Comfort Viewing With a Body Count

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TV SERIES REVIEWS
My Life is Murder: Series 5
TV-14 –

Genre: Crime, Mystery, Comedy, Drama
Year Released: 2025, 2026
Runtime: 6h 11m
Cast: Lucy Lawless, Ebony Vagulans, Rawiri Jobe, Joe Naufahu, Martin Henderson, Craig Parker
Where to Watch: arrives on DVD and digital on August 17, 2026

RAVING REVIEW: Lucy Lawless can walk Alexa Crowe into a room full of suspects and make it seem as though she’s already figured out which three people are lying before anyone has finished introducing themselves. Five series into MY LIFE IS MURDER, that confidence has become the show’s greatest advantage. Alexa is smart without constantly needing the scripts to announce it, sarcastic without becoming exhausting, and just difficult enough that the people around her have learned when to push back. Lawless knows this woman completely by now, and Series 5 gets plenty of mileage from watching a performer this comfortable with a character.

That familiarity is also what makes this an easy series to return to. MY LIFE IS MURDER has never needed to reinvent itself every year. Alexa gets an unusual case, Madison starts digging through whatever information Alexa probably shouldn’t have access to, Harry provides a more legitimate path into the investigation, and the people in Alexa’s personal life inevitably get dragged into whatever mess she’s currently chasing. Series 5 understands that viewers have probably returned because they like these people together, so the season spends less time manufacturing major changes and more time finding new combinations for them.

The cases give them plenty to work with. An elite cheerleading squad, a suspicious death involving a jellyfish tank, a vicious fight over a dog, an intensely competitive pub quiz, a creepy talking doll and a chemistry lab make for an enjoyably odd collection of crime scenes. The variety matters because MY LIFE IS MURDER isn’t the kind of mystery series that wants murder to feel relentlessly grim. Someone can die in bizarre circumstances without the episode becoming emotionally punishing, and Alexa’s investigations are built around observation, conversation and the pleasure of watching an inconsistency finally catch her attention.

Some mysteries are considerably better than others. “Thirteen O’Clock,” with its imposing mansion, deadly gargoyle and disturbing doll, gives the show one of its more memorable environments. At the same time, “Catfish” makes good use of the aquarium setting without relying entirely on its novelty. “The Top Two Inches” has fun with the barely contained hostility of competitive trivia, especially once Alexa and Madison have to operate inside a group where practically everyone takes the evening far more seriously than any reasonable person should. Those are episodes where the setting and the mystery strengthen each other rather than simply providing another colorful backdrop for the same investigation.

Series 5 does struggle whenever the solution becomes visible too early. MY LIFE IS MURDER has always leaned closer to comfortable mystery television than an elaborate whodunit designed to outsmart the audience. Still, several episodes make the path toward the killer easier to predict than I would like. Alexa remains entertaining enough that figuring things out ahead of her doesn’t ruin an episode, although it does remove some of the satisfaction from the reveal. After five seasons, the investigative rhythm has also become familiar enough that certain interrogations and discoveries begin arriving exactly when expected.

Fortunately, Alexa and Madison can carry an episode even when the murder isn’t particularly difficult to untangle. Ebony Vagulans has become essential to the series because Madison stopped feeling like Alexa’s tech support a long time ago. There’s genuine affection between them, but the relationship works because Madison has also learned how to challenge her. Alexa can dominate a conversation with almost anyone else. Madison is one of the few people capable of ignoring the performance, recognizing when Alexa is avoiding something and refusing to let her hide behind another case.

That becomes especially useful as the season makes it harder to separate Alexa’s personal life from her investigations. Martin Henderson’s return as Will gives Lawless another strong relationship to play with, particularly because Alexa knows exactly what kind of trouble her brother can create while also understanding him well enough to recognize the better person underneath some terrible instincts. Rawiri Jobe’s Harry gets material that complicates what Alexa thinks she knows about him. At the same time, Joe Naufahu continues to make Reuben such an easy presence around the group that I found myself wishing the season gave him more to do. Eight episodes go quickly, and the expanding ensemble sometimes means characters disappear just when their involvement becomes interesting.

The biggest change arrives late, when Alexa’s past becomes part of the case rather than something she can keep safely outside it. Craig Parker appears as former police partner Jesse in the two-part “The One That Got Away,” which moves the series to Fiji and makes Alexa’s normally controlled personal boundaries considerably less reliable. Lawless and Parker already have an easy screen rapport, and the history between Alexa and Jesse is convincing without requiring an enormous amount of exposition. Their reunion gives the finale an emotional element that the standalone investigations don’t always have.

Taking two episodes for that story also allows the season to finish with a case that has more room to develop. The mystery can breathe, Alexa has a personal investment beyond solving another murder, and the possibility of romance forces a character who prefers knowing everyone else’s business to consider some uncomfortable questions about her own. The relationship material never overwhelms the crime story, which feels right for Alexa. A sudden transformation into someone openly discussing feelings for an hour would hardly resemble the character we’ve spent five seasons watching.

I do wish Series 5 pushed a little harder against its own comfort zone before reaching those final episodes. There’s a dependable formula here, but dependability can slip into repetition. Madison’s growing confidence could support even more independent investigative work, Harry and Reuben could carry larger pieces of individual cases, and the series has enough established relationships now that Alexa doesn’t need to be responsible for nearly every breakthrough. There are glimpses of that evolution throughout the season, but not quite enough commitment to it.

The lighter presentation can create another limitation. Keeping MY LIFE IS MURDER accessible and enjoyable is part of its identity, and I wouldn’t want it suddenly buried beneath bleak crime drama. A few cases introduce emotional ideas with more weight than the episodes ultimately give them; however, they move back toward humor or the solution before that impact can register. The show is very good at knowing what it is. Occasionally, that certainty keeps it from discovering what else it could be.

None of those complaints change how watchable Series 5 remains. Lawless is simply terrific company, as Alexa and the surrounding cast have become important enough that seeing everyone together carries nearly as much appeal as discovering the next case. There’s humor without turning every murder into a joke, warmth without excessive sentimentality, and enough personality in the different investigations to keep eight episodes from blending.

MY LIFE IS MURDER doesn’t need Alexa Crowe to become a different person every season. Part of the pleasure is that she probably wouldn’t cooperate with anyone trying to change her anyway. Series 5 gives her new crimes, some old complications, and people who’ve become increasingly good at finding their way around the walls she insists are still there. The mysteries could surprise more often, and the supporting cast deserves a little more room. Still, Lawless remains reason enough to keep showing up whenever another body gives Alexa something new to solve.

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[photo courtesy of ACORN MEDIA INTERNATIONAL]

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