what’s happened to me is unique but when I go back to the writers’ room or talk to other women and artists, I realize I’m not alone. There’s a lot of universality to these things we talk about in the show.

AVC: We Are Lady Parts is a musical, and Polite Society is an action thriller. You’re able to subvert expectations of how Muslim and South Asian people are represented using these different genres. What has that process been like for you?

NM: I love familiar genres because I grew up watching them, whether it’s a musical, sci-fi, or big-action pieces. I love the spectacle of cinema. As projects are being sent to me and as I’m developing my own stuff, I realize I want to use those genres to see more people like me in them. How are we using these genres to look at the experience of being a South Asian or Muslim woman? It’s become my North Star. It’s not enough to just have an action or comedy movie, but what are we saying with it? Whose lives are we shining a light on? Who are we centering in those stories? I want to center them on women of color, who we don’t see on the screen often.

AVC: That goal is very evident in episode four as Bisma tries to navigate her Blackness, whether or not she wants to wear a hijab, and the example she’s setting for her daughter. It leads to an awesome solo from Faith Omole. How did you collaborate with her to achieve that?

NM: You know, I knew after doing season one what Faith can do. I went to see her in the theater because she does a lot of musicals and she sings. She’s got this incredible voice. Seeing these actors’ work, it’s so inspiring because I now know their vocal ability. I know I can give Faith a Nina Simone song and she’ll totally nail it. I trusted her and was excited to give her this arc. She’s an amazing actor, and I wanted to give her meaty material. I’m sure she was nervous but she had a lot of peace on the day when she was doing it. I hope she felt so supported. It was one of those days on set where I went, “Wow, this is magic.”

AVC: It’s cool you’re able to fit all these stories in a span of six half-hour episodes. Did you ever consider doing longer ones in season two? And do you know if you’ll do a third season yet?

NM: I knew it was gonna be six just given [that] Channel 4's comedy shows are usually that length. They gave us slightly longer episodes, but they’re quite specific, so I knew again it was the challenge of having an ensemble show where I have to be economical with my storytelling and be as disciplined as possible. I mean, I wish I had six more because I love writing for these characters, but this is creatively challenging and rewarding. As for season three, let’s see. Nothing’s been said yet, but I’m staying open to it.