“Deadly Tropics” (“Tropiques Criminels”) – TV Series

For U.S. viewers to know what’s coming in the French TV crime series “Deadly Tropics” (“Tropiques Criminels”), let’s start with the components of LETHAL WEAPON as a baseline. First, change lead characters Riggs and Murtaugh into women. Then move the whole production from L.A. to Martinique, with most of the dialog in French. Tone down the violence considerably but keep most of the character comedy, and you’re prepped for an entertaining set of self-contained whodunit episodes in a gorgeous island setting.

We begin with Parisian police transfer Captain Melissa Sainte-Rose (Sonia Rolland), essentially banished to the Caribbean with her two kids for her fellow-officer hubby’s corruption that tainted her own previously-stellar reputation. She’s to be the new boss of a small major crimes unit (not really as oxymoronic as it first appears), with an unruly, reckless wild-card of a partner Capt. Gaelle Crivelli (Beatrice de la Boulaye), supported by one competent underling (Julien Beramis), harped on by a fusty chief, and pestered by a nebbish medical examiner (Valentin Papoudof) more focused on her pulchritude than on the corpses he’s supposed to analyze. The result is a set of well-written light mysteries handled by an amiable cast that will grow on their viewers as they warm to each other.

The first four murders du jour are admirably diverse, ranging from burglary gone wrong, to possibly-lethal elderly ladies, to the dirty deeds of a dastardly doc, to the tragic results of homophobia running deeply through the local culture. Like Riggs and Murtaugh, the strait-laced half of the team starts with disdain for her unkempt, hot-tempered new partner. But both bring valuable skills to the table, and bonding evolves. True to genre form, each is toting some emotional baggage that nips at the edges of the proceedings.

The second half of the season continues offering a solid sequence of crimes that suitably maintain suspense, while allocating more time to the familial and relationship aspects of their lives. As we get to know the two women better, that dimension element blends more smoothly than it would have at the beginning.

The two leads are attractive in different ways. Rolland still looks like the svelte, elegant fashion model she was 20 years ago at the start of her career. De la Boulaye has what used to be called a “tomboy” appeal, though that term is probably out of fashion these days. Though both explore romantic sidebars, the producers admirably downplay their sex appeal to let them develop complete personae, warts and all. We don’t get to know Beramis as well, but his character seems poised to offer another good dimension as the series continues. A second season has aired abroad, and will surely stream here in the near future.

By now, aficionados of imported TV mystery fare may be thinking of a similar English-language product – the long-running British series DEATH IN PARADISE. Both are set in Caribbean Islands, with an imported lead detective from the mother country adjusting to the ways of the locals. They share similarities in the nature of the crimes, the low level of gory bits and lightness of tone. Unlike the other, this show does not rely on the drawing-room convention, hallowed from the “Thin Man” era to “Murder She Wrote,” of gathering all the suspects at the end for the detective’s reveal. Any fan of DEATH IN PARADISE who isn’t among the subtitle-averse should find this one equally enjoyable.

The French TV series “Deadly Tropics” (“Tropiques Criminels”), mostly in French with English subtitles, is available streaming on MHz Choice starting March 22.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars