AUCKLAND, New Zealand (Sightseers’ Delight) — Leave it to Lucy Lawless to solve gruesome murders while acting as an unpaid spokesperson for New Zealand tourism.
When Acorn TV’s mystery drama My Life is Murder packed up its Melbourne set and moved to Auckland for its second season, the show quickly became a slick, eight-episode-a-year love letter to the “City of Sails.” With the move, television’s most stylish investigator remained on the beat, while showcasing Auckland’s prime locations.
“I believe in truth and good bread — not necessarily in that order,” Lawless’ character, Alexa Crowe, said in one episode.
For travelers looking to play detective, tracking down the show’s favorite haunts doesn’t even require a detour from the standard tourist track.
The Central Business District does plenty of heavy lifting, with establishing shots constantly flaunting the skyline, the iconic Ferry Building, and the 1,076-foot Sky Tower. The show’s production team loves a good backdrop, regularly dropping key scenes near the busy Auckland Harbour Bridge or along the historic, cobblestoned streets of Britomart.
Sharp-eyed viewers will easily spot Shane Cotton’s massive five-story mural, Maunga, painted across the side of Excelsior House at Customs and Commerce streets.
Down on the water, the chic Wynyard Quarter and neighboring Westhaven Marina serve as frequent backdrop material, offering a scenic mix of commercial yachts and industrial heritage. Meanwhile, cultural heavyweights like the Auckland Art Gallery, Albert Park, and the Auckland War Memorial Museum — perched dramatically atop the dormant volcano at Observatory Hill — all receive their own cinematic moments.
When the cast ventures outside the city core, the scenery is even better. The production regularly hits postcard-worthy spots like Mount Eden, One Tree Hill, Rangitoto Island, and the black-sand shores of Piha Beach. Even Puketutu Island Estate made the cut, standing in as a luxury resort in season two.
With five seasons in the books, Auckland remains the true star of the show, proving that while fictional body counts keep rising, the city’s waterfront property has never looked better.
“I’m really delighted to bring my city to the world,” Lawless told The Spinoff. “You know, they’re watching this all across America and England, and Auckland looks beautiful. Everybody comes here and runs straight to Queenstown or Hobbiton, but Auckland is a beautiful, vibrant, modern city. I think we should all start celebrating it.”
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