The Perfect Couple
The Perfect Couple is a mystery crime drama miniseries released on Netflix, based on Elin Hilderbrand's novel. The story centers on a seemingly idyllic Nantucket wedding that quickly devolves into chaos when a murder occurs, turning every guest into a suspect. The series explores themes of love, betrayal, family secrets, and the darker side of privilege as the police investigate the murder and hidden truths come to light. Aimed at mature audiences, the show is characterized by its suspenseful plot and complex character relationships.
Concerns
Romance and Sexual Content
HighRomance and sexual themes are highly prevalent and central to the plot, featuring frequent passionate kissing, suggestive comments, implied sexual acts without explicit nudity, and extensive themes of infidelity and extramarital affairs.
Infidelity is a recurring and central theme, involving multiple affairs such as an older man with younger women and a younger man with an older French woman. In one scene, a young man emerges shirtless from beneath sheets, implying oral sex. Amelia and Benji are shown making out in their underwear and beginning to get intimate, and other opposite-sex couples have implied intimate scenes without explicit nudity.
Profanity
HighThe series features frequent and strong offensive language throughout, including prevalent use of high-intensity curse words in both casual dialogue and confrontational arguments.
There is frequent use of offensive language, including words like 'f*ck,' 'd*ck,' 'sh*t,' and 'sl*t,' used in arguments such as a boy yelling at his father. The first episode alone contains over 15 uses of the f-word, four uses of the b-word, two uses of the s-word, and profanities like 'GD' and 'OMG,' and 'Jesus' used as an expletive.
Substance Use
HighSubstance use is frequent and explicitly depicted, ranging from excessive alcohol consumption and marijuana smoking to the dangerous misuse of prescription drugs, which is linked to the central murder.
A character engages in 'Prescription Roulette,' stealing and mixing various prescription drugs, with one character seen swallowing a pill and another crushing a pill to slip into someone's drink. Tag Winbury frequently smokes marijuana, shares it with his son, and mentions using it as a painkiller, while other characters continuously drink alcohol, often to excess.
Disrespect & Rebellion
HighHigh levels of disrespect and rebellion are consistently present through verbal abuse, condescending attitudes, and antagonistic family dynamics. Characters frequently demean and challenge each other and authority figures.
The Winbury family is characterized by constant verbal abuse among its members. Greer Garrison Winbury frequently 'savag[es] the bride behind her back,' demonstrating significant disrespect towards Amelia. Tom Winbury bullies his younger brothers and acts crudely towards most characters, including his pregnant wife, and the family collectively displays condescending behavior towards less affluent individuals.
Violence
MediumThe series revolves around a central murder mystery involving the death of a character. While graphic gore is minimal, the act of murder is depicted or implied, including drowning and a stabbing, along with intense verbal abuse among family members.
The climactic death scene shows a character forcing the victim's head underwater after secretly administering a crushed prescription drug, with flashbacks featuring screaming and ominous water sounds. A dead body is later seen floating face down in the water, and the victim is revealed to have been stabbed with an oyster shucker, though with minimal blood shown.
Scary & Intense Content
MediumThe series contains significant scary and intense content driven by its murder mystery plot, suspenseful situations, and exploration of dark family secrets and betrayals, including depictions of drowning and implied violence.
The central plot involves a murder mystery, with the climactic death scene depicting a character forcing the victim's head underwater, accompanied by flashbacks with screaming and ominous water sounds. The narrative builds psychological tension around uncovering the complex web of lies, infidelity, and hidden motives among the wealthy Winbury family.
LGBTQ & Gender Identity
LowWhile the source novel implies a character, Bruce, to be a closeted gay man struggling with his identity, the television series adaptation made changes to characters, and there is no confirmed explicit LGBTQ representation or themes present in the TV series based on available reviews. The show primarily focuses on heterosexual relationships and infidelities.
In the original novel, Celeste's father, Bruce, is implied to be a closeted gay man, confessing to Tag about having had feelings for a man named Robin, which he misgenders to Tag. Bruce states, 'I had spent my entire life feeling like one person and then suddenly I felt like someone else.' However, sources indicate that character aspects were changed during the adaptation for the TV series, and this specific storyline is not confirmed to be present in the show.
Witchcraft & Occult
LowNo instances or themes related to witchcraft, sorcery, occult practices, magic rituals, demons, spells, or other supernatural elements were identified in the content analysis of the TV series.
No specific examples of witchcraft or occult themes are present in the series based on available information.
Anti-Christian Themes
LowNo explicit anti-Christian themes, mockery of beliefs, or sacrilegious acts were found. The only relevant mentions are the use of 'Jesus' and 'GD' as expletives, which are categorized under profanity rather than direct anti-Christian sentiment.
The series includes instances where characters use 'Jesus' and 'GD' as expletives. No other explicit anti-Christian content was identified in the analyzed sources.
Other Notes
Target Demographic
18+ (Adults) due to frequent strong language, pervasive themes of infidelity and implied sexual content, high levels of substance use including prescription drug misuse, and intense mature themes revolving around murder, betrayal, and dysfunctional family dynamics. The TV-MA rating from Netflix for language and substances, alongside the depth of adult themes, makes it unsuitable for younger viewers and even many teenagers.
Additional Notes
The series is a limited miniseries, meaning content escalation across seasons or sequels is not applicable. Viewers should be aware that the primary driver of the plot involves uncovering deep-seated family secrets and crimes, which inherently involves mature and often dark subject matter.
Related Reviews
Is The Perfect Couple right for your family?
These concerns are a starting point — what many Christian parents care about. Want to screen for other themes? Define your own concerns.
Screen any book, movie, or show — even titles no one else has reviewed.
“StoryScanner gives us clarity and confidence. It's become our go-to for checking books at the library and movies on family night.”
— Cristi & Brian, Dallas TX
“StoryScanner has been such a BLESSING for researching books for our children. You can set filters for your concerns, enter a book title, and it lets you know what's present.”
— Christian Book Reviews for Families (Facebook)
No credit card required