Image description: An image of Steve Way playing as his character Alden — a white man in a power wheelchair with a breathing machine. 

I remember exactly what it was when I first watched a romantic relationship on TV involve caregiving. It was in Me Before You (2016), with Sam Claflin—the very attractive actor known from the Hunger Games franchise—playing Will, a disabled man who uses a power wheelchair. Nice! Opposite him is Emilia Clarke, the very attractive actress of Game of Thrones fame, playing Louisa, his caregiver who eventually falls in love with him. I’m so excited! The plot follows Will and Louisa as they work together and fall for each other—until, by the ending, Will takes his own life because he believes he’s a burden to Louisa. Okay, that had a little kick to it.

Enter Furious (2026) on Hulu, created by Liz Meriwether, and starring Emmy Rossum, Lola Petticrew, and Steve Way. Furious is what you get when liberals imagine the future they want: women becoming killers, disabled people telling the NYPD to “f*ck the police” at their headquarters, and the Good Ol’ Boys being dismantled — and it’s bloody brilliant. Petticrew plays Catherine, a calculating serial killer and sex-trafficking survivor hunting powerful men connected to a web of abuse, while Rossum is Alice, an FBI agent, who closes in on her.

The series follows both women as they seek their own justice, their lives gradually intertwining. Audiences are then introduced to Way as Alden, who becomes the romantic interest of Catherine, his home health aide. The relationship develops over the series as the pair navigate caregiving and dating, all while Catherine slips in and out of identities under cover of night — while the rest of the cast works through their own careful transactions of trust. 

The fact that Alden is dating an (undercover) serial killer is where caregiving dynamics get real. As someone who depends on caregiving myself, I’d say this is probably the deepest ingrained fear that people like me carry — that the person you depend on to survive could harm or threaten you in some way. 

And yet, the show is a thrilling genius at pointing out that vulnerability and trust aren’t just ingredients — in this show, they’re the essence of what every character’s relationship is fundamentally about, including Catherine and Alden’s. These are the ingredients necessary to build any kind of relationship, including: the relationship with your DoorDasher, your mother, or your partner. 

Following the release of the finale, Way and I chatted all about murder, Medicaid hours, and morality. 

CRIPPLE MEDIA: Congratulations on such an incredible project. What has the reception been like since the release? 

STEVE WAY: Oh, it’s wonderful. I’m getting stopped everywhere. People recognize me everywhere. I was in New Haven visiting my girlfriend. And I took the train back today. Even the guy who escorted me from the station to the track watched the show. It’s been a really wonderful opportunity to discuss what our day-to-day is like. What we have to deal with Medicaid and caregiving. And I think it’s opening a lot of eyes.

CM: What was it like to pretend-date a serial killer? 

SW: I started to mentally prep for [the role] probably a week or two before.  I brought myself to some dark places. I thought about all the relationships I had and the fear of losing that person. I made it a point to not watch any other scenes being filmed. My character didn’t know what was going on. So I did not wanna take myself out of that headspace by watching the actress in that role. I knew it would freak me out, so all I knew was the connection with this character. 

CM: What do you want people to understand regarding romantic relationships and disability or caregiving? 

SW: I want people to expand definitions of caregiving. I think people themselves wouldn’t realize that either they themselves are caregivers or recipients of care. Catherine gives Alden his medication. It gives him a relief.  She bathes him. But he gives her a place to live. He gives her the opportunity, to be honest, [to be] vulnerable. I think that’s care. Because as she says, with Alden, it’s the only time she can feel her fingers. The mask literally comes off when she’s with Alden. The majority of the men in the show are pieces of shit. A lot of people online have theorized that the reason why Catherine is so bonded to Alden is because of his disability. Therefore, she is not threatened by it. I think that’s [only] part of it. I think the other part is that they’re both victims of an unjust system. 

Her with the justice system and him with the healthcare system. I don’t think Alden condones murder. But I think with her circumstances, he trusts her. 

CM: When I was watching, I couldn’t stop thinking about how Alden makes Catherine feel so loved, and it’s the only time she’s an actual person. In all the other scenes, she’s terrifying. But with Alden, she’s vulnerable, basically letting herself be loved. What do you think this particular relationship on screen offers to disabled viewers and non-disabled viewers?

SW:  It shows that we’re worthy of love. I’ve felt since I read the scripts that their relationship is the most genuine of the whole show. And I think it’s because he’s disabled. We see the evolution of Danny and Alice and it takes a lot of time for that relationship to foster. You don’t get that when you’re disabled. We get right to it. We skip the slow burn. Like, because we kind of have to. I think they have a deep connection because they’ve got the bullshit out of the way.

CM: In Alden’s very first episode, the first words we hear from him are calling Catherine “a little slut.” Did you make that up or improv? 

SW:  Okay. I’m so glad you brought that up. It was my favorite. I did not read episodes one or two. When I got the script for episode three, I skipped right to my first one. And I thought, “Oh my God, how does she know I would say that?” 

CM: It’s almost as if it’s almost as if Alden was literally created for you, which it was, right? Crazy. 

SW: Crazy. So crazy. It’s my favorite screenshot to send to people out of context. 

CM: Well, it’s just really funny because it shows the levity between you and Catherine and how human it is. Like we literally just got finished seeing Catherine, like, kill 20 different men, and then she goes home as Vanessa to Alden, and it’s like, “Hi, you little slut.” Like what the fuck just happened?

SW: Who the hell is this guy? Who is this guy? I love that the most intimacy that we share is just cuddling. We don’t have sex. We don’t even kiss. We just lie down, face to face. And I think that’s beautiful. 

CM: That also just goes to show where intimacy really lived in that relationship. Obviously, sex is just one form of it, one single expression of what that can look like, but their relationship is also marred with so many other moments just like that. You know what comes to mind too? That scene where she’s showering you and Catherine takes advantage of the moment to ask if she can use the spare room now that Alden’s mom has passed away. What do you think about that? 

SW:  Yeah, but it goes both ways. Was there a little manipulation there? Probably. But does Alden care? No. He has his person. Doesn’t matter. She helps him. She helps her. It’s not that complicated.  

CM: What’s next for you? 

SW:  I’m writing. I’m writing a lot. I want to get back into stand-up. But we have to keep this going. You know, I can’t be the only disabled actor in these roles. And I, for my own personal and selfish reasons, want more roles too. So, let’s keep this going. Let’s keep raising the bar. And let’s have fun.