For the better part of the past decade, Sam Heughan has been best known for his portrayal of Jamie Fraser on the Starz fantasy/historical romance drama, Outlander. The show, which will return for its penultimate season this June, is set to conclude following the eighth and final season later on. But fans of the show, and specifically Heughan’s performance, will soon be treated to another drama series featuring the dashing Scottish actor, but in an extremely different type of role.
At some point in the near future, Heughan, and several other in-demand actors, will lead a new romantic series titled The Couple Next Door, a co-production by Starz and the British broadcaster Channel 4. Here is everything we know about what sounds to be a steamy and thrilling limited series.
What Is The Couple Next Door Premiere Date?
With the show just having been officially announced in March 2023, it will probably be some time before we hear anything about a premiere date for The Couple Next Door. But, it should be sooner rather than later, as Starz and Channel 4 have announced that the psychological drama series is already in production in England and Belgium.
With filming having already commenced, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for us to see The Couple Next Door before Outlander Season 8 premieres somewhere down the road. Expect to hear much more about this project in the coming weeks and months.
Update: The Couple Next Door is available now on Channel 4 in the UK.
Sam Heughan And Eleanor Tomlinson Lead The Couple Next Door Cast
While we don’t yet know when the series will premiere on Starz in the United States and Canada, and Channel 4 elsewhere, we do know who will be leading the upcoming romantic thriller.
In March 2023, the networks announced that longtime James Bond hopeful Sam Heughan would be taking on the role of Danny, an alpha traffic cop who has an extramarital affair with his new neighbor, Evie, played by Poldark star Eleanor Tomlinson. The cast also includes How to Get Away with Murder’s Alfred Enoch as Evie’s husband, Pete, and Pennyworth’s Jessica De Gouw as Danny’s wife, Becka, a character described as being a glamorous yoga instructor.
The Series Centers On Two Couples Caught In The Middle Of An Affair And Its Consequences
When The Couple Next Door premieres at a later date, it will follow Evie and Alfred as they move into an upscale neighborhood that is full of neighbors who are incredibly obsessed with status, as well as trying to figure out what everyone else is doing behind closed doors. The new arrivals will find friendship with Danny and Becka, the couple next door. However, when Evie and Danny have a passionate night behind their spouses’ backs, everything begins to change for all involved parties.
When addressing the story in a statement following the show's reveal, executive producer and CCO of Eagle Eye Drama, Jo McGrath, provided a statement that shed additional light on the upcoming series:
At the heart of this series are two couples who get increasingly close to each other, and one fateful night become sexually entangled in a way that will change the rest of their lives forever.
McGrath also teased The Couple Next Door by saying the series will make you wonder what goes on behind closed doors.
The Couple Next Door Is A Loose Adaptation Of The Dutch Thriller Series New Neighbors
If the show and its story sound familiar, it could have something to do with the fact that the upcoming series is a loose adaptation of the Dutch thriller series, New Neighbors, which is also sometimes referred to as The Neighbors based on the translation.
Over the course of 40 episodes released between 2014 and 2019, the series followed the complicated and intertwined lives of two couples who become close with one another after one of the pairs suffers a terrible tragedy and is looking for a way to move past the event. It remains unclear how much from the original show will be brought into the new production, but it appears at this point that the basic premise will be the same in both versions.
The Series Will Be Directed By Dries Vos, Who Sam Heughan Says Has A ‘Unique Visual Flair’
The Couple Next Door is being helmed by Dries Vos, the Belgian director whose list of credits include shows like Suspect, Women of the Night, Professor T, and several others released over the course of the past decade-and-a-half. In a statement released along with the show’s reveal, Sam Heughan had nothing but good things to say about the director:
Dries has a unique visual flair and I’m sure we’re going to make something special.
Dries will be working off a script penned by David Allison, whose previous work includes shows like Boy Meets Girl, In the City, The Case, Bedlam, Trust Me, and Marcella.
The Couple Next Door Will Have Six Episodes
In recent years, there have been more and more limited series (and traditional TV shows) with stories that play out over the course of four to eight episodes. In fact, Outlander Season 6, the most recently released installment of Sam Heughan’s fantasy drama, had a much shorter that normal episode count with eight chapters, including that cliffhanger of an ending. On top of that, Outlander Season 7 will consist of two eight-episode sections, according to TV Line.
Well, The Couple Next Door will follow a similar path in that the limited series will be made up of six episodes. The length of those episodes have yet to be revealed, but there’s a good chance we’ll see chapters anywhere from 45 to 60 minutes in length before its complicated and thrilling narrative concludes.
Though we don’t know a whole lot about The Couple Next Door at this point in time, expect that to change now that production has gotten underway. In no time at all, we’ll be talking about the rest of the cast, other story details, and the trailer whenever it makes its debut. And it's not the only highly anticipated Starz show, as Minx Season 2 is set to premiere at some point now that the network has saved it from cancellation.
For now, though, check out our guide to all the new tv 2023 shows to get the latest on all the new and returning shows coming to the small screen later this year.
