Alice and Steve are best friends. They used to date years ago. Both married other people and have remained best friends. Then Steve sleeps with Alice’s 26 year old daughter and the whole situation explodes into madness.

Alice and Steve, played by Nicola Walker and Jemaine Clement, do everything together. They party a lot, drink a lot, then go home to their own places. Alice is married to Daniel (Joel Fry), a passive fellow who teaches music. They have a 26 year old daughter, Izzy (Yali Topol Margalith), and a younger son. Dom (Tyrese Eaton-Dyce).

Steve is divorced. He’s a hair stylist to the stars. He has no children.

One day Izzy comes home for a while after breaking up with her boyfriend Janis (Luca Kamleh Chapman). That is the night Steve sleeps on the couch in Alice’s living room because he’s too drunk to go home.

Izzy knew Steve as a child, of course, but she hasn’t seen him in years. Now she plops down beside him on the couch and decides he’s hot. She makes advances and he responds. Aannnnnnd, they’re sleeping together.

Alice simply cannot deal with it. He’s too old. Izzy’s too young. He’s Alice’s best friend – not her daughter’s. He’s meant to be the center of Alice’s world and that cannot change. Steve belongs to her. Period. No sharing. None of this ridiculous “but we like each other” stuff. No, no, no.

Here’s the thing. Alice drinks too much. And she isn’t a kind person. She’s funny. But she’s not kind. When she’s drunk she does mean things to Steve and to Izzy to break them up. She can’t unpack her own emotions about why the situation is making her crazy. She can’t see any point of view but her own.

Things escalate in terrible ways. There are six episodes in this British emotion-laden farce. By the last episode things are completely out of control. Of course the series ends with a cliffhanger. One can only hope that leads to a second season and a chance for Alice to redeem herself as a human being.

I love Nicola Walker. I think she’s one of the best actors in the world. She gets to cut loose and be hilarious in this role. There’s more here than humor, with angst and feelings that run many layers deep. She’s brilliant at that too.

I need to acknowledge Marcia Warren who plays Alice’s mom and Eilidh Fisher who plays Dom’s love interest. They both make major contributions. One of Daniel’s fellow teachers (Lydia Wilson) is important, too.

Alice and Steve was written by Sophie Goodhart and directed by Tom Kingsley. In the US, it’s streaming on Hulu/Disney+.