Every Song in The Beast in Me Season 1: The Ultimate Netflix Soundtrack Guide

Netflix has a new psychological thriller, The Beast in Me, and it treats music like a scalpel. Created by Gabe Rotte, the show leans hard on needle drops that actually mean something, plus an original score that keeps the tension coiled tight. One oddity up front: it’s described as an eight-episode series, yet some cues land in what’s labeled Episode 10. Make of that what you will.

The vibe

This is a carefully curated mix: classic rock, mid-century pop, and straight-up Christmas staples, all used to twist the knife at just the right moment. On top of the songs, the original score by Sean Callery, Tim Callobre, and Sara Barone does the heavy lifting on the paranoia and dread. It’s an eclectic soundtrack that’s going to live on a lot of playlists.

The songs and where they drop

• Let 'Em In - Wings (Episode 1: Sick Puppy)
  Plays over the end credits after Aggie (Claire Danes) hears from Shelley that Teddy apparently died by suicide. It loops back to her earlier conversation with Nile about Teddy — the man who killed her son, Cooper. A 1976 hit off Wings at the Speed of Sound.
• Wave of Mutilation - Pixies (Episode 2: Just Don’t Want to Be Lonely)
  Opens the episode and closes it. The 1989 Doolittle track, written by Black Francis, fits the aftermath of Teddy Fenig drowning in the ocean. Francis has said the song was sparked by stories of Japanese businessmen committing murder-suicides with their families, driving off piers into the sea (as reported by Far Out Magazine).
• Tonight You Belong to Me - Patience & Prudence (Episode 4: Thanatos)
  The scene-setter for the final sequence before credits, as Nile (Matthew Rhys) unexpectedly shows up at Aggie’s and the two start drinking. The song was written by Billy Rose and Lee David, first recorded in 1926 by Irving Kaufman, but the show uses the sweetly eerie 1956 Patience & Prudence cover.
• Psycho Killer - Talking Heads (Episode 5: Bacchanal)
  Drops during a conversation between Aggie and Nile — and he’s the one who plays it, which is… pointed. For years people tied it to Son of Sam, but that origin story isn’t quite right.
• Let's Dance - David Bowie (Episode 5: Bacchanal)
  Rolls over the end credits right after Nile kills FBI agent Brian Abbott (David Lyons), uses Abbott’s phone to warn Aggie to keep the evidence against him to herself, then pitches the phone into the water. Title track from Bowie’s 1983 album.
• Feliz Navidad - Jose Feliciano (Episode 7: Ghosts)
  A cheerful needle drop in a not-so-cheerful context: the December 2019 gallery party hosted by Nile and Madison, the same night Brian Abbott arrests Pedro.
• Holiday Dreaming - Molly Burch (Episode 7: Ghosts)
  Another seasonal cut woven into Nile and Madison’s gallery party sequence.
• Funky Little Drummer Boy - Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings (Episode 7: Ghosts)
  Also in the gallery party run. It’s a funk-forward spin on The Little Drummer Boy, originally written by Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941.
• I'll Be Home for Christmas - Doris Day (Episode 7: Ghosts)
  Plays in the final moments as Aggie watches news coverage of Madison’s disappearance, then curls up with Shelley and Cooper in the December 2019 flashback. From The Doris Day Christmas Album (1964).
• Death of a Clown - The Kinks (Series finale: The Last Word)
  Closes the series as Nina (Brittany Snow) holds her son and you can see the fear flicker — is he going to inherit Nile’s worst traits? Originally released in 1967 as Dave Davies’ debut solo single; Davies is The Kinks’ lead guitarist.
• Pulled Up - Talking Heads (placement unconfirmed)
  Listed as used in the show by WhatSong, but its exact scene is hard to pin down.
• The Lion Sleeps Tonight - The Tokens (placement unconfirmed)
  Also cited by WhatSong; exact usage not clearly identified.
• Jambo Bwana - Safari Sound (placement unconfirmed)
  Another WhatSong entry with no easy timestamp in the episodes.
• The Meaning - Not Ryan (placement unconfirmed)
  WhatSong lists it; on-screen placement remains fuzzy.

"Alice Cooper was like the springboard for Psycho Killer."

That clarification comes from Talking Heads co-founder and drummer Chris Frantz, who said it in a 2021 Apple News interview. So if you’ve always tied the song to Son of Sam, the band’s own history points somewhere else.

Bottom line

The Beast in Me pairs icy character work with music that cuts deeper the longer you sit with it. It’s moody, it’s purposeful, and it swings from holiday warmth to cold-blooded rock without blinking. If you’re watching on Netflix, keep Shazam handy — and yes, the score by Sean Callery, Tim Callobre, and Sara Barone is worth your ears, too.