The Couple Next Door is now streaming in the U.S., leading many to wonder how this gripping crime story ends.
Based on the book Nieuwe Buren by renowned Dutch crime writer Saskia Noort, the British TV series recently released stateside as part of Starz's 2025 content slate.
The series stars Eleanor Tomlinson, Alfred Enoch, and Sam Heughan (who helps lead Starz's beloved Outlander series), following two sets of neighborly couples whose newly forged relationship has deadly consequences.
The Couple Next Door Summary & Book Spoilers
The Couple Next Door and the book it is based on is a story of intrigue, betrayal, and (ultimately) murder.
The story grips audiences instantly, opening on a chase in what seems to be a wooden thicket. The viewer/reader hears a gunshot, followed by a woman running into the woods. Another couple runs toward her, with another man close on their tail pointing a gun their way.
It then jumps back to the beginning of this thriller story. The Couple Next Door centers mostly on two sets of neighbors: Evie, Pete, Danny, and Becka.
Kicking things off, the pregnant Evie and her husband Pete (played by Eleanor Tomlinson and Alfred Enoch) move into a new neighborhood, quickly striking up a neighborly rapport with their next-door neighbors Danny and Becka (Sam Heughan and Jessica De Gouw).
The two couples take a liking to each other, supporting one another as they go about their adult lives. This comes more into play than ever when it is revealed that Evie has mismarried, losing her and Pete's baby.
In the time shortly following the miscarriage, Pete and Evie try to find that spark again as they contemplate trying to go through pregnancy again. Danny and Becka (whether intentional or not) help Pete and Evie get back on the horse, as the meetings of both couples go from consoling to outright sexy.
While, yes, Pete and Evie end up having sex again, this also results in sexier encounters between the two neighbors. This culminates with the desire boiling over for both Evie and Danny as the two married neighbors engage in a carnal affair unbeknownst to either of their significant others.
As a part of this secret relationship, Danny accidentally gets Evie pregnant, something she does not disclose to Pete.
Also, audiences are taught that Evie is not Danny's only affair. At the end of the show's finale/book, it is revealed to Becka that Danny fathered another child with a witness in one of the crimes he was working on, and she is not happy.
Everything comes to a head at a vacation house in the woods. The cabin (as seen at the beginning of the series) belongs to Evie's parents and is offered to her as a way to relax following the stress she has been feeling since her miscarriage.
However, she never planned on simply relaxing in the woods. Instead, she had invited Danny (with whom she had become obsessed) to seduce him further.
At the cabin, Evie tells her father the truth behind her pregnancy, revealing that Danny is the real father. He does not take this well and begins to accost his daughter verbally.
This causes Evie to call for Danny, saying she is trapped with her dad and he has gone mad. Despite being in the middle of an apology to Becka, both Becka and Denny are sent to help Evie (or at least confront her).
From here, audiences return to the beginning of the book/show. As Danny discovers Evie is not in mortal danger, she is chased into the woods, and gunshots begin to ring out.
With guns pointed, Danny professes his love for Becka, turning his back on the now-pregnant Evie. Pete appears from the woods after being told of the secret relationship between Evie and Danny by their friend Jean (who had gotten close to Pete throughout the series).
Filled with anger, Pete shoots Danny in the leg. This sends Becka to his side, tending to her wounded husband. Evie confesses she no longer feels any love toward Pete, visibly shaking him. However, just as this happens, one final shot rings out, with Pete taking a bullet to the abdomen.
The story cuts before the shooter can be revealed, leaving Pete's fate ambiguous. Some speculated he shot himself, or it could have been Evie who did it in a spout of rage.
Thankfully, with a second season of the series having already been greenlit, this ambiguous conclusion will likely be followed up on (something a similarly nebulous project like Heretic will likely never get).
The Couple Next Door is streaming on Starz.
Another Starz series, Shining Vale, made news thanks to high demand for more episodes from fans.
