Three’s new local comedy-drama will make you rethink what it is to be a suburban school mum, writes Tara Ward.
A woman crouches low to the ground inside a suburban storage unit, her ear pressed against a garage door. It’s a cold, dark night, and as she listens for any noise outside, a bag filled with cash sits at her feet. The silence is interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps and doors being rattled, growing louder until it reaches the door she’s hiding behind. A hand pushes its way underneath as she holds the door down, desperately trying to stop whoever’s on the other side from breaking in and finding her. As the door bangs to the point of breaking, the woman whispers four words to herself: “What the fuck, Jerry?”
These are the deliciously tense first moments of Ms X, Three’s brilliant new local crime drama. Created and written by Hannah Marshall and David de Lautour, Ms X tells the story of busy Auckland mother Mia (Melissa George), who finds herself in quite the pickle when she suspects her husband Jerry of having an affair. Jerry is never at home, leaving Mia to juggle two hormonal teenagers, hectic school drop-offs and annoying neighbourhood watch meetings. “I feel like I’m a supporting character in my own life,” she complains to her friend Tracey (Michelle Langstone).
So when Mia’s bank account is suddenly frozen and she discovers a stranger’s lacy underwear in the laundry, she begins to suspect her photocopier salesman husband is doing more than just selling ink and toner. Confused and suspicious, she bumps into old school friend Oscar (Dean O’Gorman), who happens to work as a private investigator (while also trying to convince Hammer Hardware to stock his latest invention, something called a “self-tightening rope”).
It’s an unexpected encounter that sets the suburban mum’s life on an alternate trajectory. Together, Mia and Oscar – who lives inside a video store and who hasn’t actually investigated a case yet – try to track Jerry down so they can scare him straight. Oscar is never short of a bad idea, and when their plan goes awry, the pair quickly find themselves in over their heads, tangled up in Auckland’s criminal underworld. Mia must then keep up the domestic facade of the ideal school mum, while also outsmarting the dangerous baddies trying to hunt her and Oscar down.
It might sound far-fetched, but Ms X’s antics always feel entirely plausible. The writing is clever and darkly funny, the pacing is lively, and the viewer finds themselves in the same predicament as Mia, with no clue about what unexpected twist will happen next. Marshall and de Lautour have grounded the story in a relatable suburban world, and George anchors the drama with an unwavering performance of a woman trying to keep calm and carry on in the midst of a criminal storm. O’Gorman is a delight as the unpredictable Oscar, while the ever-wonderful Langstone heads a stacked supporting cast that includes Oscar Kightley, Antonia Prebble, Simone Kessel, Robbie Magasiva, Elizabeth Hawthorn and Xana Tang.
Ms X is a show that feels decidedly New Zealand, yet its energetic storytelling will appeal to audiences around the world. The series has already received strong reviews in Australia, and is set to screen on Peacock in the US and Disney+ in the UK (NZ On Air today announced funding for season two). Co-creator Marshall has achieved a rare feat of having two shows debut in Aotearoa during the same week – she also created and stars in new rom-com Settling, which starts on Three on Thursday – proving that she is one of our brightest talents both on and off the screen.
Kudos should also go to Three, who have bought us a trio of bold and intriguing local television dramas this year – first Crackhead, then Head Girl, now Ms X. Chuck in the upcoming Settling as well, and the network is becoming the place to go to watch contemporary New Zealand stories. Ms X is a fast-paced and entertaining series that takes the viewer on a wild ride, and deserves a big audience both here and overseas. Don’t miss this fresh, funny series that grabs the crime genre by the scruff of the neck and breathes vital new life into it.
Ms X screens Mondays at 8.30pm on Three and is available to stream on ThreeNow
