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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
One of the lead characters in Nicole Kidman’s new Netflix series, The Perfect Couple, was renamed to steer clear of any comparisons to her previous hit series Big Little Lies.
The streamer’s new drama, based on Elin Hilderbrand’s 2018 novel, follows the chaos that ensues when a body is discovered ahead of a lavish wedding ceremony.
Kidman stars as Greer Garrison, the groom’s mother, alongside Eve Hewson as Amelia Sachs, the bride-to-be. The White Lotus alum Meghann Fahy, Liev Schreiber and Dakota Fanning also feature.
In Hilderbrand’s novel, Hewson’s character is named Celeste. However, since Kidman’s Big Little Lies character is also named Celeste, it was changed to Amelia “to avoid any potential confusion.”
“It was a five-year development process for various reasons, so it did go through a lot of different forms, and it was closer to the book early on,” the series’ showrunner Jenna Lamia told The Hollywood Reporter at the Los Angeles premiere.
“And then this wonderful director Susanne Bier came on and her influence shifted some things, and when we had cast attached that shifted some things.”
Another plot point that was adjusted was the addition of Greer’s third son as well as husband Tag (Schreiber) to include the theme of first love.
Lamia explained: “Even as far as things that are internal to the characters in the book, I had to find a way to pull them out and make them active and external, which is why the ending is different – sorry, no spoilers!”
“I wanted them to make the best possible television show, I wasn’t worried about how they changed the book,” Hilderbrand told THR. “I said to Jenna right from the beginning, I do not feel precious about this. People can go and read the book later or before; it’ll be a different experience because it is a little bit different, they can see how they changed it, and I just wanted it to be excellent television.”
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New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Out now on Netflix, The Perfect Couple has faced mixed reviews from critics.
While The Independent’s Nick Hilton found it to be “as daft as it is derivative” in his two-star review, The Guardian argued that the “gorgeous murder mystery is ludicrously good.”
Hilton wrote: “And don’t let the presence of Academy Award-winning Danish director Susanne Bier mislead you: The Perfect Couple is by-the-numbers Netflix pulp. In its lack of originality, it invites comparison with Big Little Lies, but absent the tension and intrigue of that drama, we’re left with something as superficial and unfulfilled as the family it depicts. Imperfect lives, imperfectly depicted.”
Kidman previously starred in Big Little Lies, HBO’s two-season adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s bestselling book. In June, the Moulin Rouge! actor revealed that she and executive producer and co-star Reese Witherspoon were working on a surprise third season.
“We’re moving fast and furious. Liane is delivering the book,” Kidman teased. “We’re in good shape.”
