Where was “The Perfect Couple” filmed? All about the real filming locations

The idyllic The seaside oasis exists and it’s on full display in Netflix’s mystery drama The perfect couple.

Based on Elin Hilderbrand’s novel of the same name, the six-part series, starring Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber, centers on the wealthy and picture-perfect Windbury family. But when a body is found at the family’s historic seaside estate, Summerland, they suddenly find themselves at the center of a murder investigation that could reveal all their secrets.

In addition to its captivating side of a thriller set in the middle of wedding celebrations, The perfect couple is also set in a picturesque setting, which makes the murder even more disorienting.

In Hilderbrand’s signature style, the 2018 book is set in Nantucket, Massachusetts, but that wasn’t the only destination visited when the bestseller was adapted for the small screen. That said, the author assured Boston.com in June 2024 that the limited series has an “authentic Cape and island feel.”

So where is The perfect couple Filmed? Here’s everything you need to know about the real locations in the series.

Was The perfect couple filmed in Nantucket?

The majority of The perfect couple The film was not shot on Nantucket, although Hilderbrand used the island as the setting for the book.

However, in September 2023, Liliana Kondracki, the venue manager of The perfect coupleand a crew of about 50 people shot footage on Nantucket from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

They captured B-roll of a car driving past Mitchell’s Book Corner, the Brotherhood of Thieves restaurant and the Soldiers and Sailors Civil War Monument on Main Street — all three locations were decorated for the Fourth of July, according to Nantucket Current.

Speaking to the Motion Picture Association’s online magazine The Credits in September 2024, cinematographer Shane Hurlbut shared what it was like working with director Susanne Bier and fellow cinematographer Roberto De Angeles.

According to Hurlbut, Bier gave him and De Angeles carte blanche to design the show as long as they kept her vision. “This idea of ​​a rich, sunny, wealthy Fourth of July in the Cape. She described it as a ‘popcorn suspense thriller,’” he recalls.

The two cinematographers made several decisions, including when to shoot outdoors. Given the intensity of the series’ plot, they used the location as another character to amplify the plots and emotions.

“We deliberately didn’t shoot at night because we thought it was the script and the actors that were going to bring the darkness, the drama, the suspense and the skeletons in the closet,” he explained. “We wanted to have a bright, airy, beautifully sunlit image and show you Nantucket like you’ve never seen it before.”

To bring it all together, Hurlbut and De Angeles captured the island from the sky.

“The aerial view was essential for us. We flew a helicopter within a mile of Nantucket and captured the entire island in its essence,” Hurlbut added. “Roberto and I wanted to see the expanse of this island and capture the glamour and wealth that Nantucket and the Cape represent.”

Where was The perfect couple filmed?

The perfect couple was largely filmed in the seaside town of Chatham, located at the tip of Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

While the scenic shots were taken on Nantucket, several locations in Chatham were the setting for key moments, including Eastward Point. The Chatham neighborhood served as the backdrop for the series, with its single-family homes and private beaches on Pleasant Bay, according to The Cape Cod Times.

Additionally, the production was filmed at the historic Chatham Beach and Tennis Club, located in Lighthouse Beach, as seen in one of the trailers for The perfect couple.

The team also transformed Northport Plaza, now home to Elwood’s Raw Bars, into the Nantucket Police Department. Netflix built an interrogation room and jail cell in the basement, which Elwood co-owner David Eldredge hoped they would leave behind but didn’t.

“They took everything,” he said. Cape Cod Chronicleexplaining that he wanted to transform the plateau into an exclusive dining space.

Is Summerland in a real place?

Summerland is not a real place, but the house seen in The perfect couple seems to be.

So far, there are only a few details available about the Massachusetts home where the limited series was filmed.

According to Cape Cod Chronicle, The perfect couple was filmed on a waterfront property in Chatham’s Eastward Point neighborhood.

In an interview with Netflix’s Tudum, showrunner Jenna Lamia confirmed that the real Winbury estate is located in Chatham.

“That was our base and we embellished it with blue hydrangeas,” she explained.

Why does Elin Hilderbrand set her books in Nantucket?

Over the course of his two-decade career, Hilderbrand has written nearly 30 books set off the Massachusetts coast, starting with the original.

In a May 2020 interview, the writer spoke about her summers in Brewster, Massachusetts, where she and her family would rent a cottage every July and spend their days at the beach, grilling, and playing mini-golf. She told the outlet it was one of the “happiest times” of her life.

Sadly, Hilderbrand’s father passed away when she was 16, and the tradition came to an abrupt end. Still, she vowed to one day return to the beach.

After graduating from college in Maryland and moving to New York to teach English, Hilderbrand began spending her summer vacations on Nantucket. Eventually, she decided to move there permanently in 1994, and six years later, she published her first book, The Beach Club.