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 which started airing on Channel 4 from 14 July 2025.
Contents
Synopsis
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 leads to unforeseen consequences.
Series 2: Heart surgeon Charlotte Robert's life with her consultant anaesthetist husband Jacob is turned upside down when their mysterious new colleague Mia rents out the house next door.
Cast
Hugh Dennis as Alan Richardson
Janine Duvitski as Gloria
Series 1
Eleanor Tomlinson as Evie Greenwood
Alfred Enoch as Pete Thomas
Sam Heughan as PC Danny Whitwell
Jessica De Gouw as Becka Whitwell
Kate Robbins as Jean Richardson
Deirdre Mullins as Lena
Joel Morris as PC Gary Hudson
Ioanna Kimbook as Sophie Foxton
Katie Clarkson-Hill as Rachel
Series 2
Annabel Scholey as Charlotte Roberts
Sam Palladio as Jacob
Aggy K. Adams as Mia
Sendhil Ramamurthy as Leo
Maimie McCoy as Gemma
Adam James as Ben
Tanya Moodie as Yvonne
Jackie Clune as Annette
Barney White as Brandon
Episodes
Production
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.
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." 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." Hugh Dennis described his character as someone who is dealing with ageing very badly, which made him "interesting" to him.
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.
Filming
Principal photography was reported to have begun in March 2023, taking place in Leeds, England, Belgium and The Netherlands. Filming took place in Baildon in April 2023.
Broadcast
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. The second series premiered on Channel 4 on 14 July 2025.
Reception
Critical reception
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. Anita Singh in The Daily Telegraph described it as "nonsensical, ridiculous – and very, very bingeable". 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". There was a less positive review from Carol Midgely in The Times who found the series "cliched".