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A new ‘whodunnit’ drama miniseries has just landed on Netflix, loaded with twists, secrets and deception as a high-flying, wealthy US family tries to untangle what happened the night before a grand wedding, after one member of the party was found dead.
The Perfect Couple stars Nicole Kidman as the perfectly-groomed Greer Garson Winbury, an aloof best-selling author who is hosting the wedding of her son, Benji, at their decadent family mansion on Nantucket, the American island that, in real life, has a rich past of hosting billionaires in their summer residences and on private beaches. However, most of the filming actually took place in Cape Cod, just a few hours away on the mainland.
Plans for the big day change after a body is found washed up in the slow-rolling waves on the mansion’s beach early in the morning. The death sees an investigation by detectives into whether the victim died at the hands of someone else, and if so, who? As each member of the wedding party endures the police interrogations, more than one family secret comes to the surface.
Based on the novel by author Elin Hilderbrand, known as “the queen of the beach reads”, the Netflix adaption transports viewers to a world of serene coastline settings, exclusivity, and opulence.
Here is all you need to know about the glorious New England backdrop to the new binge-worthy series laced with cliffhangers and captivating landscapes.
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Where is ‘The Perfect Couple’ filmed?
Nantucket, Massachusetts
For Hildebrand, who created the Winbury’s world in her novel of the same name, something that was at the story’s core was its setting in Nantucket, a tiny island with a string of sandy, dune-backed beaches sitting off the coast of Massachusetts, USA.
The author told Tudum that the most important thing in the adaptation of her novel was that “Nantucket was done correctly.”
“I wanted the essence of Nantucket, which is sort of understated ease and entitlement of the place, to come across. And I’m sure it does because I’ve read the scripts,” she said.
Nantucket was not just the setting for the murder mystery; in fact, it was described by the season’s showrunner, Jenna Lamia. as one of the “main characters”, highlighting how a New England summer, complete with white-panelled mansions, private beaches and mid-century interiors, was essential to the storytelling.
The island is around 30 miles south of Cape Cod, with a large number of its buildings being seasonal residences that families or tourists usually enjoy in the summer months.
Nantucket has a long maritime history realted to the whaling industry, immortalised in the Whaling Museum; the island served as a partial setting and inspiration for Herman Melville’s novel, Moby-Dick.
Now, it is well-known for being a tranquil haven and an idyllic island paradise, serving those who visit coastal hotels, exquisite seafood eateries, little boutiques and summer temperatures in the mid-twenties.
The limited transportation to and from the island would be too hard for Netflix’s large production team and cast to navigate, so they settled on the equally picturesque Cape Cod.
The producers still captured various elements of the island, such as featuring Greer’s latest novel at Mitchell’s Book Corner bookshop, the Brotherhood of Thieves restaurant and the tall ship Lynx, moored in the Nantucket harbour.
Cape Cod, Massachusetts
The production team said it was not hard at all to make the seaside town of Chatham look like that of the exclusive neighbourhood the Winburys would live in.
Found at the southeastern tip of Cape Cod, Chatham was used as the filming location for the Winbury’s fictional Summerland estate, a private property in the Eastward Point neighbourhood on the coast, also known to several family homes complete with private beaches facing out to Pleasant Bay, according to the Cape Cod Times.
Other areas of Chatham were also used to capture the wealth and glamour essence of a New England backdrop, such as Eastward Point’s beach and the private members Chatham Beach and Tennis Club, which can be found on Lighthouse Beach, reports House & Garden.
Elwood’s Raw Bars, a seafood eatery in Chatham, was redecorated on the outside to serve as the Nantucket Police Department headquarters, where many interrogations went down during the twisty thriller. The town is known for its pristine beaches, circular coves and spectacular wildlife, with the Monomy Natural Wildlife Refuge that encompasses a haven for migrating birds, harbour seals and sharks.
The centre of Chatham has kept its historic charm, with its Main Street lined with bright white wooden buildings, charming boutiques that have established the town’s prominent shopping reputation, and high-end eateries.
Like its Nantucket neighbour, Chatham also has its roots in the fishing industry, and still has a thriving fishing village that coexists alongside Chatham’s stylish neighbourhoods. A trip down to Chatham Lighthouse on the beach will complete any maritime-fuelled experiences in the town.
‘The Perfect Couple’ is available to stream on Netflix now.
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