What starts as an intimate friendship devolves into an all-out feud
When a beloved friendship becomes a battleground, the lines between loyalty, love, and self-preservation blur in ways that reveal who we truly are. This June, Nicola Walker steps away from the procedural solemnity of Unforgotten and into the chaotic comedy of Alice and Steve on Disney+, a six-part series exploring what happens when the people closest to us become the very source of our undoing. Created by Sophie Goodhart and set alongside Jemaine Clement, the show asks an ancient and uncomfortable question: how far will we go for the ones we love — and how far for the ones we refuse to lose?
- A lifelong friendship is thrown into crisis the moment Steve begins dating Alice's 26-year-old daughter, forcing Alice to choose between acceptance and all-out war.
- What begins as quiet desperation escalates into a full-blown feud, with both Alice and Steve willing to push further than either imagined possible.
- Nicola Walker and Jemaine Clement bring formidable chemistry to the conflict, with Walker describing the collaboration as joyful even as their characters tear each other apart.
- A creative team steeped in acclaimed television — from Sex Education to Baby Reindeer — signals a show built to balance genuine emotional weight with sharp comedic instinct.
- Having premiered in competition at CANNESERIES 2026, Alice and Steve arrives on Disney+ in June with the momentum of a series already generating serious attention.
Nicola Walker is trading the quiet grief of Unforgotten for something louder and stranger this June, starring in Disney+'s six-part comedy-drama Alice and Steve alongside New Zealand comedian and actor Jemaine Clement. The show had its world premiere in competition at CANNESERIES 2026 on April 26, with the full cast and creative team launching their press tour the same day.
The premise turns on a single, destabilising moment: Alice's closest friend Steve begins a relationship with her 26-year-old daughter, Izzy. Rather than accept it, Alice fights back — and Steve, far from retreating, fights back harder. What was once an intimate friendship devolves into an escalating feud, with both characters making choices they cannot take back.
The series was written and created by Sophie Goodhart, previously of Sex Education, and directed by Tom Kingsley, known for Stath Lets Flats. Andy Baker, an executive producer on Baby Reindeer, is involved through Clerkenwell Films — a creative combination that suggests a show equally at home in comedy and emotional reckoning.
Walker spoke warmly about the project, saying she was thrilled to inhabit Goodhart's world of friendship, motherhood, and fierce love, and that working with Clement was completely joyful. Clement, for his part, said he relates to Steve — a man he described as classy and stylish, a good guy except when he isn't — and that he was eager to watch the friendship between them descend into absolute chaos.
Where Unforgotten was a show about the past catching up with people, Alice and Steve is about the present detonating in real time — finding dark humour in the wreckage of relationships and asking what we are truly willing to sacrifice for the people we love.
Nicola Walker is heading to Disney+ this June with a new series that trades the grim procedural world of Unforgotten for something messier and funnier: a six-part comedy-drama called Alice and Steve, in which a woman's best friendship implodes the moment he starts dating her daughter.
Walker, who spent four seasons as detective Cassandra Stuart on ITV's acclaimed crime drama before her character's death in 2021, will star opposite Jemaine Clement, the New Zealand comedian and actor best known for Flight of the Conchords. The show had its world premiere in competition at CANNESERIES 2026 on April 26, with the full cast and creative team launching their press tour that same day.
The premise is deceptively simple: Alice's life fractures when her closest friend Steve begins a relationship with her 26-year-old daughter, Izzy. Faced with the prospect of losing both her dearest friend and her daughter simultaneously, Alice decides to fight back. She tries everything to end the relationship. But Steve, it turns out, is not the type to retreat quietly. What starts as an intimate friendship devolves into an all-out feud, with both parties willing to escalate the conflict in ways neither anticipated.
Writer and creator Sophie Goodhart, who previously worked on Sex Education, has crafted a story that sits somewhere between comedy and genuine emotional reckoning. The show asks uncomfortable questions: How far would you go for love? How far for revenge? Can a relationship survive when the people around it are determined to destroy it? The lives of these characters, the synopsis promises, will be irrevocably altered by the time the series ends.
Walker spoke about the role with genuine enthusiasm in an official statement, saying she was thrilled to step into the world of friendship, motherhood, marriage, and fierce love that Goodhart created, and that working with Clement was completely joyful. Clement matched her energy, noting that he relates to his character Steve—a man he described as classy and stylish, a good guy except when he isn't—and that he was excited to see how the friendship between Steve and Alice descends into absolute chaos.
The production brings together a formidable creative team. Director Tom Kingsley, known for Stath Lets Flats, is helming the series. Andy Baker, an executive producer on the acclaimed Netflix series Baby Reindeer, is involved through Clerkenwell Films. Frances du Pille serves as series producer. This combination of talent suggests a show that understands both the comedic potential and the emotional weight of its premise.
For Walker, this marks a significant shift in tone and genre. Unforgotten was a show about the past catching up with people, about secrets and consequences unfolding over years. Alice and Steve is about the present exploding in real time, about people making choices in the moment that they can't take back. It's a different kind of drama, one that finds humor in the wreckage of relationships and asks what we're willing to sacrifice for the people we love.
Notable Quotes
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
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does a friendship turning into a feud feel like the right story for right now?
Because we're all living in this strange space where our closest relationships are also our most fragile. One decision—one relationship—can shatter everything. Alice and Steve takes that seriously while also finding the absurdity in it.
Is this really a comedy, or is it a drama that happens to be funny?
It's both, which is harder to pull off than either one alone. The comedy comes from watching two intelligent people behave badly. The drama comes from understanding why they do it, and what it costs them.
What makes Nicola Walker right for Alice?
She spent four seasons playing a detective who had to hold everything together—the investigation, the team, her own life. Alice is someone who's trying to hold things together and watching it all fall apart. Walker understands that tension.
And Jemaine Clement as Steve?
He brings a lightness to characters that could otherwise feel one-dimensional. Steve could be a villain. Instead, Clement will probably make you understand why he's doing this, even as you watch Alice try to destroy him for it.
Does it matter that this premiered at Cannes?
It signals that Disney+ is treating this as serious television, not just content. Cannes doesn't premiere shows that are just filling time. This is a bet on something with real artistic ambition.