two lifelong friends watch their world collapse
When a lifelong friendship meets the unexpected intrusion of romantic love across generations, the result is rarely tidy — and Disney+ is betting that messiness is worth watching. Alice and Steve, a six-part comedy starring Nicola Walker and Jemaine Clement, arrives from the makers of Baby Reindeer with a premise that uses middle-age comfort as the thing most likely to be shattered. Written by Sophie Goodhart and filmed in London, the series positions itself as comedy with genuine emotional consequence — the kind of story that asks what we owe the people we've known the longest.
- A best friendship of decades is placed under impossible strain when one friend begins dating the other's adult daughter — a premise engineered to make loyalty and love mutually exclusive.
- The production carries serious pedigree: Clerkenwell Films, the company behind Baby Reindeer, signals this is comedy with teeth, not comfort viewing.
- An award-laden ensemble — including Marcia Warren, Joel Fry, and Jemaine Clement at his most deadpan — suggests the chaos will be performed at the highest register.
- Filming is already underway in London, with Disney+ moving swiftly to claim ground in the prestige comedy-drama space that streaming rivals are fighting over.
- The six-episode structure promises a complete, contained story — one that can spiral into, as Clement himself put it, absolute chaos, and still find its way to something true.
Disney+ has ordered Alice and Steve, a six-part comedy series built on a premise that turns friendship into a fault line. Nicola Walker, beloved for The Split, and Jemaine Clement, the deadpan architect of What We Do in the Shadows, play lifelong best friends whose bond begins to buckle when Steve starts dating Izzy — Alice's 26-year-old daughter. The setup is simple in outline and combustible in practice.
The series comes from Clerkenwell Films, the production house behind Baby Reindeer, lending it an immediate sense of ambition. Sophie Goodhart, who shaped Sex Education, created and will executive produce the show, with Tom Kingsley directing. Their collaboration suggests comedy that earns its laughs through emotional honesty rather than easy absurdity.
The ensemble is deep and well-decorated. Joel Fry plays Alice's husband Daniel, a man with presumably strong feelings about his wife's best friend and his own daughter. Olivier Award winner Marcia Warren plays Alice's mother Val. Tyrese Eaton-Dyce and Yali Topol Margalith round out the family as Alice's son and the daughter at the center of the storm.
Walker described the world Goodhart has built as one of friendship, motherhood, and what she called 'frantic revenge and fierce love.' Clement, characteristically lighter in tone, painted Steve as fundamentally decent — composed and stylish, except when the situation makes that impossible. Filming is already underway in London, with Disney+ moving with clear intent to compete in a streaming landscape where prestige comedy-drama has become fiercely contested territory.
Disney+ has ordered a six-part comedy series built around a premise designed to detonate a friendship. The show, titled Alice and Steve, will star Nicola Walker—known for her work in The Split—and Jemaine Clement, who brought deadpan brilliance to What We Do in the Shadows. The setup is deceptively simple: two lifelong best friends watch their world collapse when Steve, middle-aged and presumably set in his ways, begins dating Izzy, Alice's 26-year-old daughter.
The series comes from Clerkenwell Films, the production company behind Baby Reindeer, the Netflix phenomenon that became one of the most talked-about shows of recent years. That pedigree matters. It signals that Disney+ is serious about building comedy that operates on multiple registers—funny on the surface, but with real emotional weight underneath. The working title may still be in flux, but the creative team behind it is locked in. Sophie Goodhart, who wrote and executive produced Sex Education, created the series and will oversee it as an executive producer. Tom Kingsley, known for his work on the British comedy Stath Lets Flats, will direct.
The cast extends well beyond the two leads. Joel Fry, who appeared in Cruella, plays Daniel, Alice's husband—a man who will presumably have opinions about his wife's best friend dating their daughter. Marcia Warren, an Olivier Award winner who has appeared in The Crown, takes on the role of Val, Alice's mother. Tyrese Eaton-Dyce, from the BBC series Sherwood, plays Alice's son Dom. Yali Topol Margalith rounds out the core family as Izzy, the daughter at the center of the chaos. Eilidh Fisher and Ebony Aboagye complete the ensemble.
Filming has already begun in London, which means the show is moving at a real clip. The production is being shepherded by Petra Fried, Andy Baker, and Ed Macdonald at Clerkenwell Films, with Fran du Pille producing. Lee Mason, Disney's executive director of scripted content, is overseeing the project for the streaming service. Clerkenwell Films itself operates under the BBC Studios umbrella, a structure that gives the production both independence and institutional backing.
Walker, in a statement, described stepping into Goodhart's world as thrilling—emphasizing the themes of friendship, motherhood, marriage, and what she called "frantic revenge and fierce love." Clement's take on his character was more playful. He suggested that Steve is fundamentally a good person, stylish and composed, except when he isn't—which, given the premise, will presumably be often. He expressed enthusiasm about working with Walker and watching their characters' relationship spiral into what he termed "absolute chaos."
The show arrives at a moment when streaming services are competing intensely for prestige comedy-drama territory. Disney+ has invested heavily in adult-oriented content in recent years, and a series about the collision between middle-age friendship and family obligation, written by someone who understands the texture of contemporary relationships, fits that strategy. The six-episode order suggests confidence in the concept, though it also reflects the current industry standard for limited series that can be completed and released as a complete package.
Citas Notables
I'm thrilled to be stepping into the fabulous world of friendship, motherhood, marriage frantic revenge and fierce love that Sophie Goodhart has created, and to be doing it with Jemaine Clement is completely joyful.— Nicola Walker
I really relate to Steve—he's classy, stylish and an all-round good guy—except for when he isn't. I'm excited to be working with the wonderful Nicola Walker and seeing how Steve and Alice's relationship descends into absolute chaos.— Jemaine Clement
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does a show about a friendship imploding over a dating choice matter right now?
Because it's not really about the dating choice. It's about what happens when people you've known forever do something you can't forgive, and you have to decide whether the friendship survives it.
But the daughter is 26. That's an adult.
Exactly. Which is why it's complicated. Steve isn't doing anything illegal or predatory. He's just doing something that feels like a betrayal to Alice. That's the real tension.
Clerkenwell Films made Baby Reindeer. Are we supposed to expect something similarly dark?
Probably not in the same way. Baby Reindeer was about obsession and trauma. This sounds like it's about the messiness of people you love making choices that hurt you, and having to live with it.
Sophie Goodhart wrote Sex Education. What does that tell us about the tone?
That she understands how to write characters who are flawed and funny and real all at once. Sex Education wasn't a show that looked down on its characters. It took them seriously.
Six episodes feels short.
It's the right length for this story. You don't need more than that to watch a friendship break and see if it can be repaired. Anything longer would be padding.