A Dutch thriller based on one of the Netherlands’ best-known bestselling novels has suddenly found a much bigger audience. The Perfect Lie, known locally as De Eetclub, has become an international Netflix success less than a week after its worldwide release on 10 September. 

The seven-part series premiered at number one on Netflix’s non-English TV chart for the week of 7 September, drawing 4.1 million views. That puts a Dutch-language drama based on Saskia Noort’s novel in front of a global audience far beyond its home market. 

What is The Perfect Lie about?

The series follows Karen, played by Loes Haverkort, who moves with her family to Bergen in the Netherlands after leaving behind a difficult period in her career. She and her husband Michel, played by Teun Luijkx, are quickly welcomed into a wealthy social circle built around a dinner club. 

That glamorous new life begins to unravel when the villa belonging to Babette and Evert catches fire and Evert is killed. Karen gradually discovers that the friendships around her are held together by secrets, deception and competing loyalties. 

A Dutch story is travelling far beyond the Netherlands

The international performance is what makes The Perfect Lie particularly interesting. Netflix confirmed that it launched worldwide on 10 September, rather than being restricted to the Dutch market, and its first official weekly ranking immediately placed it at the top of the platform’s non-English TV list. 

That 4.1 million-view debut is also evidence that the series is no longer simply a local adaptation of a familiar Dutch book. Viewers in other markets are discovering the story without necessarily having any previous connection to De Eetclub or Saskia Noort.

Why The Perfect Lie may work internationally

The premise does not depend heavily on viewers understanding Dutch culture before watching. Wealthy friends, marriages under pressure, hidden affairs, a suspicious death and a newcomer gradually uncovering secrets are familiar ingredients in international mystery dramas.

Its Dutch identity is still important, however. Bergen and the wealthy social environment surrounding Karen give the story its own setting, rather than simply reproducing an American or British thriller formula.

The cast behind the Netflix series

Loes Haverkort leads the series as Karen, alongside Teun Luijkx as Michel. The wider dinner club includes Remko Vrijdag as Ivo, Rifka Lodeizen as Hanneke, Charlie-Chan Dagelet as Patricia, Matthijs van de Sande Bakhuyzen as Simon, Noortje Herlaar as Babette and Edwin Jonker as Evert. 

For international viewers, many of those names may be unfamiliar, which makes the Netflix exposure particularly significant. A global release can introduce Dutch actors to audiences who would rarely encounter their work through traditional national television distribution.

The series comes from a major Dutch bestseller

The Perfect Lie is based on Saskia Noort’s novel De Eetclub, published internationally as The Dinner Club. Netflix describes the source material as a bestseller and says the new adaptation was rebuilt specifically for a television format focused on maintaining tension throughout the series. 

Watch the Official Trailer:

Netflix released an official international trailer for The Perfect Lie on 12 August. There is the English and Dutch version available.

The trailer introduces Karen’s arrival in Bergen, the wealthy dinner-club circle and the fire that begins to expose the group’s secrets. 

A promising sign for Dutch television

The most notable part of The Perfect Lie’s launch is not simply that another Dutch drama has reached Netflix. It is how quickly a story rooted in a Dutch bestselling novel has moved into Netflix’s international charts and US entertainment coverage.