The Perfect Couple is an exemplar of that genre sometimes cynically known as ‘poverty programming’: dramas that train all of us non-billionaire folk to be content with our miserable lot by showing us that even if we did have lots more money we’d actually really hate it.
They’re all secretly messed up, treacherous and unfaithful, riddled with hatred, and popping pills
It’s set on Nantucket Island, where the streets are cobbled and the old-moneyed families gather every summer to polish their bijou antique rowing boats at their beachside mansions which, I just checked, cost around £15 million. Tag Winbury (Liev Schreiber) and his bestselling romantic novelist wife (Nicole Kidman), happily married for 29 years, are about to host the wedding of their delightful blond son Benji (Billy Howle) to the dark-haired girl of his dreams Amelia (Eve Hewson).
But it’s OK, don’t worry, even though they drive huge cars, parade around the lawns in matching bathrobes, drink endless champagne and have a fiercely loyal Russian housekeeper Gosia (Irina Dubova) to attend to their every need, they’re all secretly messed up, treacherous and unfaithful, riddled with hatred and jealousy, popping prescription pills – oh, and at least one of them is a murderer.
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