“The Perfect Couple” could be coming back for Season 2 — with a brand-new story and an entirely new cast.
Variety has learned from sources that Netflix is developing a second season of the hit series, this time based on Elin Hilderbrand’s novel Swan Song. Because the book features a completely different plot and set of characters from The Perfect Couple — which was also adapted from a Hilderbrand novel — the plan is reportedly to take the show in an anthology direction, telling standalone stories within the same overall universe.
Joanna Calo is attached to write, executive produce, and serve as showrunner for the new season, which has not yet been officially greenlit. Season 1 star Nicole Kidman will return as an executive producer for Blossom Films, alongside Per Saari, Gail Berman, Shawn Levy, Susanne Bier, and Hend Baghdady, who are also set to executive produce. A Netflix representative declined to comment.
Like The Perfect Couple, Swan Song is also set in Nantucket. But instead of the Winbury family, the story centers on the mysterious Richardson family. According to the novel’s official description:
“Chief of Police Ed Kapenash is nearing retirement. Blond Sharon is going through a divorce. But when a $22 million summer home is purchased by the mysterious Richardson family — how did they make their money, exactly? — Ed, Sharon, and everyone else in the community are pulled into a whirlwind of high drama. The Richardsons throw lavish parties, flirt with multiple locals, flaunt their wealth with not one but two yachts, and give everyone they meet false hope. When their house burns down and their most essential employee goes missing, the entire island is thrown into chaos.”
At this point, there is no official word on casting for the new season. It is worth noting, however, that Kapenash was renamed Dan Carter in The Perfect Couple adaptation and was played by Michael Beach. It remains unclear whether that character will return in the new installment.
Expanding the world of The Perfect Couple is hardly surprising given how popular the series was right out of the gate. The show spent six weeks in Netflix’s Top 10 English-language TV rankings and also topped Nielsen’s streaming Top 10 chart when it premiered.
Alongside Kidman, Season 1 starred Liev Schreiber, Eve Hewson, Billy Howle, Meghann Fahy, Donna Lynne Champlin, Jack Reynor, Dakota Fanning, and more.
Calo is no stranger to Netflix, having previously worked on several of the platform’s acclaimed titles, including Beef, BoJack Horseman, and The Baby-Sitters Club. Beef is currently gearing up for its second season. She is also co-showrunner and an executive producer on FX/Hulu’s hit series The Bear, which is now heading into Season 4.
Calo is represented by WME, Mosaic, and McKuin Frankel Whitehead.
