Starz is sticking with The Couple Next Door.
The network has acquired the U.S. and Canadian rights of the second season of Channel 4’s steamy suburban drama, and will launch it on the Starz app and all Starz streaming platforms on September 19.
Starz was aboard Season 1 of the psychological thriller drama, which starred Sam Heughan (Outlander) and Eleanor Tomlinson (Poldark). It followed a couple whose lives are turned upside down after they move next door to a traffic cop and yoga instructor. It was among its best-performing acquisitions ever, per the network.
“This seductive series instantly struck a chord with women, with particularly strong appeal for our large, engaged base of Outlander viewers,” said Alison Hoffman, President, Starz Networks. “High-performing acquisitions like The Couple Next Door play a key role in Starz’s continued success, expanding our distinctive slate of premium programming for adult audiences.”
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Season 2 features an all-new cast, including Annabel Scholey (The Split, The Sixth Commandment), Sam Palladio (Nashville, The Princess Switch), Aggy K. Adams (The Witcher, Greek Salad) and Sendhil Ramamurthy (One Piece, Never Have I Ever). Season 1’s Hugh Dennis (Outnumbered, Not Going Out) returns.
Season 2 once again explore the consequences of turning fantasies into reality in suburban Britain. It follows brilliant heart surgeon Charlotte Roberts (Scholey) and her husband, consultant anesthetist Jacob (Palladio), alongside their mysterious new colleague, Mia (Adams), and Charlotte’s old flame, Leo (Ramamurthy).
Per the synopsis: “Leo’s return sparks a change in Charlotte, and Mia seizes the opportunity to work her way into Jacob and Charlotte’s confidence, their street and, eventually, even their bed, befriending cul-de-sac outcast Alan (Dennis), along the way. But it’s not long before Mia’s past comes back to haunt her, leading Charlotte and Jacob to question who she really is, especially when patients at the hospital start mysteriously dying.”
The second season, written by David Allison, is loosely based on Kamikaze Film’s Scandinavian format Dopamin. Dries Vos returns as director. Both are exec producers alongside Jo McGrath and Walter Iuzzolino from ITV Studios-owned production house Eagle Eye Drama, which makes the show in association with Happy Duck Films and with support from the Belgian Tax Shelter. Jennifer Burnet is the producer.
In the UK, Channel 4 played the six-part drama over two weeks in July.
Scandi distributor REinvent International Sales sells the Couple Next Door format on the international market, and the Dutch format The Neighbors, on which season one was based. Beta Film has international distribution rights on the British series. Below are a series of images from the show.
