Garbage turned out to be gold for Prime Video’s “Elle.” The band’s 1995 hit “Only Happy When It Rains” serves as the theme song for the “Legally Blonde” prequel series, though it took a minute for the show’s producers to land on the alt-rock classic.
“Well, it’s a long story,” executive producer Lauren Neustadter tells TVLine. “But let’s just say that [co-showrunner Caroline Dries] and I had a very similar idea as we were trying [to choose].” It was a hard one to crack. We actually had played a lot of different songs against that gorgeous animated picture that we have.”
As Neustadter explains, Amazon “wanted to do a bit of a saga sell for our titles,” where the viewers are reminded of Elle’s journey from Bel-Air to Seattle in every episode. (You know, assuming you don’t hit the “Skip Intro” button every time.)
“The song had to be perfect, and we tried on a number of them, but nothing felt quite right,” she adds. “And then ‘Only Happy When It Rains’ was the perfect song, and we sort of came to that in different ways on the same day in a Zoom.”
The lyrics of Elle’s theme song are more appropriate than you may realize
We may not have been on that fateful Zoom with the producers, but we have to admit, “Only Happy When It Rains” is a pretty fitting theme song for “Elle” on multiple levels.
On the surface, the Garbage song’s lyrics fit the basic juxtaposition of Elle — with her sunny disposition and hot pink umbrella — against the rainy, colorless backdrop of Seattle, her new home whether she likes it or not. If you’ve worked your way through even a handful of the first season’s eight episodes, you’ll know that the people of Seattle pour plenty of their misery down on Elle. And if the lyric “I’m only happy when it’s complicated” doesn’t describe Elle’s most toxic trait to a tee, we don’t know what does.
Let’s take it a step further, shall we? As the season progresses, and Elle begins to develop a fondness for Seattle and its eccentric residents, the lyrics become even more appropriate: her true happiness is in Seattle, not Bel-Air. She’s quite literally only happy when it rains! (Without giving too much away, let’s just say that Elle also enjoys a memorable romantic moment during a torrential downpour.)
What do you think of the “Elle” producers choice of a theme song? And what are your thoughts on the “Legally Blonde” prequel overall? Grade it in the poll below, then drop a comment with your full review.
