14/08/2026

FRIDAY | AUG 14, 2026

26

LYFE

LYFE

Las Azules presents moral dilemma for heroines

MEXICO’S first female police force returns to action in the second season of Las Azules (Women in Blue) , with a storyline woven around two massacres of student protesters that helped define an era of heavy-handed state repression. The Spanish-language Apple TV series centres on four women in pursuit of personal growth and social change in patriarchal Mexico of the 1970s. The sophomore season opens a day after a paramilitary force known as Los Halcones attacked a student protest in Mexico City in June 1971, killing or wounding dozens of demonstrators. When a young man is found dead in murky circumstances, the four “Azules” indirectly take the lead in an investigation that points to the police force and ties back to the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre, in which dozens of leftist student protesters were gunned down by the army shortly before Mexico hosted the Olympics. “The investigation is going to delve deeply into the subject, not just the institution of the police force itself, but also the 1971 student massacre, bringing all of that back into the present to see what was behind it all – what wasn’t seen, what wasn’t said, what wasn’t resolved, because the killings continue, and people are still disappearing in Mexico. “It’s a pretty intense season, just talking about it gives me

goosebumps,” said Barbara Mori, who plays Maria, now promoted to lieutenant. The show’s co-creator, writer, director and executive producer Fernando Rovzar wanted to tell a gritty crime story with a touch of traditional Mexican melodrama that exposes wrong-doing in the establishment. A lot of research went into ensuring the events were portrayed with honesty, responsibility and respect, he said. “One of the things I love about Mexico is that it’s one big grey area. I think this season was an opportunity to really test the moral compass of the four ‘Azules’. Do they defend the system that they know is wrong or do they defend their own principles, even though they have to go against the system?” said Rovzar. The eight-episode season shows the foursome navigating new territory on and off duty, said Ximena Sarinana, who plays Angeles, with “all going through transitions, trying to adapt to what the expectation is of a woman in their specific situation.” Season two recently started streaming, with one episode released weekly through Sept 30, and Rovzar is ready to carry on. “There’s so many stories we can still tackle, issues from the past that are also relevant today that we can continue to take over. The pen’s in my hand and I’m ready for another one,” he said. – Reuters

‘Effortless’ return for Ted Lasso cast W ITH World Cup excitement still reverberating, Apple TV’s football comedy The trip allowed the actors to better understand Sudeikis’s inspiration when he co-created the show, one of Apple TV’s most successful series, said Temple, who plays the charismatic model turned-publicist Keeley Jones. (From left) Hunt, English actress Tanya Reynolds, Sudeikis, Apple senior vice-president John Ternus, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Waddingham, Swift and Temple attend the premiere of Ted Lasso . – AFPPIC o Series co-stars speak about season four The location shift in the new season has allowed the series to bring back familiar faces including Sudeikis, Waddingham, Temple, Swift, Hunt and Brett Goldstein, who plays AFC Richmond captain Roy Kent. Justin Bieber into the match as a substitute.

hit Ted Lasso is returning after a three-year hiatus, and according to the cast, they needed no warm-up to get back on the pitch. “It felt completely and utterly... effortless. Just ridiculously effortless,” Hannah Waddingham told AFP at a press event alongside co-stars Jeremy Swift and Juno Temple ahead of season four’s recent premiere. “I think we’ve always felt like a family from day one on this,” added Waddingham, the award-winning British actress who plays Rebecca Welton, the ruthless president of the fictional professional English soccer club AFC Richmond. Swift, who portrays team executive Leslie Higgins, chimed in that the cast “hit the ground running” when filming resumed. The new season of Ted Lasso , which stars Jason Sudeikis in the title role, shifts the action to the optimistic American coach’s (and Sudeikis’s own) native Kansas, where he has been invited to helm a second-division women’s team.

But it also offers the bandwidth to introduce new characters, bringing fresh tension and comedic drama. The focus will be on the up-and coming team, the challenges it faces and the roster of players jockeying for influence and pitch time. Faye Marsay, who steps into the cleats of the sharp-tongued centre back Lizzie, said she felt it was appropriate to use the hit series as a “platform to shine light on the problems in women’s sport and the things that we need to do better”. The show is not “shoving anything down anyone’s throat”, she said, but it is exposing challenges for women athletes including motherhood and equal treatment. “I think we do it in a kind of subtle and graceful way.” Apple TV will release weekly episodes of Ted Lasso until the season finale premieres on Oct 7.

“It felt like a really, really special way to come back again, to be slightly out of our comfort zone. That was great,” said the English actress. “(It was vital to) have this kind of beautiful vacation together in a place that’s very important to Ted and very important to Jason,” Temple said, describing it as “such a fun experience for all three of us”. Showcasing women’s sports Ted Lasso debuted on Apple TV in 2020 and became the platform’s flagship series. In a teaser for its highly anticipated return, Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt appeared in character as Ted and his assistant Coach Beard during the halftime show of last month’s World Cup final between Argentina and Spain. In the skit, Sudeikis acted as if he were sending pop superstar

A poster of Las Azules . – IMDBPIC