HBO imports French mystery ‘Laetitia’
HBO imports the six-part French limited series “Laetitia” (9 p.m., HBO, TV-MA), directed by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, whose 2004 miniseries “The Staircase” pretty much launched the current trend of slow-burn mysteries.
“Laetitia” begins with the discovery of the titular character’s motorbike. Described as a “perfect” child by her sober foster dad, her disappearance comes as a shock to everyone, most of all her twin sister. A relentless search by grimly determined French detectives peels back layers of sordid stories about the twins’ dark origins as well as the seedy corners of their seemingly bucolic corner of Western France.
› The Acorn series “My Life Is Murder” resumes streaming its second season. Lucy Lawless stars as Alexa Crowe, a woman of a certain age who becomes a private investigator. New episodes will feature a wealth of cameos and guest stars from Lawless’ time on the popular syndicated series “Xena: Warrior Princess,” as well as castmates from “Spartacus.” I’m holding out for talent from her 2005 Maddy Rierdon movies “Locust” and “Vampire Bats,” when she played the undersecretary of agriculture faced with ecological disasters.
Look for a guest spot from William Shatner, who turned 90 in March. The “Star Trek” star remains among the few actors still working whose roots date back to early television. In 1954, he was cast as Ranger Bob on the Canadian version of “The Howdy Doody Show,” and he’s been busy ever since.
› Now streaming on Discovery+, “Prisoner of Love” follows matchmaker Chelsea Holmes who helps lonely hearts navigate their way to a captive audience. She specializes in helping men and women living life as free citizens find soulmates who happen to be guests of the state. She knows that it’s not an easy love connection,
having sought for years to find an incarcerated soulmate she can call her own.
› A very different kind of travel documentary, “The Song of the Butterflies” is broadcast on “POV” (10 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings). Indigenous Peruvian artist and activist Rember Yahuarcani travels deep into his country’s jungle interior to rediscover the world of his ancestors. Throughout his artistic life, he has “listened” to the voice of his grandmother as he painted, and he felt compelled to find fellow
members of the White Heron Clan of the Uitoto Nation, still dressing and living as his ancestors did centuries when they first encountered European settlers.
The stories he discovers are both inspiring and grim. Settlers hoping to harvest rubber from the rich forests slaughtered many Uitoto and left countless more mutilated. Such stories inspire Yahuarcani to redouble his efforts to keep their stories and voices alive.