Alice & Jack Reviews (original) (raw)

Summary Over 16 years, Alice (Andrea Riseborough) and Jack (Domhnall Gleeson) are brought together even as Jack married Lynn (Aisling Bea) and started a family in this six-part series written by Victor Levin. [Premiered originally in the UK on Channel 4 on 14 February 2024 and in the US as a part of PBS's Masterpiece on 17 March 2024]

Season 1 Premiere: 2024

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Summary Over 16 years, Alice (Andrea Riseborough) and Jack (Domhnall Gleeson) are brought together even as Jack married Lynn (Aisling Bea) and started a family in this six-part series written by Victor Levin. [Premiered originally in the UK on Channel 4 on 14 February 2024 and in the US as a part of PBS's Masterpiece on 17 March 2024]

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It's wonderfully written stuff from the show's creator, Victor Levin ("Mad About You," "Mad Men"), electric and quasi-screwball and makes you want to stick around yourself—even if you think the comparatively stable Jack should be heading for Hampstead Heath. Navigating the obstacles, they fall in love, profoundly and convincingly.

Alice & Jack sometimes feels like one of the most interesting love stories we’ve seen in ages, and at others it’s infuriatingly annoying. But Gleeson and Riseborough have undeniable chemistry, which is enough for us to want to see this decade-and-a-half romance play out.

The show may present itself as though it's an anti-romantic story, but in actual fact it's hyper-romantic, to the extent that it borders on the absurd. We're never given a clear reason why these two love each other, what it is about their personalities they each find so entrancing.

Asks the excellent Andrea Riseborough and Domhnall Gleeson to sell a variety of plot points that strain credibility to preposterous lengths. Despite a few genuinely touching moments, it’s far too daft to enchant.

It’s difficult to picture any two performers making much of such shallow material. From the moment they meet, Alice and Jack are utterly consumed by their hot-and-cold dynamic, and Alice & Jack, is too.

The star-crossed lovers of Alice & Jack, however, stay leaden, never becoming gold.

Clunkiness extends to every person stuck in the toxic orbit of their will-they-won’t-they. If the series accomplishes anything, it captures the sensation of romantic tunnel vision convincingly enough, though that could be by accident; the supporting cast surrounding the leads is stock generated from Romance Mad Libs.

I’m really glad we watched Alice & Jack. Although “enjoyed” might not be exactly the right word. It’s a challenging story where few things work out the way you might hope — but so moving, so bittersweet, so well written and acted. It has really stuck with me. A very engaging six-part mini-series on PBS Masterpiece.

after watching the first three episodes, i confess to feeling increased frustration as the characters repeat behaviour again and again. alice is annoyingly narcissistic and jack is equally annoying as he complies with her every instruction. i like the actors very much, but they must be chaffing at the limited range they've been offered by the writer(s). in episode 3, the response to making money says it all - loathsome behaviour and alice's need to live by all the rules she makes up evaporate when her investment scheme hits pay dirt. feh!!

Production Company:

Initial Release Date: 2024

Number of seasons: 1 Season