My Life is Murder – Season 1 – Review
Director: Leah Purcell, Mat King, Jovita O’Shaughnessy, Ben C Lucas
Writer: Matt Ford, Peter Gawler, Ainslie Clouston, Chris Hawkshaw, Claire Tonkin, Monica Zanetti, Tim Pye, Paul Bennett, Chris Corbett (Screenplay)
Cast
- Lucy Lawless (Xena Warrior Princess)
- Bernard Curry (The Dish)
- Ebony Vagulans (The Furies)
Plot: My Life is Murder follows the adventures of fearless private investigator Alexa Crowe, who solves the most baffling crimes as well as coping with the frustrations of everyday life.
Runtime: 45 Minutes per Episodes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict on My Life is Murder Season 1
The Boyfriend Experience (D. Leah Purcell)
The Boyfriend Experience starts when former detective Alexa Crowe (Lawless) is asked to help solve a mysterious death. It follows her going undercover with the prime suspect and trying to learn the truth about the death. She uses her connection in the force in Madison (Vagulans) who can handle the technical truth.
This is the opening episode of the series, as we get to learn the quirky nature of Alexa. She does enjoy solving crimes but doesn’t like the workload. Alexa has her own way with people that helps get information. This gives us an interesting first case, which is more about introducing us to Alexa. (3/5)
The Locked Room (D. Mat King)
The Locked Room follows Alexa investigating the death of a man murdered in a hotel room. She turns to Madison for information and the two start their investigation. This sees Alexa turning to a former nemesis from her law enforcement days. However, getting too close to them when it comes to finding the truth.
In the second episode, we get to learn more about Alexa’s previous life, an injury she received. It shows her ability to make more out of crimes and get close to suspects. When it comes to the case, it doesn’t really give us too many potential suspects, which is becoming clear in the series. However, Lucy Lawless and Ebony Vagulans are highly entertaining. (3/5)
Lividity in Lycra (D. Leah Purcell)
Lividity in Lycra when Alexa gets called to help investigate the mysterious death of a cyclist. The group of cyclist’s routine sees them leaving the CEO of a company behind while returning to discover him dead. There is no proof any of the cyclists could have been behind it due to their GPS. However, Alexa and Madison dive into the case to uncover a bigger secret.
This puts Alexa is a different world, away from her comfort of breadmaking. She joins the cyclists while searching for clues, as Madison gets to enjoy her own kick out of breaking into the technology side of things. This also shows the recurring theme of the episodes. It seems to highlight who the killer is and it is more about proving how they did it, rather than who did it. (3/5)
Can’t Stand the Heat (D. Mat King)
Can’t Stand the Heat sees Alexa asked to help investigate the death of a culinary student, which looks like it could be an accident. Alexa must turn to Madison to get her into the class and use her own skills to fit in. As Alexa goes undercover, she starts to experience the brutally competitive world of culinary school.
This feels like the biggest mystery of the series so far, it offers up the biggest suspect pool to guess from. On the quirkier side of the movie, Alexa and Madison have a fun bet. This ends up being the best episode for the series so far, giving us the most humour along the way. (4/5)
Feet of Clay (D. Jovita O’Shaughnessy)
Feet of Clay follows Alexa getting a request to investigate a hit-and-run which happened a year ago. However, Keiran doesn’t believe it was as accidently as first expected. The driver admitted the crime, but they believe it could have been murder. Alexa must get close to the people in her life and track down the person behind the accident to learn the truth about the incident.
This episode takes Alexa into the world of influencers who could create their own narratives. It shows the consequences someone must suffer through after an accident resulting in death. This shows how far Alexa goes to solve crimes despite how easily it seems like all ends are tied up. The continuing quirky nature of the episodes seems to be taking front and centre over the mysteries. They are becoming entertaining to watch. (4/5)
Another Bloody Podcast (D. Jovita O’Shaughnessy)
Another Bloody Podcast starts when Alexa gets drawn into investigating a cold case after a podcast claims to have new evidence. The murder involves a brother and best man who had been hidden in the closet. However, the evidence points to the boyfriend arguing before the death. Although not everything adds up the same way they imagine.
This offers up one of the most interesting cases to date. It uses the idea that podcast telling the story of a crime that was never sold. This episode puts a lot more focus on the case and shows us how Alexa can be used to help solve the most difficult cases. It is nice to see an episode which focuses on an unsolved murder, rather than one which could have been seen as an accident or natural cause. (4/5)
Old School (D. Ben C Lucas)
Old School sees Alexa returning to her old private school to investigate the death of the beloved head teacher. After returning to the school, Alexa learns about the frustration within the student body. Along with the rivalry between the new headteacher and former classmate of Alexa’s.
This episode dives into Alexa’s past, showing how she was always a rebel in her own way. It has plenty of twists and turns along the way giving us one of the most exciting mysteries of the series. This returns to putting a firmer spotlight on the murder and away from the familiar characters we have gotten used to meeting. (4/5)
Remains to Be Seen (D. Ben C Lucas)
Remains to Be Seen sees Alexa investigate the murder of a gambling addict found in a family grave. The victim had gone missing months before and now Alexa search through the loved ones for answers. Meanwhile, her friends are worried after Alexa had health scare, as she contemplates what to do if the worst happened.
This is the most serious episode in the point of view from Alexa. She has a health scare in her life which leads to her wondering more about her life, while also remember her late husband. When we look at the case that reflects funeral home business, it is one that comes together in a nice handshake for the series. (4/5)
Fake Empire (D. Mat King)
Fake Empire sees Alexa talked into a cold case after a clairvoyant claims to have information. Alexa wants to prove them wrong, but only ends up learning more secrets about the victim. The deeper Alexa gets into the case, the more she learns who could really be behind it.
This episode shows how Alexa struggles to deal with something she can’t explain. It follows her challenging the incident while learning more about the case. The series has been growing in quality of mystery and this is another great addition for Alexa to solve. (4/5)
Mirror Mirror (D. Mat King)
Mirror Mirror see Alexa taking a case involving a cosmetic surgeon who died. While it seemed a strange event, Kieran asked Alexa to look into the case because not everything added up. As Alexa dives deeper into the case, she learns more about the cosmetic world and what drives people to be involved in it.
The season finale does give us an interesting case. However, most of this episode focuses on Alexa, Madison and Keiran’s relationship and how they have started working together so well. It could be seen as a bit of an anti-climax for the series, but it is also nice to have a more rounded closed book ending to the series. (4/5)
Overall
My Life is Murder Season 1 is an entertaining mystery comedy series. It follows the former detective helping solve the more difficult cases. The series starts off slow, where we don’t always get too many suspects and it is more about proving how the prime suspect committed the crime. However, once we return to a more traditional concept, we get to learn more about the people involved.
Lucy Lawless and Ebony Vagulans are wonderful together, showing us their characters from different generations. They show their characters’ strengths and weaknesses and manage to fill in the gaps around them. Overall, the series is a lot of fun and with every episode being around the 45-minute mark, kept at a tight pace.
Final Thoughts –My Life is Murder Season 1 is an entertaining first series filled with mysterious cases.
