Nicole Kidman is having a huge year with Netflix. Her current hit is the six-episode series The Perfect Couple.
Earlier this year she also starred in the Netflix movie A Family Affair. In both Netflix productions she plays a successful novelist. But not the same one!
Kidman has certainly been making her mark in TV series recently. She is an actress that seems to always be working. She is believed to have as many as 12 forthcoming projects including the voice of Queen Ellsmere in the animated movie Spellbound which is due for release in November 2024.
The Perfect Couple: Nicole Kidman as Greer Winbury
There are also four projects in production and another seven projects in development to which she is attached.
Recent TV hits have included Big Little Lies (more episodes on the way in 2025), Special Ops: Lioness (new episodes due in October 2024), Expats, Faraway Downs (an edited TV series version of the 20098 movie Australia), NIne Perfect Stranger, The Undoing and her biggest and maybe most memorable TV work – Top of the Lake.
The Perfect Couple mum and three sons (L to R) Billy Howle as Benji Winbury, Nicole Kidman as Greer Winbury, Sam Nivola as Will Winbury, Jack Reynor as Thomas Winbury
The Perfect Couple synopsis
The opening scenes show aerial images of Nantucket Island off Cape Cod. A holiday destination for the rich and famous, there are shots of boats moored in the harbour and people swarming on the beaches.
The camera then closes in on a marquee on a private beach with people getting ready to party. It is actually a pre-wedding event.
Amelia Sacks is about to marry into one of the wealthiest families on Nantucket. Her disapproving future mother-in-law, famous novelist Greer Garrison Winbury, has spared no expense in planning what promises to be the premiere wedding of the season — until a body turns up on the beach. As secrets come to light, the stage is set for a real-life investigation that feels plucked from the pages of one of Greer’s novels. Suddenly, everyone is a suspect.
Production notes
Emmy and Oscar winner Susanne Bier directs all six episodes and executive produces the series alongside showrunner Jenna Lamia (Good Girls).
The series Based on Elin Hilderbrand’s New York Times best-selling novel.
In addition to Bier and Lamia, the limited series’ other executive producers include Shawn Levy for 21 Laps Entertainment, Gail Berman and Hend Baghdady for The Jackal Group, Nicole Kidman and Per Saari for Blossom Films and Josh Barry.
Blossom Fils is the production company run by Kidman and Saari. Other productions include Roar (2022), Nine Perfect Strangers (2021), The Undoing (2020), Big Little Lies (2019 and 2017), The Family Fang (2016) and Rabbit Hole (2010).
Format/Episodes: Drama with 6 episodes
Episode 1: Happy Wedding Eve
Episode 2: She Would Never Do That
Episode 3: The Perfect Family
Episode 4: Someone Could Get Hurt
Episode 5: Never Gonna Give You Up
Episode 6: That Feels Better
Where to watch: Netflix
Meet the characters in The Perfect Couple
The Perfect Couple. Nicole Kidman as Greer Winbury
Nicole Kidman as Greer Garrison Winbury
The Groom’s Mother
About the character
Greer Garrison Winbury is a glamorous and influential figure within Nantucket’s elite. Greer is a renowned novelist, celebrated for her sharp wit and social insight, which she uses not only in her writing but also in shaping her family’s public image. She is the matriarch of the powerful Winbury family, married to Tag Winbury, a wealthy businessman with deep ties to the island’s high society.
The couple has two children in the novel, but three boys in the TV adaption – Benji Winbury, Thomas Winbury and Will Windbury.
Greer’s life revolves around maintaining her family’s impeccable reputation, a task she manages with precision and style.
The story begins as Greer prepares for Benji’s highly anticipated wedding to Amelia, a woman from a more modest background. While Greer initially harbours doubts about the match, she puts on a supportive front, eager to host an extravagant wedding that reflects the Winburys’ status.
However, when a murder shocks the celebration, Greer’s meticulously controlled world starts to unravel. The scandal threatens to expose hidden secrets within her family, forcing Greer to navigate a turbulent sea of suspicion and drama, as she struggles to protect both her family and the image she has so carefully crafted.
The Perfect Couple: Liev Schreiber as Tag Winbury, Nicole Kidman as Greer Winbury at the best book launch you will ever attend
Liev Schreiber as Tag Winbury
The Groom’s Father
About the character
Tag Winbury is a successful and influential businessman, and the patriarch of the prominent Winbury family. Tag is a self-made man with strong ties to Nantucket’s elite, known for his charm, ambition, and ability to navigate the complex world of high society. He is married to Greer Garrison Winbury, a successful novelist, and together they embody the image of wealth and sophistication, carefully curating their family’s reputation.
Liev Schreiber described his character Tag Winbury in The Perfect Couple as a “deeply narcissistic” yet “passionate and loving husband.” Schreiber admitted he was hesitant to take on the role, calling Tag “such a douche” reported The Wrap. However, he found depth in Tag’s relationship with his wife, Greer, likening them to the Macbeths, absorbing each other’s sins over time. Schreiber enjoyed the dynamic of improvising with Kidman, noting that their bond enhanced the complexities of their on-screen marriage.
The Perfect Couple: Eve Hewson as Amelia Sacks, Billy Howle as Benji Winbury
Eve Hewson as Amelia Sacks
The bride
About the character
Amelia is the bride, awaiting her big day when she’ll marry into the Winbury family. “She has the picture-perfect story laid out right in front of her, and yet she doesn’t feel entirely connected to it,” said Hewson in an interview.
Her character Amelia Sacks is a strong-willed and independent woman from a modest background. She is engaged to Benji Winbury, the son of the affluent and influential Winbury family. Despite entering the world of Nantucket’s high society, Amelia stands out for her refusal to conform to the family’s expectations, creating tension with her future mother-in-law, Greer. As her wedding approaches, Amelia finds herself at the centre of a murder mystery, challenging her to navigate both personal and family secrets in an increasingly tense and dangerous situation.
As Hewson is around the same age as Amelia, she related to the dilemma Amelia finds herself in at the start of the series, where everyone around her is getting married, having kids, and buying houses. “She’s being forced into growing up really quickly and she’s not entirely sure of the choice that she’s making,” said Hewson.
Billy Howle as Benji Winbury
The groom
About the character
Benji is the polished groom who adores his bride-to-be. A little secret about the groom: He’s a talented painter in his spare time. Something which we get to see in the movie as he presents someone with a portrait he paints of them.
Benji Winbury is the charming and privileged son of the wealthy Winbury family. Benji is engaged to Amelia Sacks, a woman from a more modest background, and their wedding is set to be a major societal event on Nantucket. As the son of Tag (Liev Schreiber) and Greer Winbury (Nicole Kidman), Benji has lived a life of wealth and comfort, but this has also shaped him into a man who struggles with the expectations placed on him by his family.
Benji’s relationship with Amelia is central to the series’ plot, as the wedding preparations—and the murder mystery that ensues—reveal deeper tensions within their relationship and the family dynamics. While Benji initially seems carefree and eager to marry Amelia, cracks begin to show as the secrets and pressures of both his family and the wedding come to light. Howle’s portrayal captures the duality of Benji’s character: a man caught between love and loyalty, struggling to live up to his family’s legacy while facing his own flaws.
Howle brings depth to Benji’s internal conflict, making him a compelling character as the events of the series unfold, especially as the murder investigation intensifies.
The Perfect Couple: Dakota Fanning as a very pregnant Abby Winbury
Dakota Fanning as Abby Winbury
Groom’s sister-in-law
About the character
Sister-in-law to the groom. Abby is married to the wise-cracking Thomas. The couple are about to welcome their first child together.
The poised and dutiful wife of Thomas Winbury, the eldest son in the powerful Winbury family. As a member of Nantucket’s elite through her marriage, Abby is expected to maintain the flawless image of the family, aligning with the standards set by her in-laws, Greer (Nicole Kidman) and Tag Winbury (Liev Schreiber).
Abby’s carefully crafted façade of perfection is in startk contrast to Amelia Sacks, her future sister-in-law, who defies expectations.
Fanning’s portrayal of Abby highlights a character who is outwardly polished but inwardly contending with the immense pressure of being part of a prestigious family. Abby’s journey reflects the tension between maintaining appearances and grappling with her own identity within a rigid social structure. As the series unfolds, secrets within the Winbury family—and Abby’s own role in those secrets—come to light, revealing a more complex side to her character.
The Perfect Couple: Meghann Fahy as Merritt Monaco
Meghann Fahy as Merritt Monaco
Bride’s best friend
About the character
As well as being the bride’s best friend, Merritt is also maid of honor, and an influencer.
When Fahy read the script, she thought it was a show that she would want to watch. She originally auditioned for a different part than Merritt, and she describes her character as “fun, loving, and kind of sad.” She and Amelia are super different but are “the kind of friends that feel more like sisters,” she said. “I have a couple of those in my life, which is something that I feel really lucky to have.”
Ishaan Khatter as Shooter Dival
Honorary Winbury
About the character
Best man and a childhood friend of Benji’s from boarding school, Shooter is like an honorary member of the Winbury family.
Khatter was curious about his character’s mysterious, quietly intense, and dignified vibe since he received his audition script pages. The writing of the character helped him latch onto Shooter, who is “not a character that’s close to my personality or my real life in any way, really,” he said.
Indian actor Khatter is turning heads in this his second major English-language role, reported Varoety. As Shooter Dival, the outsider in a nest of Nantucket’s elite, Khatter brings a fresh face to the murder mystery that’s captivating global audiences.
Originally written as white in the source material, the casting of Dival represents a significant shift toward colourblind casting in international productions. “I believe that they decided to go agnostic of ethnicity when they were casting it,” Khatter says. “Bravo to Netflix and the studios and the producers and the makers for taking that decision in the true sense and not just doing it as a tokenized kind of casting.”
Jack Reynor as Thomas Winbury
Brother of the groom
About the character
The older brother of the groom, Jack knows how to work hard on Wall Street — and, of course, play hard for the right occasion.
Reynor saw Thomas Winbury as an opportunity to bring some levity and humour to the piece. He specifically chose not to read Hilderbrand’s novel, “because I had a very clear idea of what I wanted to do with the character when I read the scripts,” he said recently.
To prepare for the shoot, Reynor looked back at some of the 1990s and 2000s dry, black comedy series he likes from the UK to try and capture some of the quality of sharp, improvised, sardonic humour. “When I got to set, I think everybody felt that I was a bit of an agitator because I was just throwing random shit at everybody every day, making up my own lines,” said Reynor. “That was fun and worked for the character, anyway.”
Sam Nivola as Will Winbury
Brother of the groom
About the character
Will is the youngest member of the Winbury family and the groom’s brother.
For Nivola, the most integral part of playing Will was tapping into his headspace of true entitlement. “Will has grown up thinking of himself as the most powerful person in any room because his family has so much influence and money,” said Nivola recently. Originally from Brooklyn, Nivola doesn’t feel connected to the Nantucket regulars with whom his character summers.
Mia Isaac as Chloe Carter
Friend of Will
About the character
Chloe is the teenage daughter of the chief of police who works as a server for a local catering company. She strikes up a friendship with Will which doesn’t please her father at all.
When Isaac auditioned for Chloe, there wasn’t much in the character breakdown. “All I knew was that she was an oyster girl working the event,” she said. To make herself look the part of a waiter, Isaac wore her dad’s white button up because she didn’t own any herself.
“When we did the full body shot, I tied the rest of the shirt behind my back and [when] I walked away, you could see the clump of shirt behind me!” she said recently in one interview. “But I had a lot of fun auditioning for it. And I booked it from the self-tape, which is surprising.”
Donna Lynne Champlin as Nikki Henry
Detective trying to solve the murder
About the character
Nikki is the detective tasked with getting to the bottom of the apparent murder.
Also a member of the Susanne Bier alumni club, Champlin self-identifies as a “huge murder mystery fanatic,” she said, citing Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes, and the Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar radio pieces as some of her favourites. “I’m also that annoying person who when you’re watching a murder mystery, I’m always the one who’s like, ‘He did it. She did it.’ I’m rarely right.”
Champlin applied her investigative guessing skills when she read Hildebrand’s The Perfect Couple. “I thought for sure about 10 different times that I knew who the murderer was. I was wrong every single time.”
As Champlin’s whole family is from Fall River, Massachusetts, filming the series 45 minutes away in Cape Cod felt like “getting the keys to the kingdom because my family always saw those beautiful homes from afar,” she told Netflix. Her mother even came to visit the Summerland mansion. Detective Henry is also the only character not in Hilderbrand’s book, so she was able to build the character from scratch — including working with the dialect coach to give Henry a Fall River accent.
Isabelle Adjani as Isabel Nallet
French friend of the family
About the character
Isabel is a dear friend of the family, who’s travelled from France to attend the Nantucket wedding.
You’ll love the cast dancing in The Perfect Couple opening credits
The flash mob dance sequence — mapped out by renowned choreographer Charm La’Donna — accompanies the opening credits and serves to set the tone of the series
It is the first Netflix series where you might want to watch the opening credit sequence on every episode without pushing the “skip” button.
Director Susanne Bier told Netflix her thoughts about the dance scenes: “It puts the show in a very definite space of, ‘This is a slightly heightened reality and as an audience, you can allow yourself to have fun and enjoy it,’
“There was something very joyful about having everybody doing it,” she added.
The initial idea to feature a dance in the series came from executive producer Gail Berman. Also a producer on Wednesday, Berman knew the value of having a viral dance routine on her hands.
Bier discovered the Megan Trainor tune during filming. She received a few song suggestions for a planned dance sequence, but decided on Trainor’s song “Criminals,” with the repeated lyric “Call us criminals, criminals” that leads the audience to ask along with the characters, “Who’s guilty?”
Upon release, Netflix reported the dance was originally going to be in an entirely different place in the series, as part of a nightmare dream sequence at the beginning of Episode 5 that was ultimately cut.
In the dream, Amelia and Merritt are sitting on the beach talking about the future and how excited Amelia is that Benji proposed. But then, Merritt strangely asks Amelia, “Hey, who do you think did this?” And as Amelia turns to look at her, water starts pouring out of Merritt’s eye sockets and her mouth. “It’s really scary, and then Amelia gets up in bed sweating,” said writer Jenna Lamia. “It was a horrible dream!” A dance was going to be incorporated into the nightmare. However, it turned out that for practical reasons, it would have been difficult for production to shoot –– so they pivoted.
The Perfect Couple: Donna Lynne Champlin as Nikki Henry, Michael Beach as Dan Carter
Lamia explained that director Susanne Bier explained that if the series were to use a dance like that as the opening credits, it would tell people right away that, yes, this is a murder mystery, and yes, it’s a thriller, but you’re also going to have so much fun.
“It’s really important, I think, that people realise the tone of the show is not The Undoing, or something that Susanne has done before; this is a fun murder mystery. Sure, somebody’s going to be dead, but you’re also going to laugh.”
The cast learned the dance sequence, in which Bier advised La’Donna should have a Saturday Night Fever feel.
“I learned [the dance] it in 10 minutes,” Mia Isaac, who plays Chloe Carter, the police chief’s teenage daughter, told Netflix. “It’s a very easy dance. It’s kind of like Macarena-style, so we got the hang of it after a couple takes.”
Sources: Netflix, Tudum, People, LADbible, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety
