I was completely wrong! Turns out, the song, called âCriminals,â is by the one and only Meghan Trainor. The reason I couldnât find it was that it hadn’t been released yet. The song officially dropped on Aug. 16, shortly before the premiere of the show, as part of the deluxe edition of Trainorâs sixth studio album, Timeless.
But why does The Perfect Couple open with a dance routine in the first place? And what is the dance they are doing, exactly? To answer my questions, I turned to Netflix, who was kind enough to bring them to the series director and executive producer herself, Susanne Bier.
Her explanation is both simple and makes perfect sense.
âI thought it was really fun for those characters,â she tells me.
Bier says that in her mind, the backstory for the dance was it was something everyone had practiced the choreography leading up to the day of the rehearsal dinner so they could all dance it together.
Maybe this is something that rich people on Nantucket do? Iâm not sure because Iâve never been to a wedding at a Nantucket mansion (if anyone wants to invite me, Iâm game). But in real life, the dance was choreographed by Charm LaDonna specifically for The Perfect Couple.
âI wanted to create something that the entire cast could enjoy, like a dance you might join in at a party,â the dancer and choreographer tells me. âIt was exciting to create such a light and fun moment to Meghan’s song âCriminalsâ which is such a cool record to dance to. It was a perfect moment for The Perfect Couple.â
For Bier, the lighthearted moment is the perfect encapsulation of the show.
âI wanted to signal for the audience that hey guys, it’s a murder mystery. It has a dark undercurrent but it is really a lot of fun, you should know that this is not going to be homework,â she says. âIt’s not going to be a serious ride, it’s going to be fun, light and bubbly.â
Mystery solved. Now, to watch The Perfect Couple dance another 10,000 times on YouTube.
