Meghan Trainor soundtracks The Perfect Couple's catchy opening dance sequence

These days, television shows rarely have a theme song or even a memorable opening title sequence. If we're lucky, we get the show's title on the screen for a split second with an instrumental song. Maybe the title simply just displays on screen as the episode opens or after a cold open. Unfortunately, theme songs with clips of the cast and their names are mostly a relic of the past.

However, there's one thing Netflix's The Perfect Couple does right and it's deploy a theme song and an extended opening title sequence. Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor's song "Criminals," from the deluxe edition of her 2024 album Timeless, acts as the limited series' theme song for all six episodes. It's the centerpiece of the cast's dance sequence.

According to Netflix's Tudum, executive producer Gail Berman, who also worked as a producer on Netflix Emmy-nominated hit series Wednesday, was the mastermind of the opening title sequence. Having experience with a dance number that's gone viral, the idea of having The Perfect Couple cast dance to "Criminals" was a way to set the tone for the playful murder mystery.

Watch the cast dance to "Criminals" in the opening sequence below!

While first intended to serve as a "nightmare" sequence in episode 5, logistical problems allowed the creative team to pivot and that's how the dance number ultimately became the opening. The fifth episode is already packed with memorable moments, including Tag's own musical number, so it makes sense in hindsight not to overstuff the penultimate with another big set piece.

Jenna Lamia, the series' showrunner and writer, told Tudum the concept of the dance was to bring some fun to the series and to make sure the audience knew that tonally, this isn't your average thriller limited series. By playfully bopping along to a catchy pop song that says, "Anything that feels this good, well, it must be illegal," and other unserious nods to crime, the characters all look guilty.

Here's how Lamia explains the "Criminals" dance number:

"Susanne [Brier, the director] 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."

- Jenna Lamia, showrunner

Megahnn Fahy, who plays Merritt Monaco in The Perfect Couple, told Tudum that the opening sequence was one of the aspects of the show she was "most excited" for people to watch. The Emmy-nominated star of The White Lotus said, "We were all a little bit nervous about it, and then we ended up having so much fun." It's apparent when watching how much fun they were all having!

In all honesty, the first time you watch the opening dance number, it's a bit jarring. You're not expecting this kind of limited series to have that kind of opening or theme song (or even have one at all). And you're also not expecting the opening to play at the beginning of every episode. It's a pleasant surprise that sticks with you throughout the entire binge-watch. I dare you not to get the song stuck in your head.

Trainor released "Criminals" in August 2024 along with additional bonus tracks added to the deluxe version of her sixth album Timeless, which was originally released in June. According to Genius, "Criminals" was intended to release in 2018 with the original version of her third album Treat Myself, which was postponed and not released until January 2020 — without the song on its tracklist. Trainor wrote "Criminals" with Tyler Johnson and Josh Kear and her brother Justin produced the 2024 version.

Listen to Meghan Trainor's song "Criminals" in the video below or wherever you stream or purchase your music!

Watch The Perfect Couple only on Netflix.