Loveday Writing

The first season established the premise and characters of the show – the star, Alexa, a former cop turned police consultant, Kieran, a Detective-Inspector and Alexa’s former colleague, Madison, a police data analyst, and George, the owner of a local café who sells the sourdough bread Alexa makes.

The cases of the week are quirky from a successful businesswoman plunging to her death from the balcony of a male escort’s apartment in the pilot, to Alexa going undercover at a cooking school to investigate the death of a culinary student, to Alexa going back to her old high school to investigate the death of a teacher crushed by a boat rack on school grounds, to a gambling addict found dead in an already occupied grave. The quirkiness of the cases made each murder mystery compelling, and were sometimes relevant to what was going on in Alexa’s personal life at the time. I also wrote in my review of the pilot that Alexa’s methods were reminiscent to those of Columbo.

Various aspects of Alexa’s personal life was also established and explored in the first season from her breadmaking, to the relationship she has with the stray cat she unofficially adopted, to being diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and having to have her heart shocked back into rhythm, and the season ending on her birthday.

The second season, which premiered on Acorn TV on 30 August 2021, had the setting change from Melbourne to Auckland due to the COVID-19 pandemic restricting travel and filming, and is also Lawless’ home town, but this didn’t affect the show’s quality. The show’s change in setting was written in as Alexa wanting to see her brother while she still could (it’s later revealed her brother, Will, is in prison). Alexa is now consulting with Auckland Police Detective, Harry (Kieran recommended Alexa to him), Madison has moved over by taking long service leave although Harry eventually hires her, and Alexa manages to find a nearby café owned by Reuben to sell her sourdough bread, and she has adopted a new cat, Chowder, whilst the stray from last season was adopted by Kieran and his children.

The second season also comes with its own quirky cases of the week that explore the worlds of social media influencers, drag queens, museums, jewellers, survivalists, and self-help gurus. The finale even reunited Lucy Lawless with her Xena: Warrior Princess co-star, Renee O’Connor, and O’Connor’s son, Miles Muir, also played a role. The personal life of the secondary characters were also touched upon, with the reveal that Madison joined the police force as a data analyst at 16 years old to ironically avoid being charged with illegally accessing the Australian government’s inquiry into climate change, and Harry asking Alexa to investigate a case where a young man he is mentoring is the main suspect.

The third season continues in Auckland and continues the tradition of quirky cases of the week that include: the death of a dance teacher and Alexa having to investigate by taking dance classes with Reuben acting as her fiancé, a crime novelist found dead encased in a public sculpture, the death of a horse handler ostensibly by the horse he was handling, the death of a woman at a retirement village full of partiers where Will is working as a gardener, the death of a man who ostensibly fell from his roof whilst fixing his Christmas lights, a bride dying on her wedding day from an allergic reaction to a bee sting, a pair of feuding bakers and ex-spouses being the prime suspects in the murder of the wife’s new boyfriend, the death of a music producer, the death of a popular male nanny working for an affluent family, and the death of a model backstage at a fashion show.

I felt that the third season has been the show’s strongest so far. After the first season established the show’s premise and characters, and the second season had to undergo massive cast and location changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic (not that this was brought into the show’s universe), the third season allowed for the characters to simultaneously grow and become more settled within themselves. This is shown with Alexa appearing to be happier than ever, Madison’s and Alexa’s emotional reactions when Harry was accidentally hit by a car by a murder suspect, and Madison’s ability to step up when Alexa was ordered off her feet due to injury.

The main characters growing and becoming more settled within themselves also allowed for the introduction of new characters, Beth (Tatum Warren-Ngata) and Olive (Nell Fisher), as well as recurring character, Will, to make more appearances and experience growth of his own.

Beth’s introduction was due to Ebony Vagulans having to isolate due to contracting COVID. I felt that Beth was a quirky, unique, and intelligent character, and you could argue, was Madison three years ago due to having to adapt to working with Alexa for the first time. However, due to Warren-Ngata having to isolate due to contracting COVID herself during production, her appearances were limited, and the transition between the two, even at times when Madison and Beth appeared onscreen together, was a little clunky.

The introduction of Olive allowed for another layer of character development with both Alexa and Will. Olive was clearly written to be a mini-Alexa, but she also enhances Will’s character growth as another motivator for him to stay on the straight and narrow after establishing his landscaping business, and enhances Alexa’s character growth as an aunt and showing her softer side. Speaking of Will, I appreciated that he made more appearances and experienced major growth. His appearances provided great comic relief.

I also appreciated the moments where the stakes were raised in some cases, such as when Harry was hit by a car and when Olive was nearly taken hostage by a murderer. On a smaller note, whilst I find Alexa’s minor flirting with both Harry and Reuben funny, I’m hoping the writers make up their mind about whether one of them is actually going to be a love interest for her or not. I also appreciated the addition of brighter colours this season, mainly in the form of Alexa’s wardrobe. According to an interview TV Fanatic conducted with Lucy Lawless, this was deliberate, due to the world’s bleak state over the last few years and the need for colour and positivity.

I wrote in my review of the third season finale that I hoped that the show is renewed for a fourth season, but if it isn’t, it ended on a good note.

Behind the Reviews – Edition #18 will be released next week and will focus on Playing for Keeps.