‘Outlander’ Star Sam Heughan and Eleanor Tomlinson From ‘Poldark’ Team Up for New Starz Series
Outlander’s Sam Heughan and Eleanor Tomlinson from Poldark are teaming up for a new series at Starz and the U.K. network Channel 4. The Couple Next Door is a thriller that will explore “the stultifying claustrophobia of suburbia and the fallout of chasing your darkest desires,” according to a press release from Channel 4.
Sam Heughan and Eleanor Tomlinson play neighbors who have an affair in the upcoming Starz series
Many TV viewers know Heughan and Tomlinson from their appearances on two popular romantic period dramas. He plays Jamie Fraser on Starz’s Outlander, while she played Demelza Poldark in Podark, which aired on PBS in the U.S. But The Couple Next Door will bring both actors into the present era.
In the six-episode series, Tomlinson will play Evie, who moves into an upscale suburban neighborhood with her husband Pete (Alfred Enoch). Evie and Pete then develop a friendship with their neighbors, traffic cop Danny (Heughan) and his yoga instructor wife Becka (Jessica De Gouw). Danny and Evie end up sharing a passionate night together, and the encounter ends up changing their lives forever.
The ‘Poldark’ cast member says her role in ‘The Couple Next Door’ is ‘an exciting challenge’
The Couple Next Door is loosely based on a Dutch series titled New Neighbors. Tomlinson – who has also appeared in Starz’s The White Queen, HBO’s The Nevers, and the 2019 BBC adaptation of The War of the Worlds – says she’s looking forward to exploring a new kind of character.
“Evie is an exciting challenge for me – a girl whose world is turned upside down as she navigates devastating trauma, which isn’t helped by unresolved issues from her past,” she said in a statement.
No release date has been announced for The Couple Next Door, but Deadline reports that filming has begun in the U.K. Once the show does arrive on viewers’ screens, it sounds like they can expect plenty of fireworks between Heughan and Tomlinson.
“We cannot wait to see the chemistry [Heughan] and Eleanor will ignite together in this provocative series,” said Kathryn Busby, president of original programming for Starz.
‘Outlander’ star Caitriona Balfe supports Sam Heughan’s new project
In addition to starring in The Couple Next Door, Heughan is set to appear in the eighth and final season of Outlander. The last installment of the time-traveling drama will bring Jamie and Claire’s epic love story to a close. But Caitriona Balfe, who plays Claire, is fully in support of Heughan’s new project.
“Awww love you two working together,” she commented on Tomlinson’s Instagram post announcing the new show.
Meanwhile, Heughan said in an Instagram update from set that he was “excited to be working on new drama The Couple Next Door.”
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