Nicole Kidman’s new Netflix series, The Perfect Couple, has made several notable adaptations from its source material, including a significant change driven by one of Kidman's most iconic roles. The series, which premiered on September 4, has altered the name of a key character from the novel by Elin Hilderbrand.
In the series, Eve Hewson portrays Amelia, whereas the character is named Celeste in Hilderbrand's book. Showrunner Jenna Lamia revealed that the name change was made to avoid confusion with Kidman’s character named Celeste in HBO’s Big Little Lies. This decision was part of broader adjustments made during the series' development process.
Lamia explained to The Hollywood Reporter, “It was a five-year development process for various reasons, so it did go through a lot of different forms, and it was closer to the book early on. Then, this wonderful director Susanne Bier came on, and her influence shifted some things. When we had cast attached, that shifted some things too.” The name change was one of the smaller tweaks aimed at differentiating the new adaptation from Kidman’s previous work.
Hilderbrand, while acknowledging the changes, supported Lamia's creative decisions, emphasizing the goal was to create compelling television. “I wanted them to make the best possible television show. I wasn’t worried about how they changed the book,” Hilderbrand stated. “I do not feel precious about this. People can read the book later or before; it’ll be a different experience because it is a little bit different.”
The series stars Nicole Kidman as Greer, a novelist whose meticulously planned son’s wedding is disrupted when a body is discovered on a beach on the morning of the ceremony. Hewson’s Amelia is introduced as Greer’s soon-to-be daughter-in-law. The cast also features Billy Howle as Greer’s son, along with Dakota Fanning, Meghann Fahy, Jack Reynor, Ishaan Khatter, and Isabelle Adjani.
