The dance in The Perfect Couple was meant to do more than surprise viewers: director Susanne Bier wanted the opening credits to establish a heightened, playful world for the murder mystery. The routine is set to Meghan Trainor’s “Criminals,” and cast members recalled a mix of nerves, resistance and enthusiasm before finding joy in it.
Why does a murder mystery open with a dance?
The sequence was not originally designed for the credits. Executive producer Gail Berman encouraged the idea of a dance, which was first planned for a nightmare near the beginning of Episode 5. In that scene, Amelia and Merritt discuss the future before Merritt asks who committed the murder; water then pours from her eyes and mouth. The nightmare proved difficult to shoot for practical production reasons, so the team moved the dance idea to the opening credits instead. Netflix’s account says choreographer Charm La’Donna mapped the routine.
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Bier said the credits were a way to place the show in “a very definite space” of heightened reality, where viewers could “have fun and enjoy it.” She also worried that a literal TikTok dance might be out of fashion by the time the series came out, so she wanted a routine without a short “sell-by date.” Showrunner Jenna Lamia said the dance signals that, despite the thriller premise and a death at its center, the series is a fun murder mystery in which viewers will also laugh. Netflix Tudum explains the sequence’s origins and creative intent.
How did the cast react to learning it?
Some were nervous or resistant
Meghann Fahy told Variety, as quoted by Us Weekly, that she had a “really, really huge issue with learning choreography” and was nervous about the routine. Sam Nivola likewise recalled that he and others were intimidated and assumed they could work it out on the day; he said it was harder than expected and credited La’Donna with guiding them.
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Fahy said the mood changed by the end: “The God’s honest truth is that at the end of the day, we were very, very joyful about it.” Her account captures the arc from apprehension to enjoyment without suggesting that every performer felt the same way.
Others were eager, or quickly got comfortable
Liev Schreiber told Extra that he was keen to take part, partly because his children would enjoy seeing him do the TikTok-style dance. In remarks to Variety, quoted by Us Weekly, he joked: “The entire cast had a mutiny about this idea except for me, I was already in my trailer practicing the dance moves.” He said he likes dancing and was disappointed not to be in more of the sequence.
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Eve Hewson told Netflix, “I personally was absolutely thrilled.” Mia Isaac said she learned the routine in 10 minutes and described it as easy, like the Macarena. Ishaan Khatter said music’s major role in Indian film storytelling made the routine feel familiar and comfortable to him. He called seeing Nicole Kidman and Isabelle Adjani do a TikTok dance “kind of like a fever dream.”
Kidman told Extra, “I learned that on the spot,” and noted, “We had Taylor Swift dancers on that beach.” She also told Variety, as quoted by Us Weekly, that she had not thought Greer would dance: “Because I didn’t feel like Greer would dance! I felt like Greer would watch.” Still, she was glad the cast did it because “there’s some joy in it.”
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Extra’s September 6, 2024 interview with Kidman and Schreiber includes their comments about the dance. The Variety remarks above are reported through Us Weekly’s September 12, 2024 roundup, rather than being direct Us Weekly interviews.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.When did they film the dance?
The dance was the final sequence the cast filmed together. Netflix says the cast learned the choreography over a few days at most. Bier joined the flash mob too: her footage appears after the credits at the end of Episode 6. Netflix Tudum’s production account describes both the filming order and where Bier appears.
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- Genre: TV Comedy
- Number of Discs: 20
- Number of Tracks: 0
- Playback Duration: 3005
- Movie Title: The Odd Couple: The Complete Series
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