Alice and Steve, played by Nicola Walker (The Split) and Jemaine Clement (What We Do in the Shadows), are best friends. However, they are not, as Steve sleeps with Alice’s 20-something daughter Izzy and begins dating her.
“I love explaining the premise,” laughed Clement, whose “Alice and Steve,” which just swept the Cannes series at Tuesday night’s awards ceremony, won best series, special interpreter award for ensemble cast, and student award.
“I was worried that Jari Topol Margaris, who plays Izzy, would be creepy. I was very worried about that. But am I worried that my character would come across as creepy to the audience? No, because it’s funny.”
“People get a little quiet,” Walker notes.
“It looks like a serious crime, but it’s a drama about love. It’s also a drama about revenge, betrayal and misdeeds.”
The Disney+ series Alice and Steve was produced by Clerkenwell Films and had its world premiere at the Cannes series.
As their feud intensifies, no one emerges from it unscathed. That includes the audience.
“What’s remarkable about this series is that it starts with the premise that you’re never going to side with Steve or Izzie, but then you trade allegiance. These guys fall in love, and they’re perfect for each other in a way, and then Alice becomes the problem. They all end up really, really hurting each other. That strikes me as very similar to real life,” Walker told Variety.
“You know, I often can’t believe how mothers, husbands, wives, and friends are portrayed on TV. But when I read this, I thought, ‘I understand these people.'”
Are we becoming more tolerant of relationships with large age differences?
“Some people find it controversial, some people don’t. But it’s not like sleeping with your best friend’s daughter. That’s controversial for everyone,” Clement points out.
The show’s creator, Sophie Goodhart, says people are still quick to judge. But that’s why she wanted to explore it.
“Is it always going to be offensive? Are there exceptions to the rule? Now, it’s OK for an older woman to date a younger man. My husband is much younger, and I give a lot of high-fives. But if I were a man, people would say, ‘What’s she doing?’!”
Furthermore, she added: “I love comedies that make you cringe a little bit. That’s definitely my sweet spot. Some people will hate Alice, some people won’t like Steve. But if they stick with this show, they might realize they may have been too quick in their judgment.”
Steve and Alice could always count on each other. That’s why their rift is so painful. They know exactly where to push each other’s buttons.
“Alice can be her worst self in front of Steve. They used to love each other, but now it’s a different kind of love. But, sure, things happen. I had a friend who didn’t talk to me for years. I tried to contact him and he wouldn’t answer because he didn’t like some of the things I said about Trump,” Clement recalls.
“If something were to go wrong with my two best friends, whom I’ve known since I was 19, I would be completely adrift. Best friends carry all your history: births, deaths, failures, successes. They’re always in your corner, even when you’re being unreasonable. They know everything and forgive a lot of bad behavior because they know where it comes from.”
Goodhart agrees that platonic breakups can be “scary.” However, “Steve and Alice” is still “surprisingly fun.”
“I love writing about emotional stuff, like ‘Sex Education,’ and I love that Steve and Alice are still in love. They forget, but I remember.”
“I just want a love story that’s a little bit edgier. Remember ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’? It was so great and so complicated, because that’s what love is! It grows and changes and declines. It’s fluid. I just wanted it to be a show about acceptance. Does that sound like bullshit?”
Goodhart also values complex characters, such as those written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge and those recently seen in “DTF St. Louis.” “I shouldn’t be on another show, but it’s so good.”
“I don’t believe that some people are bad and some people are good. I don’t believe that. We’re all victims of circumstance. Everyone changes so much over the course of the series that you might hate a character in episode two and worship that character in episode four. My dream is that people walk away from the show less judgmental. That would be great,” she says.
“And it would be really nice to have another season.”
