The Couple Next Door

Last updated

The Couple Next Door
Genre Psychological thriller
Screenplay byDavid Allison
Directed byDries Vos
Starring
ComposerHannes De Maeyer
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producers
ProducerJen Burnet
Production companies
  • Eagle Eye Drama
  • Happy Duck Films
Original release
Network
Release27 November 2023 (2023-11-27) 
present (present)

The Couple Next Door is a British psychological thriller television series written by David Allison, based on the Dutch series Nieuwe Buren. Developed by Eagle Eye Drama for Channel 4 and Starz, the first series stars Eleanor Tomlinson, Sam Heughan, Alfred Enoch, Hugh Dennis and Jessica De Gouw. The programme was renewed for a second series. [1]

Contents

Synopsis

Evie and her husband Pete move next door to traffic-cop Danny and yoga instructor Becka and strike up a friendship, but a night of passion between Evie and Danny could have consequences. [2]

Cast

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date [5] Viewers
(millions)
1"New on the Block"UnknownUnknown27 November 2023 (2023-11-27) [a] N/A
2"Little Kids Full of Sin"UnknownUnknown28 November 2023 (2023-11-28)N/A
3"Don't Stop"UnknownUnknown4 December 2023 (2023-12-04)N/A
4"I Know It's a Secret"UnknownUnknown5 December 2023 (2023-12-05)N/A
5"Inside You"UnknownUnknown13 December 2023 (2023-12-13)N/A
6"The Cottage"UnknownUnknown14 December 2023 (2023-12-14)N/A

Production

The Couple Next Door is based on the Dutch series Nieuwe Buren, with Dries Vos directing from a screenplay by David Allison. The six-part thriller series is produced by Jen Burnet for the London-based Eagle Eye Drama, and executive produced by Jo McGrath, Walter Iuzzolino and Alison Kee. [6]

Casting

In March 2023, it was announced Eleanor Tomlinson, Sam Heughan, Alfred Enoch, and Jessica De Gouw had been cast in the principal roles. Tomlinson described playing Evie as a "great challenge" because "she navigates devastating trauma, which isn't helped by unresolved issues from her past." [7] Heughan said he was "thrilled to be working with Eagle Eye Drama and director Dries Vos again ... Dries has a unique visual flair and I'm sure we're going to make something special." [8] Hugh Dennis described his character as someone who is dealing with ageing very badly, which made him "interesting" to him. [9]

Filming

Principal photography was reported to have begun in March 2023, taking place in Leeds, England, Belgium and The Netherlands. [10] Filming took place in Baildon in April 2023. [11]

Broadcast

The series aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom on 27 November 2023, and on Starz in the United States and Canada. It was available on Lionsgate+, the international premium streaming service from Starz, in Brazil and Latin America. It was distributed further worldwide by Beta Film. [12]

Reception

Critical reception

Anita Singh in The Daily Telegraph described it as "nonsensical, ridiculous – and very, very bingeable". [13] Lucy Mangan in The Guardian gave the series four stars out of five and praised the script which helped the show be "sexy rather than cringeworthy". [14] There was a less positive review from Carol Midgely in The Times who found the series "cliched". [15] [16]

Notes

  1. All 6 episodes were available on Channel 4 online on 27 November

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugh Dennis</span> British comedian and actor (born 1962)

Peter Hugh Dennis is an English comedian, presenter, actor, impressionist and writer. He was a panellist in every episode of the comedy show Mock the Week (2005–2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred Enoch</span> British-Brazilian actor (born 1988)

Alfred Lewis Enoch is a British-Brazilian actor. He is best known for playing Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter film series and Wes Gibbins in the legal thriller television series How to Get Away with Murder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tobias Menzies</span> English actor (born 1974)

Tobias Simpson Menzies is an English actor. He is known for playing Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in the third and fourth seasons of the series The Crown, for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and received Golden Globe and British Academy Television Award nominations. Menzies also played Frank and Jonathan "Black Jack" Randall in Starz's Outlander, for which he received a Golden Globe Award nomination, in addition to his roles as Brutus in Rome and Edmure Tully in Game of Thrones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Lewis (actor)</span> Scottish actor (born 1957)

Gary Stevenson, better known as Gary Lewis, is a Scottish actor. He has had roles in films such as Billy Elliot (2000), Gangs of New York (2002), Joyeux Noël (2005) and Eragon (2006), as well as major roles in the television docudrama Supervolcano, the Starz series Outlander, and the BBC One thriller Vigil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graham McTavish</span> Scottish actor

Graham McTavish is a Scottish actor and author. He is known for his roles as Dwalin in The Hobbit film trilogy, The Saint of Killers in the AMC series Preacher, Dougal MacKenzie and William Buccleigh MacKenzie in the Starz series Outlander, and Harrold Westerling in the HBO series House of the Dragon. He is also known for his roles in the video game franchise Uncharted as the main antagonist Zoran Lazarević in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Charlie Cutter in Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eleanor Tomlinson</span> English actress (born 1992)

Eleanor May Tomlinson is an English actress. She has appeared in films including Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008), Jack the Giant Slayer (2013), Colette (2018) and Love Wedding Repeat (2020). She also starred in the BBC One series The White Queen (2013), Poldark (2015–2019), The Outlaws (2021) and War of the Worlds (2019).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Walters</span> English actor (born 1975)

Stephen Walters is an English actor. A regular in British television and film, he has played a wide range and variety of character roles in both drama and comedy. Walters is most commonly associated with unpredictable, complex figures. He was nominated for a Royal Television Society Best Actor award in 2013 for his role in the Sky Arts drama Ragged and in 2023 for a Supporting Actor (Male) award for his role in the ITV drama Anne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin McFarlane</span> British actor

Colin Andrew Ignatius Peter McFarlane is a British actor, narrator and voice actor. He is known for his roles in film and television including Gillian B. Loeb in two films of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy and Ulysses in the STARZ television drama series Outlander. McFarlane's voice roles include JJ in Bob the Builder, Bulgy and Beresford in Thomas & Friends and PC Malcolm Williams in Fireman Sam. He was the voice of The Cube in the ITV game show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Heughan</span> Scottish actor (born 1980)

Sam Roland Heughan is a Scottish actor, producer, author, and entrepreneur. He is best known for his starring role as Jamie Fraser in the Starz drama series Outlander (2014–present) for which he has won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Cable Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actor and the Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television, and received a nomination for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Donnelly</span> Northern Irish actress (born 1982)

Laura Donnelly is a Northern Irish actress. She is the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award as well as a nomination for a Tony Award. On television, she is known for her roles in the Starz series Outlander (2014–2017), the ITV series Beowulf (2016), and the HBO series The Nevers (2021–2023).

Timothy Richard Downie is an English actor and writer. He is known for the television series Toast of London, Outlander and Upstart Crow, and the films Paddington and The King's Speech. Downie was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. Before starting his professional career, he trained at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts.

<i>Outlander</i> (TV series) British-American drama television series (2014–present)

Outlander is a historical drama television series based on the Outlander novel series by Diana Gabaldon. Developed by Ronald D. Moore, the show premiered on August 9, 2014, on Starz. It stars Caitríona Balfe as Claire Randall, a former World War II military nurse in Scotland who, in 1945, finds herself transported back in time to 1743. There she encounters, falls in love with and marries a dashing Highland warrior named Jamie Fraser, a tacksman of Gabaldon's fictionalized version of Clan Fraser of Lovat. Here, Claire becomes embroiled in the Jacobite rising.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caitríona Balfe</span> Irish actress

Caitríona Mary Balfe is an Irish actress. She began working as a fashion model in Paris at age 18 but refocused on acting 10 years later. She had leading roles in the series The Beauty Inside (2012) and H+: The Digital Series (2012–2013), and appeared in the films Super 8 (2011), Now You See Me (2013), Escape Plan (2013), Money Monster (2016), and Ford v Ferrari (2019). Balfe rose to prominence when she played Claire Fraser in the Starz historical drama television series Outlander (2014–present), for which she received four Golden Globe Award nominations. Her performance in Belfast (2021) earned her nominations for the Golden Globe, the Screen Actors Guild Award, and the British Academy Film Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Berry (actor)</span> Australian actor

David Berry is an Australian-Canadian actor known for his role as James Bligh in the television series A Place To Call Home and Lord John Grey in the Starz television series Outlander.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamie Fraser (character)</span> Fictional character in Outlander series

James "Jamie" Fraser is a fictional character in the Outlander series of multi-genre novels by American author Diana Gabaldon, and its television adaptation. In the series, married World War II nurse Claire Randall is visiting Scotland when she is transported through time from 1945 back to 1743. There she finds adventure, war and romance with the dashing Highland warrior Jamie Fraser, a grandson of Lord Lovat and senior member of Gabaldon's fictionalized Clan Fraser. Jamie Fraser also appears in two novels in the Lord John series of historical mysteries, and in the 2013 novella Virgins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Raimi's unrealized projects</span>

The following is a list of unproduced Sam Raimi projects in roughly chronological order. During his long career, American film director and producer Sam Raimi has worked on a number of projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these projects, are officially cancelled and scrapped or fell in development hell.

<i>The Nest</i> (British TV series) British television series

The Nest is a British television drama series starring Sophie Rundle and Martin Compston as a married couple unable to conceive with Mirren Mack as the 18-year-old who offers to be their surrogate mother. Broadcasting began on 22 March 2020.

Christopher D. Fulton is a Scottish actor.

Men in Kilts: A Roadtrip with Sam and Graham is an American documentary television series that follows Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish as they travel across Scotland and discover their heritage. It premiered on February 14, 2021, on Starz.

References

  1. https://deadline.com/2024/11/the-couple-next-door-renewed-for-season-2-by-channel-4-1236173666/
  2. Chapman, Wilson (29 March 2023). "Sam Heughan Staying at Starz with Suburbia Thriller 'The Couple Next Door'". Indie Wire. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  3. "The Couple Next Door: Cast & crew credits and character biographies". Channel 4 Press. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  4. Robinson, Abby (6 December 2023). "The Couple Next Door cast: Meet the characters in Channel 4 thriller". Radio Times. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  5. "The Couple Next Door on Channel 4". Channel 4 . Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  6. Goldbart, Max (29 March 2023). "Starz & Channel 4 Greenlight Psychological Thriller 'The Couple Next Door' With Eleanor Tomlinson & Sam Heughan". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  7. Hibbs, James (29 March 2023). "Outlander's Sam Heughan and Poldark's Eleanor Tomlinson lead new thriller". Radio Times. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  8. Shillcock, Francesca (29 March 2023). "Outlander's Sam Heughan announces exciting news in major new update – and fans will be thrilled". Hello. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  9. Mensah, Katelyn (27 November 2023). "Hugh Dennis reveals Sam Heughan throws him in a bin in The Couple Next Door". Radio Times. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  10. Lawrence, Daniel David (29 March 2023). "Sam Heughan & Eleanor Tomlinson to Lead Psychological Thriller Series 'The Couple Next Door'". Collider. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  11. Broomhead, Michael (25 November 2023). "The Couple Next Door: Thriller partly filmed in area to air". The Telegraph & Argus. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  12. Creamer, Jon (29 March 2023). "Shoot starts on C4, Starz drama The Couple Next Door". Televisual.com. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  13. Singh, Anita (27 November 2023). "The Couple Next Door, Channel 4, review: nonsensical, ridiculous – and very, very bingeable". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  14. Mangan, Lucy (27 November 2023). "The Couple Next Door review – a sexy, fantastic time with hot swingers". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  15. Midgely, Carol (27 November 2023). "The Couple Next Door review — not king of the swingers". The Times.
  16. "'The Couple Next Door' Defended By Channel 4 As Producers Raise Nepotism Questions". Deadline. December 2023.