Nicola Walker anchors Hulu's darkly comic new sitcom "Alice and Steve" as a mother willing to detonate her entire existence to sabotage her daughter's engagement to a much older man. Writer-director Sophie Goodhart, who cut her teeth on Netflix's "Sex Education," brings her sharp comedic sensibility to this premise about generational conflict, romantic ethics, and maternal desperation.
Walker delivers a powerhouse performance as Alice, channeling the kind of controlled fury that only a jilted best friend can muster. The setup crackles with tension. Her twenty-something daughter plans to marry Steve, played by Flight of the Conchords' Jemaine Clement, a man twice her age who also happens to be Alice's oldest friend. The betrayal cuts deep. Rather than accept the situation, Alice pivots toward scorched-earth tactics, willing to burn her own life down if it prevents what she views as a catastrophic mistake.
Goodhart's fingerprints are all over this. The "Sex Education" writer brings that same blend of crude humor, genuine emotion, and social commentary to "Alice and Steve." The series functions as both a comedy about family dysfunction and a cultural critique of power imbalances in relationships. Walker's character operates in that gray zone where audiences sympathize with her motivations even as her methods spiral into increasingly unhinged territory.
Yali Topol Margalith rounds out the central triangle as the daughter, caught between her mother's meddling and her own romantic choices. Clement adds complexity to what could've been a one-dimensional predatory older man, though the show never lets him off the hook entirely.
The result reads as a solid entry in Hulu's comedy slate, particularly strong because it refuses easy answers. Alice's crusade isn't presented as noble or right. Her willingness to impl