The Perfect Couple ★★★★
Netflix

This murder mystery ticks many prestige television boxes, starting with Nicole Kidman taking top billing, an esteemed supporting cast, and a twisty plot about a young woman developing doubts about the privileged American family she’s marrying into. But these six episodes beat with a trashy heart and The Perfect Couple delivers outrageous retorts and a wildly escalating plot with a knowing wink. Everyone involved is in on it, and the result is a succinct success – social commentary lags way behind sardonic revelations.

The setting is Summerland, the Nantucket summer home of the Winbury clan. Matriarch Greer Garrison Winbury (Kidman), is a successful crime novelist with a snooty mid-Atlantic accent, while her old money husband Tag (Liev Schreiber) is permanently stoned. The occasion is the wedding of their son, Benji (Billy Howle) to humble wage-earner Amelia Sacks (Eve Hewson). It’s all pastel summer suits, immaculate catering, and sly digs at the rehearsal dinner. Then a guest’s body washes up on the beach the next morning.

Adapted by Jenna Lamia (Good Girls) from Elin Hilderbrand’s 2018 novel of the same name, The Perfect Couple has a tart energy and an understanding of how bitterness curdles. The extended Winbury clan love to dish – Benji’s older brother, Thomas (Jack Reynor) is a full-blown finance bro, while his pregnant wife, Abby (Dakota Fanning), smiles sweetly and drips acid. Isabelle Adjani turns up as Greer’s friend Isabel, who is extremely French – casual affairs, home truths delivered with a disdainful shrug, and a dislike of American wine.

What makes the show such an easy pleasure is that it leans into the chaos without ever toppling over. There’s a solid double act between the investigators – local sheriff Dan Carter (Michael Beach) and a hard-nosed Boston homicide detective, Nikki Henry (Donna Lynne Champlin) – that moves the procedural along with ease, while the story is grounded in Amelia’s realisation that marrying Benji brings some worrying baggage. One clue is Greer’s insistence that Amelia sign a non-disclosure agreement while she’s still in shock.

The actors know how to deepen these florid dynamics. The more Kidman coolly tilts her head, the icier Greer’s judgement is. The story keeps offering up new revelations, and director Susanne Bier (The Night Manager) stays just on the right side of soap opera contrivance as the juicy flashbacks add up. A mystery man named Broderick Graham turns up seeking Greer; totally par for the course in this limited series. My recommendation is to embrace it all, particularly a fraught family and friends dinner that’s a rollercoaster of excruciating laughs. Bravo!

Revealed: Killjoy ★★★½
Stan

Kathryn Joy was three months old when their father shot their mother dead. Now they’re a 39-year-old researcher and advocate examining family violence and child bereavement. The journey between those two points is charted in this feature-length Australian documentary, which recounts the circumstances that led to Joy losing their mother, Carolyn Stuckey, and the painful journey towards discovery and then healing that ensued. The tone reflects the understanding gained: deeply felt, and intent on addressing the incomprehensible.