If you want better plot twists
Choose It’s Not Like That, Chapter 1. It scores 5.0 vs 2.3 for plot twists, with a 4.5 overall score.
Alice and Steve, Season 1 Review
Bottom Line
Choose Alice and Steve if you want a messy, sharp wrong-com powered by Nicola Walker and combustible friendship chemistry. Skip it if the age-gap premise, rushed romance, or chaotic back-half plotting will spoil the laughs.
Best for
Best for viewers who enjoy messy British dramedies about flawed adults, long friendships, petty revenge, and uncomfortable romantic complications. It especially suits anyone drawn to Nicola Walker’s volcanic comic-dramatic performance.
Not for
Not for viewers who need the central romance to feel plausible or comfortable. It is also a poor fit for family viewing or for anyone bothered by drug use, foul language, and morally messy characters.
Verdict
Alice and Steve Season 1 works best as a volatile friendship comedy: Nicola Walker and Jemaine Clement give the show a lived-in charge, and the revenge spiral can be sharply funny, awkward, and unexpectedly touching. The tradeoff is that the season’s provocative age-gap romance is also its weakest link for many reactions. Some found the discomfort productively complicated, while others saw the relationship as rushed, thin, or impossible to buy. Short episodes make the six-part run easy to binge, but the back half sometimes overpacks subplots and contrivances. It is a lively, divisive wrong-com with standout performances and a premise that will either hook viewers or push them away.
Feature Scorecards
Summary
45 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.05 (11%)
-
Positive 3.5-4.419 (42%)
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Neutral 2.5-3.413 (29%)
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Negative 1.5-2.46 (13%)
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Very negative below 1.52 (4%)
Pros highlights
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Humor is one of the season’s biggest draws, with many finding the feud, zingers, and social disasters very funny. A smaller group thought the comedy was only mild, dated, or too buried under discomfort.
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Nicola Walker is the season’s most consistent standout, repeatedly praised for turning Alice’s fury into something funny, painful, and magnetic. Clement and the broader lead work are mostly liked, though a few felt Steve gives Clement too little room.
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The season is most interesting when it digs into platonic love, aging, loneliness, jealousy, and the cost of emotional avoidance. Critics split over whether it explores those themes deeply enough or lets them get buried under plot chaos.
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The writing is deeply split: admirers call it funny, emotionally alert, and bold, while detractors find it lax, overstuffed, or unwilling to fully interrogate the premise. Its best moments come from character pain rather than plot machinery.
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Overall enjoyment ranges from enthusiastic to hostile, but the positive side is strong: many found it funny, engaging, and hard to stop watching. The main turnoffs are the icky premise, loose plotting, and uneven romance.
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Walker and Clement’s lived-in best-friend chemistry is one of the show’s strongest selling points. Their comfort, sparring, and combustible history make the feud more convincing than the age-gap romance for many.
Cons highlights
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The age-gap setup is the season’s defining controversy. Some felt the show handles the ick with care and uses it productively, while others found it inappropriate, evasive, or impossible to enjoy.
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The central friendship-war hook can be sharp, funny, and emotionally observant, especially when Alice and Steve are tearing at each other. The biggest weakness is the Steve-Izzy romance, which several responses found thin, rushed, or contrived.
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Alice often comes across as the richest character, with rage, hurt, selfishness, and flashes of growth all in play. Izzy and the central romance are more divisive, with several complaints that they feel underwritten.
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The six-episode pace keeps the show moving, but it often rushes the Steve-Izzy relationship and major emotional turns. Several found the briskness easy to watch but damaging to believability.
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The show’s handling of blame and forgiveness is divisive. Stronger takes appreciate that it keeps messy people messy, while harsher ones feel Steve and Alice are not held to account convincingly enough.
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The ending drew mixed reactions, from a turbulent but successful landing to frustration with an easy off-ramp, a ridiculous finish, or an unsatisfying cliffhanger. Closure depends heavily on how much chaos a viewer is willing to forgive.
Compared With Category Average
Compared with other TV Shows, this product is above average in dialogue quality, age appropriateness, plot originality, near average in humor, theme depth, below average in score quality, plot twists, cliffhanger effectiveness.
Comparison summary
45 compared features-
Above average 0.4+ pts higher8 (18%)
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Same as average within 0.3 pts18 (40%)
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Below average 0.4+ pts lower19 (42%)
Largest category differences
| Attribute | This product | Category average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| score quality | 2.0 | 4.1 | -2.1 |
| plot twists | 2.3 | 4.1 | -1.8 |
| cliffhanger effectiveness | 2.5 | 4.0 | -1.5 |
| realism | 2.0 | 3.4 | -1.4 |
| season finale quality | 2.4 | 3.8 | -1.4 |
| continuity | 2.0 | 3.4 | -1.4 |
| family friendliness | 1.3 | 2.4 | -1.1 |
| language level | 1.4 | 2.5 | -1.1 |
Consider This Instead
If you want better theme depth
Choose What It Feels Like For A Girl, Season 1. It scores 4.8 vs 3.7 for theme depth, with a 4.1 overall score.
If you want better main cast performance
Choose Rooster, Season 1. It scores 5.0 vs 4.5 for main cast performance, with a 3.8 overall score.
If you want better score quality
Choose Dark Winds, Season 4. It scores 4.8 vs 2.0 for score quality, with a 4.4 overall score.
Compared in Reviews
Products reviewers directly compared with this model, grouped into quick takeaways.
Beef
- Better: revenge-comedy plotting The feud plotting is described as a familiar idea executed better in Beef.
- Compared: malice and escalating personal revenge The revenge spiral is compared with Beef as Alice and Steve unleash increasingly destructive malice.
Fleabag
- Compared: wrong-com tone The show is also tonally grouped with Fleabag in Decider's wrong-com comparison.
Shameless
- Better: chaotic comedy-drama plotting The chaotic dramedy beats are said to have been handled better by Shameless.
FAQ
Is Alice and Steve Season 1 funny?
Usually, yes, if you like uncomfortable wrong-comedy. The feud, banter, and social disasters drew a lot of praise, though a few found the humor mild or too buried under the premise.
What is the biggest strength of the season?
Nicola Walker’s performance and her chemistry with Jemaine Clement are the clearest strengths. Their long, messy friendship gives the show its best scenes.
Is the age-gap romance handled well?
That is the most divisive part. Some felt the show uses the discomfort intelligently, while others thought it avoids the hardest questions or makes the romance too hard to believe.
Does the six-episode length work?
The short format makes it easy to binge, but it also rushes some relationship turns and side plots. Several reactions wished the season had more room to breathe.
Is it appropriate for family viewing?
No. The season centers on adult sexual relationships and includes drug use, foul language, and mature relationship conflict.
Should there be a second season?
Warmer reactions showed real interest in more episodes, especially because Alice and Steve’s damaged friendship still has room to evolve. Mixed reactions were less convinced unless the writing becomes more focused.
Sample Expert Reviews We Analyzed
These are a few of the reviews included in our analysis.
Video Reviews
Article Reviews
bostonglobe.com
- Review score
- 4.0
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