Nicola Walker, one of Britain’s most acclaimed and versatile actresses, is stepping into a deliciously uncomfortable new role that promises to test the limits of friendship, family loyalty, and personal boundaries. In the upcoming six-part comedy-drama Alice and Steve, Walker stars as Alice, a woman whose long-standing, rock-solid friendship with her best friend Steve is blown apart when he begins dating her 26-year-old daughter. What starts as a shocking personal betrayal quickly spirals into an all-out, no-holds-barred feud filled with frantic revenge plots, awkward confrontations, and biting wit.

Set to premiere on Disney+ (and Hulu in the US) on June 8, 2026, Alice and Steve is already generating significant buzz as one of the most anticipated British comedies of the year. Created and written by Sophie Goodhart (Sex Education), and produced by Clerkenwell Films — the team behind the global phenomenon Baby Reindeer — the series blends sharp observational humor with raw emotional honesty. It has been described as an “anti-romantic comedy,” a “wrong-com,” and a “hilarious, messy, and complicated exploration of friendship, family, and love.”

At the center of the story are Alice (Nicola Walker) and Steve (Jemaine Clement). For over two decades, the pair have shared an unusually close, platonic friendship that has withstood the tests of time. Alice is married to Daniel (Joel Fry), and together they have a daughter, Izzy (Yali Topol Margalith). Steve, portrayed by the charismatic and deadpan-funny Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords, What We Do in the Shadows), has been a constant presence in their lives — more like family than a mere friend.

Everything changes when Steve, now middle-aged, starts a romantic relationship with the much younger Izzy. For Alice, the news is devastating. In one fell swoop, she faces the terrifying prospect of losing both her beloved daughter and her closest confidant. The betrayal cuts deep, triggering a fierce maternal protectiveness mixed with a sense of personal rejection. Refusing to accept the situation, Alice launches an aggressive campaign to sabotage the unlikely romance, employing every tactic she can think of — some clever, some desperate, and many hilariously misguided.

Steve, however, proves more than ready for the fight. What begins as a perfect, long-lasting friendship rapidly devolves into a bitter, escalating war of wits and wills. The series explores how quickly trust can shatter and how far people are willing to go when they feel their most important relationships are under threat.

Nicola Walker brings her signature intensity and emotional depth to the role of Alice. Known for powerhouse performances in The Split, Unforgotten, and Annika, Walker has a remarkable ability to portray complex, flawed women with both vulnerability and steel. Here, she gets to flex her comedic muscles in a more outrageous, frantic register. Early first-look images and footage suggest she is delivering a tour-de-force performance — equal parts hilarious, heartbroken, and unhinged — as a mother determined to reclaim control of her family’s narrative.

Jemaine Clement provides the perfect counterbalance as Steve. With his dry humor and laid-back charm, he turns the character into someone audiences can simultaneously root for and cringe at. The chemistry between Walker and Clement crackles with decades of shared history, making their sudden descent into enmity all the more entertaining and painful to watch.

Supporting performances round out a strong ensemble. Yali Topol Margalith plays Izzy with nuance, avoiding the trap of making her a one-dimensional “problematic” daughter. Joel Fry appears as Alice’s husband Daniel, who finds himself caught in the crossfire of the escalating chaos. Additional cast members include Tyrese Eaton-Dyce, Marcia Warren, Eilidh Fisher, and Ebony Aboagye, adding layers of family dynamics, friendships, and social complications to the story.

The series is being touted as a “friendship-testing” drama with elements of revenge comedy. Promotional materials and early reactions from its world premiere at Canneseries 2026 highlight its “outrageously witty” tone and willingness to dive into uncomfortable, morally ambiguous territory. Unlike more conventional romantic comedies, Alice and Steve refuses to offer easy answers or tidy resolutions. Instead, it revels in the messiness of human relationships — the jealousy, insecurity, generational clashes, and selfish impulses that can surface even in the closest bonds.

Early buzz suggests the show strikes a delicate balance between laugh-out-loud moments and genuinely uncomfortable truths. The age-gap romance at its center serves as a catalyst rather than the sole focus, allowing the story to examine broader themes: the evolving nature of parental love as children become adults, the boundaries (or lack thereof) in long-term friendships, and the destructive power of feeling replaced or abandoned.

Directed by Tom Kingsley, the series benefits from a stylish yet grounded visual approach set against the backdrop of contemporary London. The six-episode format gives the story room to breathe, letting the feud build gradually while delivering escalating twists and emotional payoffs.

For fans of Nicola Walker, Alice and Steve represents something fresh. While she has excelled in heavy dramatic roles, this project allows her to showcase a broader comedic range without sacrificing the emotional authenticity she brings to every character. Many are already calling it potentially her most entertaining and rewatchable series yet — a show that delivers both sharp one-liners and surprisingly heartfelt moments.

Comparisons to The Split — another Nicola Walker-led drama famous for its intense emotional stakes and family entanglements — are inevitable. However, Alice and Steve swaps legal drama and romantic turmoil for a more satirical, friendship-focused battlefield. If The Split explored the fractures within marriages and families through high-stakes divorce cases, this new series does something similar through the lens of an unexpected romantic entanglement and the resulting maternal fury.

As the June 8 release date approaches, anticipation continues to build. First-look images released in March 2026 offered tantalizing glimpses of Walker and Clement in character, capturing the shift from warm camaraderie to icy hostility. The show’s playful marketing as a “revenge series” and “ultimate wrong-com” has only heightened curiosity about just how far Alice and Steve will go in their escalating conflict.

Alice and Steve arrives at a time when audiences are hungry for smart, character-driven comedies that don’t shy away from darker or more complicated emotions. By blending humor with genuine relational stakes, the series has the potential to become the kind of addictive, water-cooler television that sparks lively debates long after the final episode.

Whether you come for Nicola Walker’s magnetic screen presence, Jemaine Clement’s deadpan comedy, or simply the promise of messy, relatable chaos, Alice and Steve looks set to deliver a rollercoaster ride of betrayal, retaliation, and surprising tenderness. It reminds us that sometimes the people we love most are capable of hurting us the deepest — and that revenge, even when served with a side of sharp British wit, rarely goes according to plan.

This is must-watch television for anyone who enjoys stories about imperfect people making questionable choices in the name of love and loyalty. Get ready for a series that will make you laugh, cringe, and perhaps reflect on your own friendships a little differently.