Upamanyu Biswas
Created by David Allison, ‘The Couple Next Door’ is a psychological thriller series centered on two couples in a suburban community whose intertwined lives lead to consequences for their relationships. The British show follows Evie and Pete, a married couple who move in next door to a charming and attractive couple, policeman Danny and his personal trainer wife, Becka. Although seeking to enjoy the peace of suburban life, the young couple’s hopes are dashed when Evie gets involved in a steamy, clandestine affair with Danny, opening a can of worms for their relationship. Soon, both find themselves drawn further into a complex web of lies, secrets, and hidden agendas as their friendship with their neighbors deepens. The series tackles themes of suburban paradise, forbidden attraction, secrets, and betrayals.
The Couple Next Door is a Remake of a Dutch Series
‘The Couple Next Door’ is a fictional story about the intricacies of suburban life as explored through the eyes of a young couple who are fresh to the experience. Written by David Allison, the show examines how Evie and Pete get entangled in the affairs of their seductive neighbors, which leads to complexities in their daily existence. It is based on the Dutch series ‘Nieuwe Buren,’ which tackles a similar premise about a stable married couple whose lives are thrown into chaos following their interactions with their attractive next-door neighbors. Both shows primarily focus on the intrigues of a secret love affair, its sensuality, and how it can radically shift perspective on conventional thinking. However, it also allows for a closer look into the contrasting mentalities of each character involved in the complex affair.
Soon after moving in, Evie and Pete have different views on their next-door neighbors, with the former forging a closer relationship with them while Pete is suspicious of their motivations. Evie’s Christian upbringing makes her willing to explore uncharted territory in life, as she has never ventured beyond the veil of expectation. This manifests in a secret attraction for Danny, which she indulges in behind her husband’s back. It leads to dire consequences moving forward but provides some grounding for her desire to associate with the strangers living across the wall. Meanwhile, the neighbors themselves seem to have a retinue of rules as they quietly creep their way into the lives of Pete and Evie, showcasing their experience in the swinger’s lifestyle and also providing an example of an unorthodox relationship in a contemporary tale about love, lust, and secrets.
The Couple Next Door Embraces the Sensuality of a Dangerous Polyamorous Relationship
One of the overriding aspects of ‘The Couple Next Door’ is its emphasis on the sizzling attraction between the two couples and how it eventually spirals into chaos. The trappings of a gleaming suburban life are illustrated by Pete and Evie’s attraction toward their neighbors. However, with time, they realize that a darker truth lurks underneath the foundations of their new community, one harboring secrets and lies about its presentation. With each passing second, the breaking of trust and relationship boundaries leads to more perils for Pete and Evie. Before long, they are well and truly engulfed in the drama unfolding around them, leading to undue complications, particularly as feelings of jealousy, betrayal, and conflict arise between the two couples.
The show does a commendable job of highlighting the inner and outer lives of its characters. While everything seems prim, proper, and pruned on the surface, the psychological aspects of these suburban lives run concurrently and sometimes against one another. The whole story plays like a spider enticing its victims into its web, which in the case of ‘The Couple Next Door’ is deftly exemplified through its focus on lust and sensuality. These primal feelings leave both Pete and Evie fighting to keep their relationship alive while also trying to figure out how to keep each other safe from the dangers surrounding them. It breeds paranoia as the perfect suburban life collapses into a nightmare of broken trust, infidelity, and shady characters with darkness lurking within.
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