The Perfect Couple is the one show you’ll be bingeing this weekend, but there are a few things to know first.

On the surface, Netflix's new mystery drama The Perfect Couple feels like a paint-by-numbers approach to creating a prestige series in 2024.

The story is set in a picturesque location with sweeping views, as a cast of famous faces — all clad in luxurious costumes — portray a series of rich yet unlikeable characters. A murder unfolds early on in the piece, forcing you to push forward to find out who did it — even if the initial setup doesn't really grab your attention.

It would be easy to compare this new six-part series to The White Lotus — the other buzzy 'rich people in pretty location faced with a murder mystery' success of recent years — even though the best-selling novel The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand on which the show is based, came out back in 2018. 

Yet despite the fact that both shows have an initially similar feel (and both star Meghann Fahy) The Perfect Couple quickly draws you into its sumptuous yet scathing world. It's a world that follows a storytelling formula we've come to expect, but is deliciously bingeable nonetheless.

After starring in The Undoing, Big Little Lies, and Nine Perfect Strangers it's clear that when it comes to her TV roles, Nicole Kidman is at her best when she's donning an interesting wig and playing a wealthy, mysterious woman with a secret she needs to keep. 

This is exactly why she's in fine form in The Perfect Couple, in which she stars as Greer Garrison Winbury, a famous novelist and matriarch of the extremely wealthy Winbury family. Also in the Winbury clan are her husband Tag Winbury (Liev Schreiber), and their sons Thomas (Jack Reynor), Benji (Billy Howle) and Will (Sam Nivola). 

We first meet this well-to-do yet extremely dysfunctional family in the days leading up to middle son Benji's opulent wedding to Amelia (Eve Hewson) at the Winbury's waterside Nantucket estate. While Benji is head over heels for Amelia, a zoo worker from a much more humble background, Greer is less than thrilled about her son's choice of wife. She makes Amelia aware of her disapproval via a series of cutting backhand remarks in the lead-up to the rehearsal dinner.

Also present for the wedding festivities is the disdainful Abby (Dakota Fanning), the pregnant wife of the eldest Winbury brother, the easy-going Best Man Shooter Dival (Ishaan Khattar), and the fun-loving Maid of Honour Merritt Monaco (Meghann Fahy), who takes great pleasure in messing with the uptight Winbury family on behalf of her best friend Amelia.

A series of secrets, hidden grievances, and guilty confessions are already bubbling away under the surface as the rehearsal dinner takes place, and everything kicks into overdrive when the body of one of the wedding's main players is found the next morning under suspicious circumstances.

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Detective Nikki Henry (Donna Lynne Champlin) is brought in to work on the case alongside local Chief of Police Dan Carter (Michael Beach). As they question the family, the guests, and the staff, the pair begin to piece together the events that led up to the discovery of a body floating beside the beautiful Nantucket home.

While The Perfect Couple initially feels like a path viewers have walked many times before, it does find its feet by the end of the first episode and you'll quickly be hooked on this tale of lavish lives and deceit. Credit is due to Elin Hilderbrand's page-turner of a novel, as well as the performances from the leading ladies. But if you haven't read the book yet, you should be extremely vigilant in avoiding spoilers, because you'll enjoy this series so much more if you're invested in the big reveal.

Meghann Fahy, already the break-out star of The Bold Type and The White Lotus season two, is once again a scene stealer as Merritt, while Bad Sisters star Eve Hewson is captivating as the conflicted bride Amelia, and Dakota Fanning appears to be having a delightful time as the scowling Abby, who is in pursuit of even more wealth, with little interest in the wedding festivities.

RELATED: All the differences between The Perfect Couple book and Netflix TV show.

In the same vein, Nicole Kidman is clearly savouring her time playing the glamourous, yet secretive and controlling, Greer Garrison Winbury. There are moments where she veers into over-the-top caricature territory but as time goes on it becomes clear that she knows exactly what type of vehicle she's starring in — a highly bankrolled soap opera where melodrama is welcome and rewarded. 

If you love stories that centre on rich people complaining about their lives while swanning around their palatial estates — with a side of murder and mystery mixed in for good measure— The Perfect Couple is the show for you.

The Perfect Couple is now streaming on Netflix.

Laura Brodnik is Mamamia's Head of Entertainment and host of The Spill podcast. You can follow her on Instagram here for more entertainment news and recommendations.

Feature Image: Netflix.