I don't remember when I first started watching it, but I instantly fell in love with it. The characters were great, strong acting. There were some, I felt, very intense scenes about midway of the first season.
I could never get in to the Tess character though. I just wasn't crazy about her. Alex was the sweetheart friend you want to have in real life. The same with Maria and Liz. Excellent show, I loved it.