The Perfect Couple (Television Series Review)

Estimated reading time: 12 minutes

The husband and wife in the title of this new Netflix mini-series are super-wealthy Tag (Live Schreiber) Winbury and famous mystery novelist Greer Winbury (Nicole Kidman). The Winburys who appear to be happily married live in Summerland, a huge Nantucket estate, with their three sons— Thomas (Jack Reynor), Benji (Billy Howle), and Will (Sam Nivola). A Wedding Eve party is about to take place, celebrating the upcoming nuptials between Benji and his fiancée Amelia Sacks (Eve Hewson) whose parents—Bruce (Michael McGrady) and Karen (Dendrie Taylor)—come from far more modest circumstances. Later that evening, Amelia wanders along the beach and is horrified when she discovers the dead body of her best friend and maid of honor Merritt Monaco (Meghan Fahy) floating in the water. The following morning, the Nantucket police chief Dan Carter (Michael Beach) and Massachusetts state detective Nikki Henry (Donna Lynne Champlin) pay the Winburys a visit and begin their murder investigation.  A lot of entanglements involving  this family and the formerly prospective bride-to-be began to be revealed. Thomas is married to the pregnant Abby (Dakota Fanning) but bad crypto deals have cost him a fortune and he is having an affair with the sexy and much older Isabel Nallet (Isabelle Adjani). Benji and Amelia are having second thoughts about marriage, Will is secretly dating Chief Carter’s pretty daughter Chloe (Mia Issac), and Tag was having an affair with the late Merritt who was carrying his child.

It seems like almost everyone in Summerland is on the  suspect list as, one by one, Winbury family members are brought in for questioning. A nonfamily member, Shooter Dival (Ishaan Khaffer), Benji’s college friend and designated best man, also gets drawn in when his fingerprints are found Merritt’s phone. An oyster shucker knife found near Merritt’s body is stained with Will’s blood and found among his belongings is a  bracelet Tag had given Merritt. Tag certainly had a motive as did Greer who was onto her husband’s affair. The police investigation chugs along as the Winbury family suspects all seemed to have established their innocence. However, a major plot twist follows the appearance of an intruder at Greer’s new book launching and, suddenly, previously untold backstories emerge that heighten the darkness of this already dark tale as we get an ending  the few will have seen coming.

The six episodes of Jenna Lamia’s adaptation of Nantucket local author Elin Hilderbrand’s novel are tautly paced by veteran Danish director Susanne Bier and this show becomes the equivalent of a page-turner mystery novel. The Perfect Couple is also blessed with a very strong cast, starting at the top with Schreiber’s epitome of an amoral philanderer and Kidman playing a tough-as-nails beauty who will fight to keep what is hers. The Winbury sons also receive apt portrayals of self-absorption (Reynor), innocence (Nivola), and diffidence (Howle). As we get to know Eve Hewson’s Amelia better, she delivers a compelling performance of a beautiful young woman overwhelmed by what has happened while trying her best to hold things together.  A loud shout-out goes to Donna Lynne Champlin’s detective, Boston accent and all, as she becomes the true rock of this ensemble while her interrogations of the wealthy suspects are simply brilliant. The Perfect Couple isn’t perfect but it definitely provides an engaging six hours of viewer and receives my recommendation.

The Perfect Couple is streaming now on Netflix

• Rating Certificate: TV-MA
• Show Creator: Jenna Lamia
• Streaming Service: Netflix
• Studios & Distributors: 21 Laps Entertainment | Pathless Woods Productions, Inc. | Two-Four Two-Four Go | Blossom Films | The Jackal Group
• Number of Episodes: 6
• Release Date: 5 September 2024