‘My Life Is Murder’ moves to New Zealand for Season 2 of Acorn mystery
As much as it is a murder mystery, Acorn TV’s “My Life Is Murder” might also be considered a Chamber of Commerce ad for the city of Auckland.
Indeed, as the series opens its 10-episode second season Monday, Aug. 30, its production base and storylines shift from Australia to New Zealand’s largest city, where cop-turned-private investigator Alexa Crowe (series star Lucy Lawless) finds herself drawn into the case of a bizarre unsolved murder. In the new season, she’s joined by partner-in-crime-solving Madison (Ebony Vagulans, “The Furies”), as well as charismatic detective Harry (Rawiri Jobe, “The
Brokenwood Mysteries”) and cafe owner Ruben (Joe Naufahu, “Game of Thrones”).
But as much a character in this round is Auckland, which the series displays in all its striking vistas and colors and which Lawless, a native of the city, wants to show off to the world.
“I just want to say come on down,” the actress says. “I want to bring people here and this is the way I can bring the most people along as possible. It’s built on like 20-something volcanoes, extinct volcanoes, so it’s got these beautiful conical parks all over. ... It’s just got a lot of character.
“And colors,” she continues. “You know, our show is very saturated in color, so it almost has a little bit of a Miami feel. You know, the way Miami is shot is like is the flavor of Auckland but it’s definitely not Florida. And we have moy-dah. ... We’re going to take care of it for you, with you.”
Lawless, who is also an executive producer, often talks about a covenent the show has with its fans, which is to not take itself too seriously while providing humor and solving, as she says in a stilted New York accent, “moy-dahs.” The actress is a fan of true crime herself and has sat in on various trials over the years.
She also feels a kinship with her character and says Alexa is basically a version of herself.
“I really don’t too much care to live by anybody else’s rules,” she says. “I think my rules are perfectly humane and generally within the law. So you know, she’s a rule breaker but she has a really strict code of ethics and she loves justice. So do I.”