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At first glance, Netflix’s latest hit series The Perfect Couple looks like a somewhat typical murder mystery with a cast of wealthy characters rocked by a shocking death in their midst. However, the series’ opening title sequence, complete with a song and dance number set to Meghan Trainor’s “Criminals,” insists that this show is going to be a little different than what you might expect.
“I think I felt that I want to do something where we are telling the audience, ‘This is going to be fun,’” series director Susanne Bier told Variety about the dance ahead of the premiere. “I feel this time [period] is a little bit gloomy and I felt I wanted to do something which had a lot of life and a lot of fun. And I wanted to see all the characters having fun.”
Apparently the cast didn’t necessarily feel the same way about inserting a seemingly random dance number into the series, going so far as to create a WhatsApp group chat to try and get the dance scrapped entirely. Per Variety, Liev Schreiber was the only main cast member who was all in on the dance number from the beginning and didn’t join in on the chat thread.
But despite the initial reluctance, it turns out that Bier was right about the dance number being the life and fun the show needed. “The God’s honest truth is that at the end of the day, we were very, very joyful about it. We all sort of ended up giving in to it,” series actor Meghann Fahy admitted. “It was so fun and I actually weirdly think it’s amazing.”
The Perfect Couple isn’t the first time a show has decided to insert a well-choreographed opening number into its opening title sequence. Peacemaker did the same thing a couple years ago, with series creator James Gunn wanting to encourage people not to hit the ‘skip credits’ button. “I thought it was something that would, you know, be a signpost for people that this isn’t just your normal DC or Marvel TV show,” Gunn told Polygon.
There’s nothing wrong with serious shows staying serious, of course, but there’s also something to be said about a creator not taking their project too seriously. It shows that they have enough faith in their work to be able to have a little fun with it. That they trust in their viewers to be able to handle the light and the dark in tandem.
Musical numbers might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s hard to deny how infectious they can be. Watching other people dance along to a catchy tune episode after episode encourages us to join in and be a part of it from our living rooms, bedrooms, or wherever we’re watching. Musical numbers like those found in the opening sequences of The Perfect Couple and Peacemaker encourage us not to take ourselves too seriously either and let loose a little, no matter what we’re facing in life.
There have been plenty of television shows that have dabbled with song and dance numbers through musical episodes here and there, but few have the dedication to commit to a zany and fun opening dance number that plays before every single episode. More TV shows should take notes from The Perfect Couple and Peacemaker and choreograph an opening dance sequence. Bier is spot on about needing more fun in our lives and our entertainment, and what better way to do so than through an opening musical number in a non-musical show.
The post More TV Shows Should Open With a Little Song and Dance Number appeared first on Den of Geek.
