Not every show needs a follow-up series — and that's definitely the case with Channel 4's The Couple Next Door.
Despite having all the best ingredients to be a standout – the powerhouse that is Annabel Scholey (of The Split) for the lead, a steamy premise and an intriguing twist – the psychological drama makes the fundamental mistake of focusing too heavily on the raunchiness, while neglecting the plot.
Like its debut, The Couple Next Door's second series centres around forbidden attraction and extramarital affairs. But that this time, it's all sparked by the arrival of new colleague and neighbour Mia (Aggy K Adams).
The mysterious Mia joins as a nurse at the hospital where Scholey's Charlotte 'Lottie' Roberts works as a heart surgeon, alongside her consultant anaesthetist husband Jacob (Sam Palladio).
Lottie and Jacob initially seem like a solid couple, until Mia rents the house next door and worms her way into their lives. She befriends and seduces the pair until they end up in a throuple entanglement, but Mia's troubled past means problems for the married couple
If that sounds exciting, we caution you to temper your enthusiasm. While the show may have punchy premise, its delivery is anything but.
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Slow pacing should favour the psychological drama elements, creating tension. But, instead, it drags, with the show throwing in more and more distracting plot points that amount to very little in the end.
The many, many side stories feel as though they have been jammed in rather than slotting in seamlessly to the storytelling. Returning character Alan (Outnumbered's Hugh Dennis) is a prime example of that.
As wonderful as Dennis' performance is, the show could have easily done without his redemption-style arc as well as his growing friendship with Mia. Nor did viewers need the introduction of Lottie's former flame Leo (Never Have I Ever's Sendhil Ramamurthy) in order to prove the shakiness of her marriage.
Still, while we'd argue that there are many things that The Couple Next Door has gotten wrong, the chemistry between the actors is not one of them.
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Despite their outwardly-perfect marriage, Scholey and Palladio expertly drop subtle hints into their performances, alluding to the couple's friction and letting viewers see just how thinly they're papering over the cracks. As much as you can feel the tension between Jacob and Lottie, there's still a simmering passion between the husband and wife – and that ignites further with the introduction of Mia.
Together, the three are just as lusty and titillating as the creators had presumably planned and, initially, it's interesting to try to figure out Mia's motivation.
Only, as the story progresses, Mia's intentions in their relationship feel baseless, unearned and don't quite mesh with the secrets she's been holding onto. This feeds into the show's outlined problem with interconnectivity.
In the same breath, Mia is woefully underdeveloped. Outside of her role as the temptress, The Couple Next Door expects her big secret to give the character depth instead of fully fleshing her out in other ways.
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The drama does a little better with Jacob and Lottie, as it successfully explores themes of power struggles within a relationship. This gives Palladio's Jacob a chance to really build as the show progresses. Additionally, Scholey's performance is as reliably gorgeous as we've come to expect.
It's because of this that The Couple Next Door is able to pull viewers back from the brink of boredom and really sell the twist, building off the show's legacy for "sinister turns" (as promised by season one).
However, that twist would have been even more rewarding had the creators focused more on the psychological drama element, instead of hoping the sex would sell.
The Couple Next Door is available to watch on Channel 4.
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TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
