| The Couple Next Door | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Psychological thriller |
| Based on | Nieuwe Buren |
| Written by | David Allison |
| Directed by | Dries Vos |
| Starring | |
| Composer | Hannes De Maeyer |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Jen Burnet |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | |
| Release | 27 November 2023 – 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]
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]
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date [5] | Viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "New on the Block" | Dries Vos | David Allison | 27 November 2023 [a] | N/A |
| 2 | "Little Kids Full of Sin" | Dries Vos | David Allison | 28 November 2023 | N/A |
| 3 | "Don't Stop" | Dries Vos | David Allison | 4 December 2023 | N/A |
| 4 | "I Know It's a Secret" | Dries Vos | David Allison | 5 December 2023 | N/A |
| 5 | "Inside You" | Dries Vos | David Allison | 13 December 2023 | N/A |
| 6 | "The Cottage" | Dries Vos | David Allison | 14 December 2023 | N/A |
The Couple Next Door is based on the Dutch series Nieuwe Buren, with Dries Vos directing from scripts 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]
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]
In November 2024, it was reported that Dennis would return for season two along with characters played by Sam Palladio, Annabel Scholey, Aggy K. Adams and Sendhil Ramamurthy. [10]
Principal photography was reported to have begun in March 2023, taking place in Leeds, England, Belgium and The Netherlands. [11] Filming took place in Baildon in April 2023. [12]
The first 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. [13]
The series holds a 38% "Rotten" score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 13 critic reviews with an average rating of 4.8/10. [14] Anita Singh in The Daily Telegraph described it as "nonsensical, ridiculous – and very, very bingeable". [15] 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". [16] There was a less positive review from Carol Midgely in The Times who found the series "cliched". [17] [18]