The perfect couple caused a stir among fans after its Netflix debut – but how does the TV adaptation compare to the book?

Warning: This story contains spoilers about the plot of The perfect couple.

The six-part miniseries, which premiered on Thursday, September 5, is based on the Elin Hilderbrands book of the same name. The perfect couple follows the story of a bride named Amelia (Eve Hewson) is preparing to marry into one of Nantucket’s richest families. Things take a turn when a dead body turns up on the beach and all the wedding guests fall under suspicion.

While the Netflix version stuck closely to the book synopsis, there were several major changes, from the names of the characters to the actual sequence of events of the murder. The revelation that Abby (Dakota Fanning) was to blame for Merritt’s (Meghan Fahy) Death remained the same, but there were more nuances on the screen.

In addition to Hewson, Fahy and Fanning, the main cast also included Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Ishaan Khattar, Billy Howle And Jack Reynolds.

Keep scrolling to learn the key differences between the show and Hilderbrand’s version:

Introduction of new names for the characters

Fans of Hilderbrand’s novel may need a second to catch up, as there are several major name changes in the TV version. Hewson’s character Amelia Sacks plays a central role in the Netflix adaptation – but she’s actually Celeste Otis from the book. Her lover Shooter, played by Khattar, is Michael Oscar “Shooter” Uxley on the pages, while on screen he’s simply Shooter Dival.

Another character that needs clarification is the family friend Isabel (Isabelle Adjani) also known as Featherleigh Dale from the novel.

Minor name changes include characters from the series: Detective Nikki Henry (Donna Lynne Champlin) and Police Chief Dan Carter (Michael Beach).

The timeline of the romance between Amelia and Shooter

In Hilderbrand’s version, the romance between Amelia and Shooter was much further along before they called it quits. They fell in love while Amelia was dating Benji (Howle), but her mother’s declining health forced her to withdraw from Shooter.

However, the TV show hinted at a friendly meet-cute between Amelia and Shooter on the subway before she met Benji. Amelia and Shooter became close again – initially without remembering their first meeting – when she started dating Benji, but did not talk about their past until their wedding weekend. The couple briefly acted on their feelings for each other, but did not pursue a future together.

Both the book and the show left things open enough that it’s conceivable that Amelia and Shooter could officially date in the future.

Details of Tag and Merritt’s affair

Tag (Schreiber) and Merritt’s affair was only a weeks-old development in the crime novel, while the Netflix version showed them in flashbacks starting a relationship a year earlier. Their secret romance also seemed more serious onscreen, with Tag buying Merritt an expensive bracelet before her death.

The TV adaptation also seemed to try to make Merritt more likable to audiences. Amelia explained that she was much less boy-crazy than she came across because Merritt didn’t actually sleep with most men. Another departure from the book was that Merritt told Amelia on the show that she was pregnant – and that didn’t happen on paper.

Shooter’s Secret on the wedding weekend

After Merritt’s body was found in both the book and the series, Shooter became a person of interest. However, the sequence of events was quite different, as in the book, Shooter had been missing since the night of Merritt’s murder. He was dodging questions because he planned to elope with Amelia on the morning of her wedding. Shooter was waiting for Amelia at the dock when she went to meet him – and that’s how she discovered Merritt’s body.

In the series, Shooter was portrayed as guilty of a wire transfer to Greer (Kidman). Shooter had no idea why he was giving Greer the money, he just wanted to help her because he cared about the Winbury family.

How the investigation is carried out

Authorities determined that Merritt’s drink was laced with a barbiturate – which contributed to her death – but without the glass, they ruled the incident an accident. In the aftermath, Amelia ended her relationship with Benii and everyone seemed to move on. It was only when Greer realized that her own powerful tranquilizers were missing that she connected with Abby. However, she never betrayed her daughter-in-law because she wanted to protect the family.

In the Netflix version of the story, Tag is accused of killing Merritt and Greer is one of the prime suspects. They are both acquitted and then their eldest son Thomas (Reynor) is brought in, but he only admits to having the barbiturate. The investigator on the case eventually realized that Abby had the most to lose because Merritt was pregnant and that was why she killed her. Abby is arrested days after Merritt’s murder.

The motive behind the crime

An interesting change between book and screen is that Abby is no longer an oil heiress. With no wealth of her own to fall back on, Abby is forced to rely on Thomas to support the family (instead, he falls into debt). The terms of the Winbury trust stated that everyone would receive their share of the money once Tag’s youngest child turned 18. Merritt’s child with Tag would extend the time by nearly two more decades, something Abby could not accept.

This prompted Abby to spike Merritt’s drink before drowning her. In the novel, Greer overheard Abby discussing Thomas’ affair with Isabel. Jealousy drove Abby to steal pills to give to Isabel so she couldn’t sleep with Thomas.

The context behind the drugs in Merritt’s system

The pill found in Merritt’s body was linked to Greer in the book. In the TV version, Amelia’s mother was battling cancer and had the drug as a possible euthanasia option, which Thomas took before it ended up in Merritt’s drink.

Whether Merritt was murdered – or died in an accident

According to the final scene of the book, Merritt was alone when she died. She had an argument with Tag, cut her foot on a piece of glass on the beach, and went into the water to wash off the injury. She jumped into the ocean to get a ring, but the sedative caused her to pass out and accidentally drown.

Rather than leaning towards a random approach, the show portrayed Merritt’s death as intentional on Abby’s part.

Greer’s backstory plays a role in the investigation

The miniseries took the time to delve deeper into Greer’s story, even though she wasn’t the one responsible for Merritt’s death. At first, it seemed like Greer had harmed Merritt because of her affair with Tag. The theory was that she had hired a hitman because someone named Broderick Graham kept calling – and he conveniently had ties to organized crime.

It wasn’t until Greer was charged with murder that she revealed that Broderick was her secret brother. He was blackmailing her to get money for her gambling debts, so she borrowed a large sum from Shooter. Greer used this revelation as an opportunity to tell her family how she met Tag while working as an escort.

Netflix The perfect couple allowed Greer to change the ending of her story by moving on from Tag. She left him to pursue her successful writing career. In the show’s epilogue, Greer found Amelia in London and shared her next book with her. The fictional novel seemed to be based on their shared experiences – and that opened a door for them to stay in touch in the future.