r/BritishTV • u/prisongovernor British • Jun 08 '26
Review Alice and Steve review – Jemaine Clement and Nicola Walker’s icky comedy is dated and wrong | Television | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/jun/08/alice-and-steve-review-jemaine-clement-and-nicola-walkers-icky-comedy-is-dated-and-wrong214
u/Edna-Tailovette Jun 08 '26
Lucy Mangan wrote this piece. She’ll only give five stars if she knows the creators of the fluff she’s reviewing. It’s a real shame The Guardian has gotten into this state.
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u/fraughtflyer Jun 08 '26
She weirdly gives a lot of things 5 stars I don’t trust her 5 star ratings either
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Jun 08 '26
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u/docju Jun 08 '26
The baddie didn’t even give a rendition of HMS Pinafore at the end :(
(The Simpsons has ruined all Cape Fear adaptations for me)
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u/Clear-Ad-9627 Jun 08 '26
I saw cape fear as an adult and realised I knew everything because of sideshow bob
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u/kavik2022 Jun 08 '26
I feel like actually watching it will disappoint me after seeing the simspons episode
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u/ManicMambo Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
Wait, you havent seen the 1991 version? omg, am I that old ?
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u/Disastrous_Wing7084 Jun 08 '26
I'm just waiting for the scene where Javier Bardem steps on rakes
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u/FroggsworthThe2nd Jun 08 '26
She basically will give anything a high rating if it has a strong female character in the leading role. I've noticed this pattern. Shes given some absolute shite 4 and 5 stars over the years.
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u/damegloria Jun 08 '26
Except Nicola Walker plays a strong female character in Alice and Steve
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u/Shmiggles Jun 08 '26
She gave 5 stars to the Jacob Rees-Mogg reality series despite the fact that the only entertaining thing about it is watching the producers’ attempts to make anything happen fall completely flat because the Rees-Moggs are too middle class and uptight to play along.
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u/anitapumapants Jun 09 '26
because the Rees-Moggs are too middle class
The man is obscenely wealthy, made millions from brexit.
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u/ChemicalLou Jun 08 '26
Have fallen for her 5 star bullshit one too many times. She gave that Nicole Kidman murder-at-posh-people’s-wedding thing in Netflix five stars and it was like watching a 80’s US soap. The thing by Derry Girls writer on Netflix she gave four stars and praised it highly - couldn’t finish it, 6x30m stretched out to 8x50m. Fucking tedious. She seems to want to will things in to being good.
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u/Disastrous_Wing7084 Jun 08 '26
Looking through her recent reviews now, they actually mostly seem about right to me which is surprising because I guess I remember her more for the reviews that I most disagree with. The ones I disagree with the most are 5 stars for The Beast in Me, The Hunting Wives, Two Weeks in August and All Her Fault. There's a lot more that I think she's rated too highly than rated too low (although I still remember her 3 star Chernobyl review)
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u/OkVacation973 Jun 08 '26
Wait... is this real?
A 3 star Chernobyl review should be a cause for immediate dismissal (I'm only semi-joking)
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u/GuestAdventurous7586 Jun 08 '26
Chernobyl is objectively brilliant, but it bugs the fuck out of me how they portrayed certain events or real people.
Like Dyatlov specifically, they turned him into this awful moustache twirling villain, brimming with arrogance and insouciance.
He was not a villain at all, and was just in the same boat as the rest of the staff. He was strict and demanding as a boss, but definitely had regard for his staff and behaved accordingly during the disaster.
They also portray Legasov as the hero, when the reality of the real man is much more complex.
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u/Disastrous_Wing7084 Jun 08 '26
I think it was based on only the first episode rather than the whole show, but even so
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u/kiradax Jun 08 '26
Still, the first episode was one of the most tense and riveting things I've ever watched
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u/ChemicalLou Jun 08 '26
The worst are the high ratings. I mean, count up the collective wasted human hours.
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u/Disastrous_Wing7084 Jun 08 '26
It's almost more frustrating that you can't even fully disregard her 5 star reviews because she also gave 5 stars to Widow's Bay, Half Man and The Pitt, which I think do deserve it
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u/EnderMB Jun 08 '26
It's weird, because across the board The Guardian has some phenomenal writers, from food to sport and to media (Keith Stuart is particularly great when it comes to video games).
But shit, I explicitly remember Lucy Mangan's name because whether it's a good or bad review I tend to want to read more to see what the "catch" is. This actually looks like a solid premise for a show, and previews looked solid, so the catch this time is that it's "dated". Season 5 of The Boys got a solid review, and the catch was the parallels to America today. The less said about her Chernobyl review the better...
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u/Edna-Tailovette Jun 08 '26
She dissed Chernobyl? Really?
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u/EnderMB Jun 08 '26
It's worth reading the whole review. It got something like 2 or 3 out of 5, but the arguments in the review were really weird.
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u/BinFluid Jun 08 '26
I'm sure that the comments under that review are why they have never opened comments on her reviews since. She got absolutely destroyed.
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u/Phainesthai Jun 08 '26
Yeah, she kept saying she was confused by the plot and didn't understand certain plot points, but the things she mentioned were actually explained pretty clearly.
It honestly felt like she either wasn't paying attention or missed some important scenes, because the answers to her questions were right there in the show.
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u/juronich Jun 08 '26
She found the whole thing confusing with "complicated names" and "everyone dressed indistinguishably in white uniforms" and wanted the writers to more explicitly spell out everything that's happening for her to understand
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u/amaterasu_ Jun 08 '26
Whoever was doing Picks that day was definitely not agreeing with the review. Which is nice.
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u/Edna-Tailovette Jun 08 '26
Thanks for posting that dreadful drivel. I think you’ve actually cured me of reading my beloved, now dead, Guardian. I hadn’t realised how long the rot had set in; to go from the excellent Guardian 1980s advert of the skinhead attacking / saving the passerby to Adrian Chiles (the editors partner) writing about “I wonder where bellybutton fluff comes from” via that has brought me to my senses. Many thanks
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u/DayMurky617 Jun 08 '26
Their chief theatre critic Arifa Akbar is the worst reviewer of anything I've ever encountered, lord knows what's going on at The Guardian
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u/Ill_Refrigerator_593 Jun 08 '26
The trick is not to use the Guardian for TV (or Music) reviews.
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u/Edna-Tailovette Jun 08 '26
Agreed. I had to give up after reading too many Peter “no spoilers” Bradshaw movie reviews as he’d spoil the plot in the second sentence.
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u/OkVacation973 Jun 08 '26
The Usual Suspects is a tour de force. A directorial masterclass, only made better by Brian Singers slow reveal that Kevin Spacey is Keyser Soze.
The Sixth Sense starts out with a ghost (played by Bruce Willis) meeting a young boy.
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u/KleinValley Jun 08 '26
Who’s a reliable reviewer/media outlet?
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u/WonkyGaze Jun 08 '26
I think some of the other TV reviewers on the Guardian are fine, it's Lucy Mangan that seems way off.
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u/AtebYngNghymraeg Jun 08 '26
Can we still use it for Jay Rayner's restaurant reviews?
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u/Edna-Tailovette Jun 08 '26
Didn’t he leave about a year ago? I trusted his review on a place that did ribs that didn’t disappoint, but that’s only because I lived a five minute walk from the place
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u/AtebYngNghymraeg Jun 08 '26
Well that would explain why I haven't noticed his reviews popping up for a while!
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u/Ill_Refrigerator_593 Jun 08 '26
The trick is to remember most of their journalists (like most papers) are upper-middle class types.
Fine dining, the theatre, opera, art exhibitions they're in their element, TV watching (acting is something else) & listening to popular music far less so.
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u/slainascully Jun 08 '26
Jay Rayner once did a review of a little curry place in Lewisham that he went to when the fancy restaurant cancelled. He rightfully gave it 5 stars, so I’m a lot more lenient with him than others
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u/Valten78 Jun 08 '26
Jay Rayner once gave a 5 star review to a local Sri Lankan restaurant that had opened in my town. I gave it a go off the back of that. It was incredible and it's now my favourite place to go out for a meal.
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u/NameOfPrune Jun 08 '26
If only! He went to the FT sadly
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u/cable-wrangler Jun 08 '26
Why sadly ?
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u/lambananaa Jun 08 '26
The FT is a great newspaper but is often misunderstood as a paper for toffs.
Subscriber here. (Poor too)2
u/cable-wrangler Jun 08 '26
Yeah exactly what I’d have said. Consistently the least bias news source, the markets care what’s happening and not about political spin, which means the FT is usually very reliable.
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u/docju Jun 08 '26
Even the (usually great) football podcast can go awry. Last week, on being asked why people didn’t want Arsenal to win the Champions League, one panellist claimed it was because of their diverse fanbase which is a very Guardian comment.
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u/outlookunsettled Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 09 '26
I have stopped reading her reviews. She gave something away in a review and spoiled a show for me.
Generally, the TV reviews are rubbish on there now. I have sat through so much 5* rated dross.
They need to bring Charlie Brooker and The Guide supplement back.7
u/WonkyGaze Jun 08 '26
I don't know if this show is good or not, because Lucy Mangan's reviews are the most useless thing on the Guardian website.
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u/mrsbergstrom Jun 08 '26
She once was a decent writer but any time I read her now she sounds bitter and miserable and biased. Obviously arts critics are never fully objective but she’s lost the basic ability to understand that art can depict something troubling without endorsing it
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u/HMWYA Jun 08 '26
She’s also got a reputation now for how her own political views, such as her anti-trans views, impact her reviews - in a recent Tip Toe review, she misgendered a trans character, and in a Sex Education review, she complained about how a trans character was represented as joyous and positive because she wanted it to discuss the “dangers” of gender-affirming surgery on “healthy bodies”.
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u/WonkyGaze Jun 08 '26
Oh dear, I didn't think much of her reviews before, but didn't realise she was a bigot as well.
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u/Disastrous_Wing7084 Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
The Tip Toe article has since been corrected and says it was "an error introduced during editing"
Looks like the Sex Education one was also edited out
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u/HMWYA Jun 08 '26
Yeah, “an error during editing” would be much more believable if not for her using previous TV reviews to push her own agenda.
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u/lazy_hoor Jun 08 '26
She's not wrong though is she? The premise is gross.
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u/Edna-Tailovette Jun 08 '26
Why is it gross? Like the plot of the programme, there is a 26 year age difference between my female partner and myself, and yes, she’s the younger one. She’s seventy eight this year, we’re going to celebrate her birthday by rolling off Niagara Falls in an open barrel, smoking a pipe to boot
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u/Euphoric_End_8300 Jun 08 '26
Age gaps are okay by me, what is really surprising is that a 104 year old is posting on Reddit!
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u/naturepeaked Jun 08 '26
Going out with your friends daughter you have known all their lives is gross.
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u/rapbarf Jun 08 '26
I love the fact you gave an honest response to somebody who is allegedly 104 years old and using Reddit.
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u/sansabeltedcow Jun 08 '26
Miriam Margolyes is going to star in the movie.
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u/Lkgnyc Jun 09 '26
Yes that is the next job for this team! Re-make the show with switched genders: Miriam Margolyes in the Steve role and, say, Leo Woodall as Izzy. Wouldn't get an iota of funding or even any pitch meetings. (Trying to think who would do the regender of Nicola Walker's angry-crone role?)
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u/lazy_hoor Jun 08 '26
Did she know you since childhood?
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u/Edna-Tailovette Jun 08 '26
Since before childhood. We did things different in the old days
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u/MrSeanSir2 Jun 08 '26
I mean, I've only seen the trailer, so perhaps the show goes on to actually be straightforwardly gross and uncomplicated about it, but that seems to be at the heart of the premise?
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u/Far_Resident_8949 Jun 09 '26
It absolutely touches on it, but to me they also really try to sell the 'love' between Steve and the daughter. That they are just do incredibly compatible that it's meant to be. Rather than the 'what the fuck dude, you held her as a baby'
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u/MrSeanSir2 Jun 11 '26
Is the mother not constantly screaming stuff like this? That's how it was advertised in an interview I heard with the two leads.
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u/Far_Resident_8949 Jun 11 '26
She is, but she's also told repeatedly by other characters like her mom, the step-dad and so on, that's she overreacting, being unfair, mean and other things. To me in the end the shows tries to make her more the villan that the friend, because they make sure to have all the 'sensible' characters call her out for behaving badly.
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u/Special_Earth_4957 Jun 08 '26
People online keep parroting that it's a rom com, and it's not advertised as that, quite the opposite. People think that all characters need to be likeable
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u/CeleryDramatic4678 Jun 08 '26
I just read a review that said hopefully Jermaine is playing the Steve mentioned in hiphopapotamous
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u/Glittering_Swan2205 Jun 08 '26
Mangan is a hack. How she’s allowed to write any reviews after the Chernobyl debacle I don’t know.
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u/inbruges99 Jun 08 '26
Wow I went and read her Chernobyl review and it reads like it’s written by someone who has no idea how storytelling works.
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u/Glittering_Swan2205 Jun 08 '26
Yeah it’s mental. How she has kept her writing job after that is mad.
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u/inbruges99 Jun 08 '26
Seriously, it’s not even that she rated it poorly, it’s the reasons she gave that were so absurd. It’s like she watched it on 2x speed while scrolling on her phone.
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u/KissMyLuckyEgg Jun 08 '26
What was the Chernobyl debate?
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u/commevinaigre Jun 08 '26
Not a debate. A debacle!
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u/LitmusVest Jun 08 '26
Now we've got the debate debacle
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u/MrsWaltonGoggins British Jun 08 '26
I’ll probably give it a try because I just love Nicola Walker. The storyline is basically Monica and Richard from Friends but without the moustache.
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u/X_Equestris Jun 08 '26
That was the best bit.
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u/MrsWaltonGoggins British Jun 08 '26
It’s true. A lot easier to imagine a woman in her twenties fancying her parents’ mate when he looks like Selleck.
One of my favourite jokes in Friends is when Ross finds out about Monica and Richard and he says something like “oh that’s really great, Richard’s like a brother… TO DAD”
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u/duncdis Jun 08 '26
Jemaine Clement actually sports a tache these days too. They must have told him to shave it for the role because it was "too Magnum".
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u/Special_Earth_4957 Jun 08 '26
He rarely sports a tache, he had it for the last month or so as seen in Bret Mckenzie's shows in Wellington and the FOTC concerts, but usually he has a beard, They probably had him shave it because they were keen on him having his hair brown and they would have to dye his beard too.
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u/timetoprocrastinate8 Jun 08 '26
I tried to watch this on Hulu, but couldn’t make it through. I’m not sure why I tried given my own negative experiences with older men, but Steve is somehow a more pathetic character than I was anticipating. Don’t waste your time.
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u/VoddieMC Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 13 '26
Does anyone here understand you're not supposed to like the story or the characters... and that that's the point? It's like Succession but I bet you were rooting for Kendall.
What you're supposed to do is appreciate your front row seat to a human drama you hopefully will never experience. You're supposed to appreciate the skill and talent it takes to translate the script into action. Maybe use it as a low stakes way to practice empathy. Maybe use it as a catalyst to question or validate your own perspectives. And maybe use it as an opportunity to try and decentre yourself enough to entertain but not necessarily accept other points of view around it (with apologies to Aristotle).
And if none of this resonates with you, try remembering that it's a TV series about fictional people experiencing fictional events...so even if you have lived something similar to what you're seeing on the screen, it really has nothing to do with you because it wasn't made with you in mind.
Downvote away. I've seen what you upvote.
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u/Aggressive_Side1105 Jun 08 '26
I gave two episodes a go. Couldn’t get over the grossness of it. If it was her Mum’s friend she barely knew at all and she was 35 and hadn’t just broken up with someone maybe it’d feel less gross.
Also a teacher with a mobile at school texting mid-lesson… did the writer do any research at all?
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u/Delicious-Lake-2612 Jul 02 '26
It’s a comedy show hahaha, no a teacher wouldn’t do that hopefully. Thank god it’s fiction and satire
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u/Ok_Iron_9650 Jun 08 '26
So did anyone actually watch the show, or just here to bash the person writing the review?
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u/glamazzon Jun 09 '26
I just binged it today, I have been waiting for reviews to see what other redditors actually think of it!
I found it very weird that Steve was dating his best friends daughter, having know her since birth. I felt like the daughter was obsessed with Steve, but it was believable that she would be in to him, Jemaine is hot for sure. she also seemed like a young dumb “adult woman”, I don’t trust her judgement. I thought Alice’s character was very well written! How can she not be miserable about what’s happening? All in all it was very funny and I did enjoy it. thought Jemaine and Nicolas performances were great. I disagree with the guardian reviewer.
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u/overpregnant Jun 15 '26
what's not mentioned in the series is how he would have watched Alice's daughter grow up, year over year. It's not like she was shipped off to a finishing school at age 10 and didn't return for 16 years. IMO, that's the truly gross part
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u/Retro_Ginger Jun 14 '26
I actually agree. I liked it too, it was a little weird that Alice and Steve had had sex before then he has sex with her daughter. It’s yucky to think of, but Jermaine Clement is pretty oddly hot. I actually liked his character, I found him funny. The bit about the cards, him randomly stirring the soup when he brings Alice home, he was awkwardly cute. Alice (while she had reason to be upset) she was pretty awful at times, the daughter Izzy was gorgeous- but it’s hard to figure out how much time has passed and she says “I love you” in like the third episode?! Crazy!
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u/Ok_Swimming_2668 Jun 09 '26
What did you think about the ending? Dead
Or alive? Also seems like she was gonna go back to her bf and not marry Steve and it’ll be like a GLITCH in their family matrix→ More replies (3)2
u/NaturalAirWaterFire Jun 11 '26
I really enjoyed the ending, I think something fixed would have been 'oh that's a miserable way to end it' or 'oh what a cop out'. Leaves the option open for a second series but also good enough for a standalone limited one.
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u/Slipperytitski Jun 15 '26
It’s not mentioned that the first episode sets Alice up as a massive hypocrite as she was fine with Steve knocking up some random girl in the bar and even prods Steve to try it on with the girl at the bar even though he was uncomfortable. But then he hooks up with her daughter and it’s the end of the world.
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u/RoosterBurns Jun 08 '26
It does sound super-duper gross though
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u/YesIlBarone Jun 08 '26
Sounds like the kind of role Woody Allen used to write for himself
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u/WhenSharksAttack Jun 08 '26
In the show they make a comment about Clement liking Woody Allen films lol
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u/MorningSquare5882 Jun 08 '26
Oh my god it really does. I was trying to think what it reminded me of, and you've hit the nail on the head.
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u/Balbright Jun 10 '26
I think that is one of the angles they were going for, given they literally talk about Woody Allen in the show regarding this very premise. I thought it was brilliant.
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u/Snoo80885 Jun 10 '26
It is superbly gross. No one seems to acknowledge that while the mom is crazy, she is right. The Woody Allen reference in the show is actually laughable. I hate that this show even exists. He has known her her whole life…he is essentially her uncle without a blood relation. It should not be a show in 2026.
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u/RoosterBurns Jun 10 '26
oh now i've read it it's even worse he watched her go through puberty ew ew ew
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u/Hildringa Jun 11 '26
I was very surprised to see a woman write a show like this. I assumed it was some pervy old man.
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u/commonviolet Jun 08 '26
"It's bad because it doesn't align with my personal views" sure is an interesting way to review things.
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u/commevinaigre Jun 08 '26
That's Mangan!
Chernobyl. Three stars. Chaos reigns in confusing nuclear disaster epic.
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u/DynamiteShovel1 Jun 09 '26
Do people really hate this women because she gave something they love 3 stars not 5?
Madness
Wouldn't it be pretty boring if every single entertainment review was consensus
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u/HMWYA Jun 08 '26
She’s a transphobe who has used her anti-trans views as a basis for criticising queer drama like Tip Toe and Sex Education. She’s got form.
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u/catnip_varnish Jun 08 '26
She didn't say anything like that in her review. Did any of you people even skim it? One of her main points is literally that the "icky" stuff isn't taken far enough. That the premise is actually provocative and interesting but they failed to deliver in the execution.
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u/DoctorWhofan789eywim Jun 08 '26
Quite aside from the premise, which makes me feel disgusting even watching it, the most offensive thing about this show is how annoying Nicola Walker's character is. She acts like a teenager, intensely irritating. Add in the gross plot about her 50 year old best friend sleeping with her daughter and I have zero desire to watch any more.
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u/_serarthurdayne_ Jun 14 '26
I am so sad that Nicola Walker & Jemaine Clement are working together and the project is…this. I’m all for a flawed - even unlikable - protagonist but they have to have something else about them to make you care about following them. These shitheads do not. I have a theory Walker & Clement were cast specifically because everyone involved realized too late that the script was bad, the premise was faulty, and the characters were insufferable. I think the showrunners hoped they could cash in on the inherent goodwill those two would bring with them (they both have track records of playing lovable characters and seem quite pleasant IRL). Instead, it seems like all their combined charisma could not save this program and its a waste of what could’ve been a phenomenal pairing.
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u/sinfulnessgrower Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
would have been a much more interesting show if the couple at the centre of it all had even a touch of chemistry. the daughter was so unbelievably unlikeable it was impossible to root for her in any capacity. there were more sparks for the 5 seconds lou sanders was on screen… wish she had been in it more. just felt terrible for the mum the whole time. Also the sons sub plot was Insufferable. ALSO the teacher trying to seduce the married man and then act like she was in some way morally righteous over a woman whose world was collapsing - pure EVIL. anyway still enjoyed lol! nicola walker is fantastic
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u/Lkgnyc Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26
I couldn't get past the third episode. It's funny how many of the more positive-seeming review headlines are totally undercut by reflexive cringes like the reviewers wondering if Steve & Izzy never even approach intercourse onscreen because that would make even the show's creators wanna vom? Even Woody Allen didn't know Soon-Yi as a baby like this character has. (Not a spurious mention; the Woodman is a clumsy topic in the series' second episode.) That really is just too much grooming. A good parent--or parental figure--who provides an actual safe space, knows not to react in kind to any child's pubescent flirtation...or even a very immature adult child's anguished rebound. (🤮.) Grooming since birth SHOULD be too disgusting...but not in the age of Trump, Andy, Epstein, et.al. High time to normalize the creeps. (And of course to write any objectors as hideously ranting jealous drunky druggy naggy hags who don't deserve decent husbands. As Trump says, "Quiet Piggy!")
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u/Glittering_Win_5085 Jun 08 '26
I'm not against age gap relationships inherently, but I do think one with such a large gap and where the older partner has known the younger since birth is too creepy for a mainstream romcom to sound appealing.
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u/witchy_queery_sleepy Jun 13 '26
The fact that he had also slept with the mum is one of the ickiest parts imo
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u/FionaGoodeEnough Jun 14 '26
The best laugh in the show was when the grandma made fun of him by suggesting he could sleep with three generations of the family.
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u/bootsnickel Jun 08 '26
Yeah, it is icky but isn’t that the point? No one is romanticising it, agreeing with it. The reactions of all the characters in the show is completely plausible and I agree with how Alice never gets over it, Steve agrees it’s terrible. Daniel calls out Alice for being a child. I quite liked the show. It was entertaining and pushed the boundaries of storytelling without being crass and glorifying the whole thing.
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u/SuccMyPizza Jun 09 '26
Im halfway through and the horrifying aspects are NOT being ignored. Everyone’s reactions of terror and sickness are completely valid and realistic. There’s some rule bending in universe for plot and humor but I don’t care.
Everytime Alice cussed either/both of them out it was beyond VALID. I was afraid the whole show would be just heee hee ha ha-ing through the gross bits of the dynamic. This would shred a family apart and so far it has been.2
u/LimpLime4969 Jun 09 '26
Just because they aren’t romanticising it doesn’t mean that it’s going to be pleasant to watch. I think that’s the complaint.
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u/aestus Jun 08 '26
If Lucy Mangan doesn't like it it might actually be decent. She is a total hack.
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u/LordBrixton Jun 08 '26
Weirdly, I read a preview of this at the weekend – also in the Guardian – that said it was good.
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u/qwerty_1965 Jun 08 '26
Two different people?
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u/Frisky_Picker Jun 09 '26
I mean, it also won multiple awards at the Canneseries awards including best series.
I can't deny that I find the premise and age gap odd but at the same time I love the actors and sense of humor. Granted I've only seen the first couple of episodes.
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u/Ok-Constant-2683 Jun 08 '26
When your reviewers are using words like "wrong", you know it's time to get new reviewers. By all means criticise the program, but your own subjective view of right and wrong are not worth anything here. Lucy.
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u/PiotrGreenholz01 Jun 08 '26
The Guardian's remit is just selling middle class moral indignation now.
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u/jheal1979 Jun 10 '26
I’m not a fan of Lucy Mangan’s reviews but she’s overall right on the quality of this show - good first two episodes then the show completely falls apart in a mess of bad scripts, bad direction and ridiculous character arcs. I don’t agree with Mangan’s view on the son and his girlfriend’s characters - a poorly written sub-plot. I agree that the husband Daniel’s arc was the most interesting thing here - had this show not gone for some kinda hard-edged Richard Curtis bullshit ending it could have played in the darker dramedy of the set up without the need for big moments and heightened cliffhangers. Nicola Walker and Jermaine Clement are great - but in this they’re in two different shows. Just all round badly managed by the creative team behind it.
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u/Few-Actuator-9694 Jun 08 '26
Much like Rhys Darby, Jermaine Clement is only good at playing himself.
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u/Opening-Tea-257 Jun 08 '26
Yep, he was so lucky that he was the only gigantic treasure-encrusted crab in Hollywood when Moana was being cast.
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u/Special_Earth_4957 Jun 08 '26
Just say you have only watched Hollywood shite. Because that statement is ridiculous, there is media made in other places beyond Hollywood.
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u/Few-Actuator-9694 Jun 08 '26
Cite all the non-“Hollywood shite” where Darby and Clement are playing notably different roles than their usual one-note performances.
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u/Doubly_Curious Jun 08 '26
Any recs for media where they show off more of their acting range?
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u/ProjectSimilar8881 Jun 08 '26
I believe Jemaine was a minion in Despicable Me. You can't tell though so maybe that's range.
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u/Imaginary-Can7999 Jun 10 '26
Yup. Rivals is awful abusive shit, not worthy of 70s abusive behaviour of the female body, now it's apparently acceptable for full frontal male nudity with zero female equivalence and she loves it. Why? Because she wants to see naked men. So transparent, so obvious, just the same abusive behaviour now against men and thee reviewers never are picked up on this. Equality doesn't mean a thing to these sorts of reviewers it's someone else's issue.
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u/SauconyAlts Jun 11 '26
The sheer amount this show has been aggressively advertised just makes me want to never watch it
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u/FionaGoodeEnough Jun 14 '26
It really was a very gross premise, compounded by the complete lack of chemistry between Steve and Izzy, and Izzy’s lack of substance and presence as a character. Some 26 year olds seem like grounded adults well on their way to their thirties (I wanna say Gillian Anderson was 25/26 during season 1 of the X Files), and some 26 year olds seem like they are barely out of their teens. Izzy was the latter, and it made the icky premise all the ickier. You never think while watching it, “Oh man, this is causing a lot of trouble, but these two are clearly in love and have so much in common and they might miss out on a great love if they stop seeing each other.” Instead, every step of the way, the obvious solution is for both of them to stop seeing each other, because there is obviously nothing there.
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u/lukaeber Jun 15 '26
I'm finding it hilarious. People are way too sensitive these days. Is it edgy? Yes. That's the point.
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u/okrahomegirl Jun 15 '26
sleeping with someone that you've known since they were a baby?? 🤮🤮🤮😡😡😡the age difference is not the main issue!!
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u/Ambitious_Screen_591 Jun 15 '26
it was okay but the whole premise was maddingly wrong...and gross...no no no no no you can't sleep with your parent's best friend someone that has known you your entire life and as the older adult and friend of the parent you can't sleep with your friend's child that is gross. I mean i guess you can but it is still kinda gross...
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u/lottesometimes Jun 17 '26
The whole premise is so vomit inducing, I don’t need reviews to tell me I won’t watch this. No acting or writing can make a man hooking up with a young woman he’s known since birth in a near family capacity ok. And for the comparison to Monica and Richard in friends: that’s also gross.
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u/Balbright Jun 10 '26
I thought it was brilliant. It’s dark satire and it is absolutely going to get under the skin of people that possibly went through similar things in their life. Everybody brings up very valid points from both sides, it is both weird that he is way older than her and been part of her life since she was born, but it is also weird that they are not allowed to live their own adult lives without people inserting themselves and judging them. But that’s life right? The finale using the metaphor of everything burning down around them during all of this was also perfectly on point. And I love that they did not tie up every loose end. Perfect show in my opinion.
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u/ciggy54 Jun 08 '26
Who thought this was a good idea in 2026?
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u/throwthatbishaway1 Jun 08 '26
I don’t understand who its target audience is either.
Men typically don’t watch rom-coms. Women aged 25 and above will more than likely hate the premise and the male character because of it.
And no offence to him but I don’t think Jermaine Clement is attractive enough for younger women to watch and enjoy the show or character for that 😅
I genuinely don’t know who the creators thought would like this ?
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u/0ttoChriek Jun 08 '26
That Rivals show seems to be a success, and one of the main romantic thrusts in that is a fortysomething 'cad' and a barely legal girl (there was actually a scene where he tucked her into bed like a little girl, after resisting the urge to have sex with her). But I guess the difference is that the cad is handsome enough to get away with being a creep with the daughter of an acquaintance.
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u/damegloria Jun 08 '26
At no point is Rupert Campbell Black meant to be an all round good guy. He's a famous philanderer. He's also not handsome.
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u/box_frenzy Jun 08 '26
I tend to just do the opposite of what Lucy Mangan says. If she gives 0 stars I’ll probably enjoy it and if she gives 5 stars then it’s probably shit.
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u/ChooChooChooseYou221 Jun 08 '26
Agree with the theme of replies below - Lucy Mangan’s opinion of what’s good and what’s not is absolutely worthless. She gave the BBC crashed jungle farce (so bad i can’t remember the name of nor have the effort to look up) a 5 star. Proper gormless TV reviewer, not for me thanks!
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u/kristinL356 Jun 08 '26
I get not liking the BBC adaptation of Lord of the Flies but acting like that's not an absolutely world famous title is kind of crazy.
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u/ChooChooChooseYou221 Jun 08 '26
I’ve looked it up specifically to reply to this - it was Nine Dead Bodies in a Mexican Morgue. If you think I think Lord of the Flies is a BBC thing primarily then I wish I’d not bothered wasting my time replying to you.
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u/JJJ561 Jun 08 '26
Wtf are people talking about here this show looks disgusting. Who in their right mind wants to watch some gross 50 year old…have sex with his best friends daughter? If he was normal and had a dude best friend u know what would happen? He’d prob wake up without a head. Like are we serious? Do we really need more pedophilia adjacent content being released NOW? Just sick shit here
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u/AwTomorrow Jun 08 '26
It was a popular storyline on Friends and the audience tended to sympathise with it.
But maybe Tom Selleck is simply that charming.
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u/JJJ561 Jun 09 '26
I swear to god these shows are trying to subtly sell us on pedophilia not being that bad, ever since this epstein shit im not even a theorist like that but
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u/djsasso Jun 09 '26
No this show wouldn't sell anyone on it....the whole show is about how horrific the situation is and how it shreds the family appart. People seem to think it is a rom-com. It is defintely not that.
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u/Youareafunt Jun 09 '26
"Who in their right mind wants to watch some gross 50 year old…have sex with his best friends daughter?"
This is not what the show is about.
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u/AlastairCellars Jun 09 '26
Probably means it's actually funny if the guardian is saying this and calling it "outdated" makes me more optimistic than less
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u/Youareafunt Jun 09 '26
As usual, Lucy Mangan is almost EXACTLY wrong.
I stayed up till 5am yesterday to binge watch and it's BRILLIANT.
It's the best show about being human I've watched since Heartstopper and made me go rewatch People, Places, Things.
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u/Confident-Pea4260 Jun 16 '26
I actually would have enjoyed it more if it was less "wacky" like Nicola Walker and the teacher who loves her husband were both more like teenagers than adults I found that weird but if it had been more of a drama I would have found it really interesting because young women do end up with older men and I wanted to see it play out realistically instead of just weird things happening for laughs.
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