NETFLIX’S latest murder mystery thriller series, The Perfect Couple, transports viewers to the beachy, breezy coastal town and county of Nantucket, Massachusetts.
While viewers can take in the sights of the series’ filming locations in real life, they may be shocked to discover that the majority of Netflix’s six-episode limited series was filmed in a nearby seaside town.
11
11
11
11
11
The Perfect Couple opens on the eve of a lavish wedding weekend, but things quickly take a turn for the worse after a body washes up on the beach of the Winbury’s home.
Nicole Kidman serves as the family’s matriarch, Greer Garrison Winbury, who, along with her husband Tag, played by Liev Schreiber, is hosting their middle son, Benji’s (Billy Howle), wedding to family outsider Amelia Sacks (Eve Hewson).
The series dives head-first into the family’s drama, but also allows the setting to serve as somewhat of a character itself.
In the show, the Winbury family’s gigantic, beachside estate – dubbed Summerland – is located right on the water in Nantucket.
Read More On Filming Locations
However, in reality, the series mostly filmed in Chatham, a seaside town about 20 miles north of the island.
Sean Gibbons, a location production assistant for the series, said filming in Chatham, which is located at the southeastern tip of Cape Cod, was a deliberate choice, and one of “convenience.”
CAPE COD CAPER
Gibbons cited that filming on Nantucket would have been a logistical nightmare, and would be relatively more expensive due to transportation costs.
Showrunner Jenna Lamia also said that the real-life Winbury estate is located in Chatham, describing the mansion as “wealth that looks like it isn’t trying,” as reported by Tudum.
“That was our home base, and we did enhance it with blue hydrangeas,” she said.
Lamia added that she and fellow producers tried to make the estate look like “absolutely delicious candy.”
Still, despite the sudden location change, Chatham isn’t that much different from Nantucket – and viewers can easily take in some of the series’ filming sites.
The crew filmed in the private Eastward Point neighborhood in Chatham and sought out a Pleasant Bay home for the exteriors of the Winbury’s estate.
The show even filmed in Hyannis Harbor, featuring a few key scenes around the Grey Lady Ferry.
The Ocean Street Docks in Hyannis were included in different episodes in the series, including character arrivals and even one notable attempted departure.
The Perfect Couple: Filming Locations You Can Visit
The Perfect Couple was filmed primarily in Chatham, Massachusetts, a seaside town located on the southeast tip of Cape Cod.
Several of the show’s exterior shots, including aerial shots and B-roll footage, however, were filmed on-site in Nantucket, an island about 30 miles south from Cape Cod.
Viewers can take in some of the sights shown in the six-episode limited series, including:
- Mitchell’s Book Corner – an independent book store in Nantucket
- Brotherhood of Thieves – a restaurant and bar in Nantucket’s Downtown Historic District
- Soldiers and Sailors Civil War Monument – located at the intersection of Main, Milk, and Gardner Streets
- Chatham Beach and Tennis Club – a members-only tennis club in Chatham, overlooking the Chatham Lighthouse
- Eastward Point Beach – a prime beachfront area in Chatham, located near a popular tourist site, Oyster Pond Beach
- Northport Plaza – home to Elwood’s Raw Bars
- Hyannis Harbor – a harbor located in the village of Hyannis Port, and home to the Grey Lady Ferry
Eastward Point Beach and the Chatham Beach and Tennis Club were also used for filming, with eagle-eyed viewers quick to notice Eastward Point as the area where the series’ plot thickens – and a body washes up ashore.
Still, like with all Hollywood productions, a dash of movie magic was needed in some instances.
New signage was placed around Chatham’s downtown streets, shielding existing businesses from appearing on-camera.
The location team also constructed a fake police station facade on a street in Chatham.
The production crew then built sets that posed as an interrogation room and jail cell, which are shown throughout the series’ six episodes.
11
11
11
COAST WITH THE MOST
Susanne Bier, the series’ director, did, however, sprinkle in a few exterior shots of Nantucket into the show.
Mitchell’s Book Corner was featured in the show as a local bookshop featuring Kidman’s character’s latest novel, as was The Brotherhood of Thieves restaurant, depicted in the series as a bar where Kidman’s character reveals secrets to the town’s chief of police.
“Jenna would call and text me all the time with tiny questions about the way Nantucket was referred to,” Elin Hilderbrand, whose book the series is based on, revealed.
To further capture those Nantucket vibes, the show’s cinematographers, Roberto De Angeles and Shane Hurlbut, even captured the island from the sky.
“The aerial was everything to us. We flew a helicopter a mile and a half away from Nantucket and captured the whole island as an essence,” Hurlbut said, as reported by People.
“Roberto and I wanted to see the scope of this island and take in the glamor and the wealth that Nantucket and the Cape are all about,” he added.
And, while Chatham and production sets served as the series’ primary filming locations, Hilderbrand still feels confident that the series’ production team perfectly captured the soul of Nantucket on film.
“I feel confident that anybody on Nantucket, and any of my readers, will get a real sense of the authenticity of Nantucket that comes out in my books,” Hilderbrand added.
11
11
11
