Alice and Steve presents itself as an awkward adult anti-romantic comedy built around two older former lovers reconnecting years later, while
immediately creating chaos through Steve unexpectedly becoming romantically involved with Alice’s daughter Izzy. The show leans heavily into blunt, uncomfortable humor, messy relationship drama, modern dating awkwardness, and a very New York style
conversational energy that separates it tonally from more polished mainstream romantic comedies. What begins as a relatively simple “older exes turned friends” comedy premise quickly spirals into a layered relationship disaster, with cheating, emotional conflict, collapsing marriages, and increasingly brutal romantic entanglements that are deeply uncomfortable to watch. The series constantly balances comedy and emotional drama, often succeeding because of the chemistry between its lead character even whenever the writing itself becomes uneven or repetitive at times. Alice and Steve is new, and while humor and awkwardness will absolutely not work for every audience, the show remains consistently watchable because of its stranger premise, emotional tension, and chaotic relationship and friendship storytelling turns.
The show opens with Alice and Steve going out together attempting to rediscover romance and excitement in their lives, immediately establishing the blunt adult humor and messy dating atmosphere of the series. After Steve crashes at Alice’s place following a rough night, things escalate fast when he unexpectedly hooks up with her daughter Izzy, instantly igniting the central conflict that will drive the rest of the show: the widening rift between Alice and Steve. Episode one ends strongly through the shock value and emotional fallout of Alice discovering the relationship, helping the premiere land as one of the stronger episodes early in the season. Episode two focuses heavily on Steve and Izzy attempting to repair the damage while Alice becomes increasingly angry and emotionally isolated from both Steve and her husband. While the show occasionally falls too heavily into standard romantic comedy tropes during these early episodes, the awkwardness and emotional messiness still help the series maintain a level of intrigue and entertainment needed for a show of this kind.
Episode three begins forcing Alice and Steve back together after Alice is injured, slowly rebuilding emotional tension between the two while Steve’s relationship with Izzy continues creating chaos around everyone involved. As Alice and Steve spend more time together again, the show begins leaning more heavily into emotional drama rather than pure awkward comedy, especially as Alice’s husband begins contemplating cheating himself. The emotional conflict becomes much stronger in the middle episodes, as the series finally lets the characters sit with the consequences of their decisions instead of just leaning on the premise for shock humor. Episode three especially feels like the moment where the series starts finding a stronger groove tonally, balancing emotional conversations, romantic tension, and uncomfortable awkwardness much more naturally than before. While the writing can still occasionally feel repetitive or melodramatic, the chemistry between Alice and Steve continues carrying much of the emotional weight of the series successfully.
Episode four continues pushing the emotional drama further as Steve and Izzy split apart while Alice’s marriage slowly begins collapsing under the pressure of the situation and emotional distance between the couple. The series begins overlapping multiple relationship storylines at once involving failed marriages, romantic regret, emotional insecurity, jealousy, and the fear of growing older without happiness or excitement. Steve confessing his feelings toward Izzy while Alice simultaneously realizes her own life may be falling apart creates one of the stronger emotional balancing acts of the season so far. The reveal involving Izzy’s pregnancy works surprisingly well both comedically and dramatically, becoming one of the most memorable ending moments of the show because of how chaotic and uncomfortable the situation immediately becomes. While parts of these episodes still fall into standard romantic comedy structures and emotional melodrama, the series becomes much more engaging whenever it focuses on emotional fallout rather than simply awkward humor alone.
The later episodes continue escalating relationship chaos as Alice’s marriage collapses further while Steve and Izzy attempt to figure out their increasingly complicated future together. The reveal that Steve is not actually the father of Izzy’s baby adds yet another layer of melodrama to an already jam‑packed show, while extending its constant emotional instability and clearly setting up new plotlines aimed at a season two. Unfortunately, the finale becomes one of the weakest parts of the show because of several major storylines feeling rushed, unresolved, or randomly introduced without any payoff or satisfaction. The return of Izzy’s ex and the strange final sequence involving Alice and Steve leaping from a burning building feel chaotic rather than emotionally satisfying, hurting the impact of the cliffhanger ending considerably and affecting the overall show’s rating. What the series needed most was a stronger emotional conclusion or a more focused resolution to its relationship arcs, making the underwhelming finale one of the biggest reasons the show has a lower score.
Overall, Alice and Steve works as a strange, awkward, and occasionally very funny adult romantic comedy, driven less by traditional rom‑com beats than by its messy character dynamics and emotionally chaotic premise. The series thrives whenever it fully embraces uncomfortable humor, blunt emotional conflict, and the strange tension created by Steve’s relationship with both Alice and Izzy. Several of the middle episodes really start to shine once the anti–rom‑com drama deepens and the writing grows more complex, pushing beyond the initial shock‑value premise. However, uneven writing, repetitive comedy structures, and a finale lacking a satisfying payoff prevents the show from fully capitalizing on its strongest ideas and character dynamics. Even with its flaws, Alice and Steve is a consistently entertaining and distinctly offbeat watch that stands apart from more generic romantic comedies. Thanks to its bizarre premise and persistently awkward emotional energy, it definitely isn’t for everyone, but it still earns a solid 78/100.
TwilightRoom Score: 78.0/100
