Tag: Aggy K. Adams

TV Interview!

Interview with Annabel Scholey, Aggy K. Adams and Sam Palladio of “The Couple Next Door” on STARZ by Suzanne 9/16/25

This anthology series on Starz is very sexy (and maybe a bit kinky – if anything is nowadays) and filled with drama and intrigue. It also has some very good writing and characters. If you enjoyed season 1, you should enjoy this season 2. Even if you never saw season 1, though, you can watch season 2 because it mostly different characters.

I was supposed to interview all 3 of these actors, plus Sendhil Ramamurthy. Unfortunately, the latter had a personal conflict, so I wasn’t able to speak with him. That was a real shame because he’s the one I most wanted to chat with! He’s always great, and I’ve enjoyed his work since “Heroes” on NBC (2006-2010) and that show’s reboot later on, as well as many other series I watched, like “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Flash” on The CW and “Doom Patrol” on MAX. It was wonderful to speak to the other three, though. We weren’t allowed to use the video this time, though, only audio, so here are the two transcripts below.  They’ve been edited, but we’re not quite through proofreading them yet, so please do check back.

Sam Palladino

Suzanne: My name is Suzanne from TVMEG.COM. So, had you watched the first season of the series before you, started filming the second?

Sam: Well, I got the audition, and so I hadn’t seen it without any context. But, after  getting the audition and reading the first script, I definitely did a little research and definitely watched a few, and actually was really…quite honestly, very captured and spellbound by this show. And it wouldn’t usually be my kind of show.

Suzanne: Mm-hmm.

Sam: But I was like, “This is really great. It’s beautifully shot, it’s well acted…. The story’s gripping.” And so, I think before I’d actually got the job, I was a fan. I was auditioning, going, “I hope I get this one ’cause it’s pretty good.”

Suzanne: That’s good. So, can you say, is the second season as crazy as the first?

Sam: oh, the second season of “The Couple Next Door” takes it to a whole new level, right? I mean, it really does. I think the writers and producers learned what worked in Series One, and it was pretty obvious that was the… I mean, it was the great writing, but it was the tension, it was the drama, it was the spicy sexual desire and the consequences of all that. All that hit home for sure. So with Series Wwo, we build on that and we go to even more bonkers places, to be honest. Yeah, it’s a real progression and I think, with this series… I got to work with just some fantastic actors and we all felt very much like a team. And even so much so with the directors, and producers, and the whole creative team. It was very collaborative. It wasn’t like, “Here’s your lines, you act, go stand over there.” It felt like we were all trying to make the show the best it could be.

Suzanne: That’s good. I think  it works well when they let the actors have some input.

Sam: Mm-hmm. For sure.

Suzanne: And is there a lot of sex this season, like last season?

Sam: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. There’s way more sex. Oh, way more.  Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.  So, we certainly, yeah. We take it to some new steamy places. There is a sequence in episode three that, when I read on the page, I thought, “How are we gonna do this? This feels like we’re put really pushing the boat out.” And so, yeah, like I said, I think that we build, and we take it to new levels, for sure.

Suzanne: Okay. And did they have someone on set to make you all feel comfortable during those scenes?

Sam: For sure. I mean, and that’s a brilliant thing that’s come into the industry now: the intimacy coordinator. I think it’s really important, particularly for us, our sequence — there’s a threesome sequence, you know, and so on the page you kind of go, “How do we handle this?” But yeah, Vanessa, our intimacy coordinator, they make it more like a choreographed dance sequence. And so that means that we had rehearsals prior, fully clothed, you know, where actually, you go through the protocols… it’s also contractual, you know, levels that you’re comfortable with. Everything’s open and discussed. And then it becomes very much… It’s  choreographed. Gone are the days of like, “Okay, off you guys go, do your thing.”  Which just means everybody feels comfortable and safe. And by that point, we’d saved a lot of those intimate scenes to… pretty much the last week in filming ’cause we were shooting for about three months or so.  We’d all dubbed it “sex week.” Which was really quite funny because they just put it all together. So it was this very confusing week where we were all just went to the gym, you know, for weeks, trying to eat healthy and work towards “sex week.” But it just meant that we are all very comfortable with each other at that point. You know, Annabel, who plays my wife, Charlotte on the show… we’ve become like really great friends,, and so nothing felt awkward.  And if it did, we were able to joke about it and have the intimacy coordinator there to just make sure everybody’s on our side, you know?

Suzanne: Right, right. And now this is an anthology series, so most of the characters are new, and the setting’s the same, and some of the characters are the same. So, is there anything that you can tell us about what’s new besides, you know, spoilers? No spoilers.

Sam: For sure, for sure. I mean, we have some, we have, Hugh Dennis, who returns as Alan. So he, he’s a brilliant actor. I love the character, Alan, actually, he goes on quite a redemptive arc.

Suzanne: He’s so pervy.

Sam: He’s so pervy. and that really sets the tone for Series One. And, and of course he goes on a different arc, this series. But, yeah, he’s a great. You know, he’s a  catalyst to bring us back to this world.  I think this series, just goes deeper into those desires and what happens when you explore that, and the consequences of that. And with some pretty, pretty drastic consequences. This series, you know, for my character Jacob, he goes on a crazy arc, you know?  He’s a proud, jealous guy. His wife’s ex-partner, Leo, comes back into the mix, who Jacob has this real beef with from 20 years ago.  And of course, Mia moves into the neighborhood, seduces me, seduces my wife. Suddenly, Jacob’s thrown into this world where he thought maybe this was gonna go somewhere and then realizes that Mia is after other things. So, you know, the, the layers are pretty varied for Jacob. And then he makes some terrible decisions late in the series that, I don’t think the viewers are expecting…based on the, the crazy circumstances they put themselves in.

Suzanne: Right. All right. Well thank you. I appreciate you talking to me today and I look forward to seeing the rest of the show.

Sam: Thanks. Thanks, Suzanne.

Annabel Scholey and Aggy K. Adams

Suzanne: Hi, I’m Suzanne from TVMEG.COM. How are you feeling?

Speaker 3: Good, thanks. Thank you. Good.

Suzanne: Had you both watched the first season of the series before you started shooting?

Annabel: Yes, I auditioned for series one. Yes. So I knew it pretty well. I actually read for Evie, and then I watched it ’cause I, I love the scripts. So I was very familiar.

Suzanne: Okay. How, how about you?

Aggy: Yes, me, too. I’ve seen season one, but only after I’ve gotten the job actually. So. yes, I’ve watched it sort of as we started filming. I was very curious once I’ve met the team, of how it was shot. So it was very fun. It’s great to see.

Suzanne: Mm-hmm. So, we know that it’s set in the same neighborhood (as the first season), and it has some of the same characters in the neighborhood, but the main cast is different. What else can you tell us about the differences this season… either of you, or both of you?

Annabel: This season has much more of a thriller element to it. There’s a lot more suspense… it’s not obvious where it’s headed. I mean, Aggie will talk about this more, but her character in particular is extremely mysterious and you don’t really ever  find out until the end, really, the truth about what’s going on there. But, they wanted to shoot it more like a thriller. as well. And I think the director DRIs, who did both series one and series two, deliberately shot it more like that, so there’s more suspense, I’d say. I mean, it was very fast-paced, Series One, and gripping. So  we keep that. But yeah, it definitely has a different tone.

Aggy: Yeah. Well, the plot is very different, and the tone as well.  Series Two is maybe more sensuous in some way. There’s some art to it — it felt quite artistic to me. Some shots just feel slower… it is shot a bit differently. It takes place in the Autumn, as well, so it just has a different feel. It has a different mood — Series One was in the summer, so obviously, that, yeah.  It sets the tone differently.

Annabel: And ours is a love story as well. It’s a love story between the two women. And I think Series One was more about sexual attraction and obsession, whereas this felt more like a psychological relationship drama.

Aggy:  Definitely. It felt more psychological, yeah.

Suzanne: Okay. And, I read that the neighborhood that it takes place in is mostly shot in Leeds, right?

Annabel:  No, we didn’t shoot anything in Leeds, actually.

Suzanne: Oh, yeah?

Annabel:  It was shot in Antwerp and Holland. And I think… Maggie, you were in France, weren’t you?

Aggy:  Exactly. We were just on the border of France and Belgium. Yeah, that’s where we shot Brussels, but we never shot in Leeds. Yeah, I think they shot  Series One in Leeds.

Annabel:  Yeah, they did.

Suzanne: That’s interesting that they changed it.

Aggy:  Hmm.

Suzanne: The houses are a set, right?

Annabel:  They are. So I actually grew up in, in Leeds, and the houses are definitely more attractive in our show. On the whole, they wanted to keep it set in Leeds, but because we didn’t really have any specific Leeds areas, right? They just shot everything elsewhere in Europe.

Suzanne: Interesting…I’ve been to the UK, but I grew up in the US. So, I’m thinking (while watching the first season), “How can a teacher, and a guy who’s working in a struggling newspaper, afford such a nice house — that comes with a Koi pond?”

Annabel:  Mm-hmm.

Suzanne: But my husband just said, “It’s Europe.” I said, “I don’t know about that. It looked awfully nice.”

Annabel:  No, I agree. That’s probably stretching into the realm of fantasy a little bit.

Suzanne: They had family money, maybe…. So, do either of you have any interesting or funny stories about shooting, or behind the scenes?

Annabel:  Well, we both went into open heart surgeries as a research day, which was incredible.

Aggy: Mm-hmm.

Annabel:  I mean, it definitely wasn’t funny. It was very moving, actually. And I was really worried I was gonna pass out ’cause I get a bit like that, but I just, it just blew my mind how incredible it was. It was a real it life-changing moment, actually. It was a real privilege.

Aggy: Yeah. Absolutely.. open heart surgeries, and that part of research was the best part for me, as well. Hmm. So interesting.

Suzanne: Had you ever played a doctor before, Annabelle?

Annabel:  No, but I really wanted to, and I’m a huge “Grey’s Anatomy” fan, , and Christina Yang was my favorite, and I always thought, “Oh, God, how great….” Yeah, it was really good to delve into that. It was a real physical challenge, actually…not only to try and understand some of the science, and learn how to hold things, but to act with just your eyes. My eyes were behind the goggles, as well. So it was not only doing all of the technical stuff, but then trying to convey the relationship that was happening across the table between our two characters.   It was a lot. It was a really interesting thing to have to try and learn how to do. It was thrilling.

Suzanne: Wow.

Annabel:  Yeah.

Suzanne: What about you, Aggy? Have you played a nurse, or doctor, or any kind of medical professional before?

Aggy: No, I’ve never played a medical professional before. This was my first time. And, I’m very fascinated by it. It was like my dream, in a way. I’d love to play a heart surgeon next time ’cause obviously I’ve played a scrub nurse. So I hope it will happen again. And I’m a huge fan of medical shows, too. I really can’t wait to see “The Pitt,” also. And yes, I did watch “Grey’s Anatomy” in the past, growing up and, yeah, it was really fun.

Suzanne: Okay. Cool. Nice shout-out to “The Pitt.” That’s an awesome show.

Aggy: Yes, I, it’s on my list. I can’t wait to start.

Suzanne: Oh, you haven’t seen the first season yet?

Aggy: No, not yet.  I’m new to it.

Suzanne: Yeah. It’s a bit intense. It’s a good show, though.

Aggy:Yes, yes, yes.

MORE INFO: Official Site  Trailer

Proofread and Edited by Brenda

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