The Couple Next Door season 2 review: Sexy, sinister and completely bonkers

We're back on the cul-de-sac where couple Evie (Poldark's Eleanor Tomlinson) and Pete (How to get Away with Murder's Alfred Enoch) used to live, before Evie's obsession with her neighbour Danny (Outlander's Sam Heughan) spiralled wildly out of control and she almost killed her husband.

The former primary school teacher has since been sent to prison for attempted murder, the details of which can be seen in a newspaper that former peeping Tom Alan (Outnumbered's Hugh Dennis) is reading in the opening scene.

He spent much of the first season fending off his disabled wife's requests for a stairlift so that he could use his telescope to spy on Danny's wife Becka (The Secrets She Keeps's Jessica De Gouw) in peace. But while he hasn't donated his telescope to the local charity shop just yet, could redemption be on the cards for Alan, who is trying to be a better man while still intermittently wrestling with his urges?

It's an interesting bit of writing, and finding yourself feeling sorry for the street pervert is likely to make some viewers feel uncomfortable. But writer David Allison wants you to sit with uncomfortable, challenging thoughts and to embrace the taboo, something that Charlotte (The Split's Annabel Scholey) and Jacob (Nashville's Sam Palladio) are given a crash course in when Mia (Greek Salad's Aggy K Adams) thrusts her way in their lives.

The married medical power couple – Charlotte is a heart surgeon, Jacob an anaesthetist – have been married for 20 years and initially appear to have very few, if any complaints. Yes, 'sex Wednesdays' does attest to the fact that they're not firing on all cylinders in the bedroom, but that's hardly concerning after more two decades together.

Heck, they're intentionally carving out time for one another, which arguably means more.

Read more:

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But when Mia, a mysterious nurse from Norway, starts working at the hospital – and also moves next door, where Evie and Pete used to live – Jacob and Charlotte, now in their 40s, begin to question if what felt good and right for them when they first met has now expired.

Are they still happy? Or are they simply going through the motions because they've never really considered what else might be out there if they dared to ask for more?

The situation is complicated further by the return of Charlotte's dashing ex-boyfriend Leo (Heroes' Sendhil Ramamurthy), who was heartbroken when she left him for Jacob all those years ago, a decision she's now reevaluating as they seamlessly grow close once more.

But while it'll come as no surprise that Jacob is initially thrilled by the idea of a threesome with his wife and Mia, Charlotte, who has never been attracted to a woman before, is also exhilarated by her new-found desires as their neighbour continues to push boundaries, which terrifies her, particularly when she begins to consider how different her future could look if she succumbs to them fully.

While The Couple Next Door is heightened throughout – there are two intensely carnal sex scenes which were made for Gogglebox – the questions it poses will hit close to home for many viewers, even if you aren't planning on a pivot as bold as embarking on a journey of sexual exploration with your next door neighbour.

It especially got me thinking about the scores of real-life stories detailing the accounts of women who were in heteronormative marriages for years, before finding love with other women in later life.

Of course, there are moments when the sheer absurdity of the plot can dilute the writing's attempts to raise those searching, knotty questions and themes. Yet, that certainly won't dilute your enjoyment if you liked season 1.

Like the episodes that came before, this offering is a moreish affair that you'll find difficult not to polish off in a couple of sittings. Round 2 is not only steamier, but things take an exceedingly chilling turn when patients in Mia's care start dying, which is infinitely more compelling than the criminal dealings Danny was wrapped up.

We quickly learn that she fled Norway in a hurry, hence her lack of belongings and the container full of cash she keeps stashed at home, which she supposedly stole from a man who is now trying to track her down. And there are a number of charged flashbacks scattered throughout, teasing that traumatic backstory, which has branded Mia emotionally. The cliches come thick and fast in The Couple Next Door.

But it's executed in such a way that it somehow gets away with it. If a third season is commissioned, I will be seated – although I wouldn't be surprised if that cursed cul-de-sac is demolished.

It's like Midsomer over there, but with a lot more sex...

The Couple Next Door season 2 airs on Channel 4.

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