Your support helps us to tell the story
In my reporting on women's reproductive rights, I've witnessed the critical role that independent journalism plays in protecting freedoms and informing the public.
Your support allows us to keep these vital issues in the spotlight. Without your help, we wouldn't be able to fight for truth and justice.
Every contribution ensures that we can continue to report on the stories that impact lives
Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
Netflix users are praising the opening titles of new series The Perfect Couple that the cast really didn’t want to do.
On Thursday (6 September), the streaming service released a brand new murder mystery starring Nicole Kidman as a member of a wedding party who becomes a suspect after a body is discovered hours before the ceremony is due to start.
The six-part series, which is adapted from Elin Hilderbrand’s best-selling novel and directed by The Night Manager’s Susanne Bier, has received middling reviews from critics, with The Independent calling the whodunit “as daft as it is derivative”.
But many are enjoying the film’s opening credits sequence, which sees the entire cast – including Kidman, who mourned the death of her mother after winning Best Actress at Venice Film Festival on Saturday (7 September), Liev Schreiber, Dakota Fanning and The White Lotus’s Meghann Fahy – perform a synchronised dance to Meghan Trainor song “Criminals”.
While the cast look like they’re having the time of their life in the sequence, they weren’t initially happy when Bier explained her idea to them. In fact, they “had a mutiny” and set up a WhatsApp group in an attempt to overthrow their director.
“Everyone was on that group saying they didn’t want to do this because we just didn’t understand,” Fahy told Variety, adding: “I actually have a really, really huge issue with learning choreography so I was very nervous about it.”
Kidman, who plays matriarch Greer, said: “I didn’t feel like Greer would dance. I felt like Greer would watch.”
Meanwhile, Ishaan Khatter, who plays Shooter, said: “I don’t think any of us could make sense of doing this choreography in character. We’re like, ‘Wait, where does this fit into the scheme of things? This was not part of the assignment.”
The only actor who was immediately on board was Schreiber, who said: “The entire cast had a mutiny about this idea except for me. I was already in my trailer practicing the dance moves.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
“I just like dancing and I was kinda disappointed when it came out that I’m not in it more, because I thought I did it really well.”
Explaining her vision for the credits sequence, Bier told the outlet: “I think I felt that I want to do something where we are telling the audience ‘This is going to be fun.’ I feel this time is a little bit gloomy and I felt I wanted to do something which had a lot of life.”
The Perfect Couple is available to stream on Netflix now.
