O Casal da Casa ao Lado

I watched the original Dutch TV version of this show which ran for 4 series 10x40m from 2014-2019. It was a bit cheesy at times but enjoyable with well-grounded characters and a dramatic storyline full of unexpected twists and some pretty raunchy scenes.

The remake seems to have been drained of drama and toned down and as a consequence comes a distant second to the original (Which was titled 'New Neighbours' but can still be found on C4 Catchup with subtitles as 'The Swingers'. If you haven't watched either definitely seek out the original.

The remake didn't feel authentic if felt tepid with a lot of one-dimensional performances, Hugh Dennis aside. For some reason it was shot in Leeds and The Netherlands and Belgium but meant to be set in Yorkshire, so a lot of it just looked plain wrong.

I'm afraid I very quickly lost all interest, it was naffly made in all respects, including acting, writing and direction.

Man, with most of the cast this had so much potential. I knew Sam Heughan and Elinor Tomlinson from the few episodes of, "Outlander" that I have seen, so I was on board. Plus the title made it sound intriguing.

Jessica De Gouw is someone I have seen but, she didn't have that instant name recognizability to me, but funnily enough played the best character of this tale.

The story is basically a new couple moves in across the street, from De Gouw and Heughan who are married. They all become closer and "swinging" is in the mix.

Alfred Enoch plays "Pete" who is married to Tomlinson, and boy, is this the worst acting or character briefs he was given with the roll, but by minute seven of a 6 episode series, he is detestable. You couldn't root for him if you tried hard. Props to Hugh Dennis as the creepiest neighbor you've ever come in contact with.

This could been decent at 4 episodes. Still, not bad. It's a good one to watch if you have a lot of laundry to fold.

Normally wouldn't watch something with an IMDb rating of less than 7 unless there's a cracking cast as was the case in the couple next door. The acting was excellent, and I didn't even mind Sam Heughan slipping back into his Scottish accent. The thing that absolutely threw me was the location. It's all I could think about. By no stretch of the imagination could you find a housing estate anywhere in the UK that resembles the one in the show purporting to be in Leeds! I mean, who on earth would have awnings in Leeds, no offence, but there's just not the weather - talking of which - did the director not know it's always cold and rains most of the time?

Really enjoyed the first few episodes but then it started getting more and more ridiculous, with the final episode the worst of all. Whoever came up with that ending should never write a script again and I can't believe even after the final episode was shot, it got the green light to air. Absolute rubbish, disappointing to have sat through it all for that conclusion. The acting was okay. Sam stood out for me, with Pete being quite wooden and I think poorly cast. Overall, not very likeable characters. I have run out of things to say but haven't hit the required characters yet so ignore the rest of this sentence.

Aww, I so wanted this to be good!

The trailer looked great, but so far (just started episode 2) it's cheesy, lame and a bit - well, boring.

I love a good Harlan Coben, which I thought this had vibes of, but noooo....

The most entertaining thing so far , is that the neighbour guy bloke looks just like the geezer from Eastenders (don't know his name, just remember him from when my Grandma used to watch it - wish she was here so I could wind her up that it's him 😂) aside from that, yeah, I'm bored....

I'll stick with it, who knows, maybe it's a slow burner... I'll update later if it gets any better 😊