Lawless sat down with Parade.com to talk about My Life Is Murder, filming in her homeland of New Zealand and reuniting with Xena co-star Renee O’Connor. What about My Life Is Murder drew you into starring in another season of the show? Well, I hadn’t felt that we had scratched the surface yet. We were just figuring it out in the first few episodes and you just wanna keep the party going. So when COVID hit, we were like, let’s take it to my hometown. Let’s take all our fans on a little adventure, a bit of adventure tourism, you know? Armchair tourism. Is that one of the main reasons why the show moved to New Zealand, because of COVID filming protocols? Yeah, yeah, entirely. But it was quite a risky move, actually. We had to recast some roles, reimagine the show and give people a reason why the character would want to make that move. I’m hoping for a season three, so if there is a third season, do you think it’ll be in New Zealand or will it go back to Australia? I anticipate that it will be in New Zealand because it’s produced there now, so it’s really kind of an entirely new show in terms of the production, but it feels like a continuation, it feels like they just went on holiday. Tonally, we’ve managed to replicate the first season, so our little promise to the audience is fulfilled, and I’m really, really happy about that ‘cause it was a little bit risky. Can you talk about Alexa’s relationship with Madison and how that does or does not mirror your relationship with Ebony Vagulans? I was going to say they’re not similar at all, but actually it is quite similar, except that I welcome Ebony into my home, whereas Alex does not welcome Madison. That’s the point of difference. But because [Ebony] is a young woman and just straight out of drama school, there is an element of mentoring a bit, I suppose, but I’m not making a concerted effort. She’s just this beautiful young person that I believe in, and you wanna support them so that’s a natural thing. Whereas Alexa’s a bit begrudging. She’s a bit of a curmudgeon, you know? She’s not very motherly. In your previous series, Xena: Warrior Princess, there were plenty of fight scenes and action sequences, obviously a lot less in this show. Which do you prefer? Good riddance, I say! Yeah. That’s always been my bugbear. We do do a tiny bit and it’s actually quite—It’s exciting, but it’s not my favorite way to spend the day, put it that way. Renee O’Connor guest stars in the season finale of My Life Is Murder. Was this the first time you and O’Connor acted together since Xena? Yeah, pretty much. And even though you are different characters, what was that experience like? It was so natural. We are sisters from another mother or whatever, that we grew up as actors together, and we suffered through a lot of really challenging situations and environments together, so we tend to rely—I rely on her quite a lot, and I have that same—I have a baby relationship like that with Ebony, that I actually rely on her, like when she’s around, I feel better, I feel she makes me better. The same with Renee, so it’s a very special relationship, and I was glad I was finally able to pull it off even in COVID times. We’ve always wanted to do that for the fans, if not ourselves, that it would be such a thrill for them. It’s taken a long time, but it pays off. If you could be any other character on the show, who would you choose to be? Oh, the cat. I would swan in for three seconds, close up, once a week, and steal the show. That would be my life, a cat’s life. Forget the dog’s life. The cat wins every time. Do you have a favorite mystery series or detective, whether it’s on TV or in books, or film? Yeah. I mean, Columbo would be ultimate. And part of that is the richness of the setting, and also, you know what, we stole a little bit from Columbo, apart from the light-heartedness, which is a point of difference in crime shows—we haven’t had a light-hearted one for a while. What we stole is that it’s a little bit aspirational, you know what I mean, that all the characters are doing well, they’re well off, it’s the worlds that you wanna see inside, so it might be the world of high fashion or the world of wine-making, when some wine-maker ends up ground up in the wine press, so we’re going to lift the veil on worlds. We do one in the drag world, and we had some of the stars of RuPaul’s Drag RaceDown Under, and they came on our show and it was just fabulous. So we get to take your average viewer on a jaunt, a romp through these worlds that they might not have access to, and we get to solve the murder together at the end, and you’re gonna feel good. That’s what our show promises at the end of the hour, you’re gonna feel good. And don’t we all need a bit more of that? Murder mystery shows tend to have a dark look about them, but My Life Is Murder is the opposite with its jewel tones and bright blue skies. It looks more like a vacation pamphlet than a murder scene. Is that intentional? It’s very intentional, we want to take you on holiday. The reason I signed up for this in the first place was that I got tired of doing things that were really dark, violent, sexual, all that stuff. There’s been a lot of that in my career, and I got tired of it, so I wanted something light and good. And I wanted to be part of something like that. So when [Claire Tonkin – creator and producer of My Life Is Murder] approached me about this idea, I was like, “Girlfriend, let’s do it.” And here we are. What’s your go-to song to sing in the shower? Well, it changes all the time, but I’ve been plagued recently by the theme song from Master Chef Australia. I’ve got this horrible earworm in my head, and I’m sorry to say, but the dumbest lyrics ever and because I’m really aural, like I always hear the words, it sticks in my brain, it’s a claw hammer in my mind, I want to pull it out, but I love that show. “Shooting up, like a flame, like a bright shining star.” It’s really stupid words, and they sort of fall off the note. “In our dreams, we all know our dreams makes us who we are.” It’s so annoying. It’s kinda stuck in my brain. So that’s where I’m at right now. What is your favorite musical or play? Favorite musical: Hairspray. Favorite play? Oh, that’s a good one. What do I like the best? Hedda Gabler. What was your favorite song from Hairspray? “Good morning, Baltimore.” What was the last show you binge watched? Lupin. What book are you reading right now? The Dutch House by Anne Patchett. What’s your all-time favorite book? Pale Fire, by Nabokov. For Alexa, she’s a baker, and bread is her specialty. What’s the one thing you like to cook, or what’s your specialty? Bread, yeah. I do sourdough bread. Only because of COVID, I finally got into it. But yeah, I like to make bread. When you’re traveling abroad, is there something you can do, whether it’s eating something or reading a book or singing a song, or watching a TV show that takes you immediately back home? Well, if I was to watch my own stuff, obviously. Growing up, we would watch American TV, it was all Maxwell Smart and Flintstones and stuff. I would watch the little alien who was always after that guy, and the big red alien [Marvin the Martian]. The heart-shaped guy (Gossamer)? Yeah, you just could not beat those cartoons. Things that make you feel nostalgic for the past. Are there any other projects you’re working on right now that you can talk about? Nothing I can talk about. I am very obsessively chasing something that I want to make, which would have me behind the camera, but I hope to have news on that in the near future. And other than that, it’s My Life Is Murder. Can you give me a few words on why someone should tune in to My Life Is Murder? Well, the reason I’m making it is so that we can keep the party going and so that we can just feel good. You want to be part of something that makes you feel good. And this is a little bijou of a show. You know what we do? We open this tiny little door in the wall to an enchanted garden, and you’re invited in to spread out and have a little psychic holiday and right some wrongs with some people that you really dig. Seasons 1 and 2 of My Life Is Murder is available to stream on Acorn TV. Next, Lucy Lawless Says She Can Still Wear Her Xena Costume
