If you enjoyed Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy or Normal People, chances are you will appreciate Alice_And_Daddy, a British drama series. It follows two on/off lovers over several years and showcases all the intricacies of relationship breakdown that the characters didn’t get a chance to witness or discuss in those films – all while featuring Domhnall Gleeson and Andrea Riseborough who give remarkable central performances that reflect this show’s themes perfectly.

Story begins with Jack (Domhnall Gleeson) and Alice (Andrea Riseborough) meeting through an online dating app, having an encounter, hooking up, and then Alice essentially forcing Jack out of her flat despite him continuing to text her even after telling him to move out. Jack becomes so besotted with Alice that he keeps texting even after being told off.

Two years later, she extends an invitation to his wedding without disclosing that she has also become engaged to another guy and is raising her infant daughter. For awhile she treats him poorly but eventually changes her mind at the last moment to invite him back because she realizes she was wrong about him and falls deeply in love with him again.

It’s hard to know whether the writer wants us to support these two who share a transcendental romance without earthly roots, or merely show how life can be filled with unrequited love, miscommunication, insecurity and selfishness – however both Gleeson and Riseborough do a stellar job acting and the writing is reflective.