The Perfect Couple Boss Explains Opening Credits Dance Scene Meaning

6 September 2024, 18:00

By Katie Louise Smith

Why is everyone dancing in The Perfect Couple's opening credits? There's actually a specific meaning behind the dance.

Never mind who killed who... we need to talk about The Perfect Couple's absolutely wild opening credits dance scene.

If you've already tuned into the new Netflix limited series, then you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. At the start of every episode, the entire cast (in character) dances along to Meghan Trainor's 'Criminals' with a fully rehearsed flash-mob routine.

As the cast dance on the beach, the lyrics set the tone for the show: Anything that feels this good / Well, it must be illegal, it must be illegal / So call us criminals, criminals. (One of them does, in fact, become a big juicy criminal at the end of the show.)

The whole routine has now prompted several questions: How do the entire wedding party know this dance? Are the Winbury's big Meghan Trainor fans? Literally why is this the opening credits scene?

Well, it turns out that The Perfect Couple's bizarre opening credits sequence was completely intentional, and intentionally unusual. Here's why...

• Read more: Who Is Broderick Graham In The Perfect Couple? Greer's Secret Explained

Why is everyone dancing in The Perfect Couple opening credits?

The idea to include a big dance routine in each episode's opening credits was all thanks to executive producer Gail Berman, who was inspired by Jenna Ortega's viral Rave'N Dance moment in Wednesday. (Gail was also a producer on that show.)

The Meghan Trainor song was chosen by director Susanne Bier, who thought the repetition of the "Call us criminals, criminals" lyric would prompt audiences to speculate even further about who might be behind the murder of Merritt. And let's face it – it worked. Each episode, viewers are glued to the opening credits waiting to spot hidden easter eggs that may hint at who the killer is. (More on that later...)

The dance routine, choreographed by Charm La’Donna, didn't originally start out as an opening credits thing. Initially, it was meant to be part of a nightmare sequence in episode 5. In the end, it worked out perfectly to set the tone of the entire show.

Showrunner Jenna Lamia told Tudum: "Susanne had this really brilliant thought that if we were to use a dance like that as the opening credits, it would tell people right away that, yes, this is a murder mystery, and yes, it’s a thriller, but you’re also going to have so much fun, so sit back and enjoy the ride.

"It’s really important, I think, that people realize the tone of the show is not The Undoing, or something that Susanne has done before; this is a fun murder mystery. Sure, somebody’s going to be dead, but you’re also going to laugh."

Watch The Perfect Couple trailer

The routine serves as a perfect closer for the series too – and it finally pays off with the easter egg that fans had been trying to spot through the series.

At the end of the final episode, an extended cut of the dance is shown. And as Meghan Trainor sings I'm guilty I confess, the camera finally cuts to the person behind Merritt's murder. But that's a spoiler so... you'll have to head over to our killer explainer to find out.

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