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The Brokenwood Mysteries

The Brokenwood Mysteries is a New Zealand television detective drama series that premiered on Prime in 2014. Each of the first six series comprises four distinct episodes. From Series 7, seasons were extended to six episodes. The programme is set in the fictitious New Zealand town of Brokenwood in the North Island and is filmed in the greater Auckland region. Tim Balme is the current showrunner, having conceived the series, while also working as head writer and producer.

Since 2021, the programme moved networks and now screens on TVNZ One.

The core cast includes Neill Rea as Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Shepherd, Fern Sutherland as Detective Kristin Sims, Nic Sampson as Detective Constable Sam Breen, Cristina Ionda as Dr. Gina Kadinsky, medical examiner, and Jarod Rawiri as Detective Constable Daniel Chalmers.

In January 2023, Slovak television channel WAU, owned by TV JOJ, started transmitting the series.

Season 10 will be released on Acorn in North America starting with Episode 1 on Monday April 29th, 2024, with successive episodes released weekly on a Monday. Release of Season 10 for other territories will most likely follow the pattern used in 2023 for Season 9.

Synopsis

Detective Inspector Mike Shepherd is sent from Auckland to Brokenwood to investigate a local police officer. With a possible murder investigation underway that might link the two, Shepherd takes charge. After the investigation, Shepherd reassesses his life and decides to stay on indefinitely, even though it means a demotion to Detective Senior Sergeant. Brokenwood is a seemingly quiet country town where Shepherd, who has an unconventional approach to police work, is assisted by local Detective Kristin Sims, who is precise and efficient at her job, to solve murders. As the series progresses, the working relationship between the two moves from rocky to functional as they begin to appreciate each other's talents.

Setting

The fictional town of Brokenwood has a population of about 5,000 and is located some 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the coast. It is in a farming area, with crops ranging from wheat to local wine, and the surrounding area is home to many people who have escaped city life (from retirees to alternative lifestylers). Though the exact location of Brokenwood is not stated, it was largely written and filmed in small towns immediately to the north of Auckland. The real-life town of Warkworth doubles as Brokenwood, and the Brokenwood Police Station is a 1911 building that was formerly the Helensville Post Office. In "Sour Grapes", Shepherd and Sims are seen travelling into Auckland across the Auckland Harbour Bridge, which would confirm that Brokenwood is also located to the north of the city. In the same episode, it is mentioned that it takes two and a half hours by road to get from Brokenwood to Auckland. This would put Brokenwood considerably farther north than either Warkworth or Helensville. A map on the police station wall covers much of Whangarei District, from southern Bream Bay north to Matapouri, and another map shown in "Catch of the Day" locates Brokenwood close to the settlement of Whangārei Heads, at the northern end of Bream Bay.

Cast

Main

Neill Rea as Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Shepherd: a detective who decided to settle down in Brokenwood for a more peaceful life. He has many personal secrets, including several marriages, a nephew with Down Syndrome, and a love for country music and his 1971 Holden Kingswood classic car. He often pursues criminals in a way that seems odd to his colleagues.
Fern Sutherland as Detective Kristin Sims: a cynical and intelligent young woman who has had many dating misfortunes. She is often irritated by Shepherd's methods and his blunt manner, but she gradually learns to appreciate his skills.
Nic Sampson as Detective Constable Sam Breen (series 1-7): a young officer who often has embarrassing or awkward visits with suspects. His girlfriend Roxy gets a new job in the Solomon Islands and Breen moves away in the beginning of series 7.
Jarod Rawiri as Detective Constable Daniel Chalmers (series 7-present): Chalmers replaces Breen after Breen moves to the Solomon Islands. Chalmers is Māori and an experienced former uniformed officer, and brings a no-nonsense style to the Brokenwood CIB.
Cristina Ionda as Dr. Gina Kadinsky, the medical examiner. She is a highly eccentric Russian woman who often talks about how things were in Russia and doesn't quite understand "the English humour". She drops frequent hints that she is attracted to Shepherd, an attraction that is not reciprocated.

Recurring

Elizabeth McRae as Mrs. Jean Marlowe (series 2–7): a kindly older woman who often engages in gossip after a murder.
Pana Hema Taylor as Jared Morehu (series 1–3; guest series 5; series 6): Shepherd's Māori neighbour. As a local who has many friends and interests, he often finds himself involved in murder investigations.
Colin Moy as Simon Hughes: the senior police superintendent/commander (exact rank is uncertain) for the region and a close friend of DSS Shepherd.
Karl Willetts as Frankie "Frodo" Oades: a former mechanic who later owns Frodo's Coffee trailer/cart.
Jason Hoyte as Ray Neilson (series 2–present): the proprietor of several local pubs, including The Frog and Cheetah, and the owner of Porky Pigeon Pizzeria.
Tracy Lee Gray as Trudy Neilson (series 3-4, 6-present): Ray Neilson's sister, co-proprietor of the hotels, and one-time resident of the Brokenwood Women's Prison.
Shane Cortese as Dennis Buchanan (series 2–present): a canny and suave defence lawyer who often crosses swords with the police.
Zara Cormack as Kimberly Mason, Frodo's not-quite girlfriend.
Roy Ward as Reverend Lucas Greene (series 2–3, 5-present): a local Anglican priest who thinks well of others out of Christian charity.
Phil Peleton as Neil Bloom (series 1-present): a local pharmacist and later mayor of Brokenwood
Rawiri Jobe as Kahu Taylor (series 4–5): Jared's cousin (or rather, Jared is his "brother's cousin", invariably provoking the question "how does that work?"). He's a self-employed plumber.
Cameron Rhodes as Dr Roger Plummer (series 3, 7-present): the local psychiatrist, member of volunteer fire-brigade, musical theatre society and lover of fine red wine.

Guests

Several well-known New Zealand actors have appeared in episodes of The Brokenwood Mysteries, among them:

Ben Barrington ("Leather & Lace")
Amanda Billing ("Over Her Dead Body")
Ken Blackburn ("Catch of the Day", "The Killing Machine", and "As If Nothing Had Happened")
Alison Bruce ("The Dark Angel")
Lisa Chappell ("Good as Gold")
Shane Cortese ("Catch of the Day" and "A Merry Bloody Christmas")
Josephine Davison ("Sour Grapes")
Stuart Devenie ("As If Nothing Had Happened")
Mike Edward ("Blood and Water" and "The Scarecrow")
Peter Elliott ("Sour Grapes")
David Fane ("The Killing Machine")
J.J. Fong ("Over Her Dead Body")
Mark Hadlow ("The Garotte and the Vinkelbraun")
Miranda Harcourt ("To Die or Not to Die")
Peter Hayden ("A Merry Bloody Christmas")
Theresa Healey ("Over Her Dead Body")
Laura Hill ("Over Her Dead Body" and "The Killing Machine")
Chris Hobbs ("The Killing Machine")
Xavier Horan ("Leather & Lace")
Nicola Kawana ("Over Her Dead Body" and "A Merry Bloody Christmas")
Robyn Malcolm ("To Die or Not to Die")
Ian Mune ("As If Nothing Had Happened")
Miriama McDowell ("Blood and Water" and "Hunting the Stag")
Jacqueline Nairn ("Stone Cold Dead")
Rachel Nash ("Scared to Death")
Dean O'Gorman ("The Dark Angel")
Ingrid Park ("Catch of the Day", "As If Nothing Had Happened" and "Tontine")
Bree Peters ("Three Coins in a Fountain")
Donogh Rees ("Playing the Lie")
Jodie Rimmer ("Leather & Lace", "To Die or Not to Die" and "Blood Pink")
Ilona Rodgers ("Tontine")
Emmett Skilton ("The Black Widower")
Esther Stephens ("Fall From Grace")
Olivia Tennet ("Scared to Death")
Roz Turnbull ("Playing the Lie")
Calvin Tuteao ("Playing the Lie")
Jared Turner ("Hunting the Stag")
Bronwyn Turei ("Blood Pink")
Aidee Walker ("The Dark Angel")
Catherine Wilkin ("As If Nothing Had Happened")
Katie Wolfe ("The Black Widower")
Tandi Wright ("The Dark Angel")
Sara Wiseman ("Here's to You, Mrs. Robinson")

Casting changes

Nic Sampson, the actor who played D.C. Sam Breen, left the show to move back to the United Kingdom. His character was replaced by D.C. Daniel Chalmers (played by Jarod Rawiri). who was introduced in series 7 episode 2.

Episodes

Series overview

Series 1 (2014)

Series 2 (2015)

Series 3 (2016)

Series 4 (2017)

Series 5 (2018)

Series 6 (2019)

Series 7 (2021)

Series 8 (2022)

Episode one aired on Friday, 1 July on Acorn in North America, with all the following episodes airing on the Mondays following (4 July, etc).

Series 9 (2023)

• Episode began streaming on Acorn in North America on Monday, 10 April 2023 with each of the rest of the episodes released on successive Mondays.

Series 10 (2024)

Ratings

International

In France the series is shown on France 3 with a viewer average of 3.4 million each episode and has been retitled Brokenwood.
The series has also been shown in Denmark, the United States, Australia and Italy.
The series premiered in Australia on 13th Street on 27 January 2016. It is also shown on the 9Gem channel.
The series premiered in the United States and Canada on Acorn TV the same day as New Zealand as one of the US co-producers and broadcasters.

The series also airs on Knowledge Network, the public television service of British Columbia.

The series also airs on television on several PBS stations. The series later premiered on Ovation (American TV channel) on 28 June 2021.

The series started being shown in the United Kingdom and Ireland on the Drama Channel in February 2017.
The series were shown in Bulgaria by Fox Crime Bulgaria in March 2017.
The series has been shown in Finland by YLE from 2017 on. In Finland the series title goes by the local name of "Murhia ja kantrimusiikkia", meaning "Murders and country-music". Episodes are shown in two pieces, ie 1/2 and 2/2. One half episode lasts for 45 minutes and has no ads. Episodes are shown every weekday, usually for the first time in traditional 17:10 slot.
The series premiered in Italy on Giallo on 16 April 2016 titled I misteri di Brokenwood.
The series premiered in Germany on Das Erste on 21 July 2019 titled Brokenwood - Mord in Neuseeland.
The series premiered in Belgium on één, on 8 May 2020.
The series has also been shown in Czech TV Prima titled Vraždy v Brokenwoodu.
Shown in Japan on AXN.

Reception and awards

Critical response to the series has been generally good, with many reviewers impressed by the plots and the uniquely laconic dialogue. The two-hour length (broadcast length with ads) of episodes has been mentioned by some as too long for such a series. However, for most of the world that receive the show on streamers and ad free, the 90 minute length provides a satisfying investment, offering more twists and turns than the usual commercial one hour format allows.

James Croot in Stuff praised 'series head writer Tim Balme does a terrific job of keeping the audience guessing as to the killer while carving out a few nice character moments and a rich vein of humour' and that 'with its “gentle” approach to murders, twisty mysteries and warm, witty and relatively uncomplicated regulars, it’s easy to see why Brokenwood has gained such a global following.

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, critic Colin Hogg panned the series, stating that it was "a local version aiming at that grand TV detective tradition" but that its "Dialogue is clichéd, the acting aches and the locations are boring." International television website "The Medium is Not Enough" was also generally negative in its review, describing the series as a "genteel, New Zealand drama designed to appeal to perhaps an older demographic that likes comfortable murder-mysteries and to New Zealanders eager to watch anything that’s actually set in New Zealand and stars New Zealanders."

However, both Hogg and TMINE were proved to be outliers in their criticism with the show garnering a viewership in the multi-millions around the globe from a loyal fanbase that constantly praise the writing, acting and locations the show is set in. Screening across 17 territories the number of countries it screens in numbers over 100 and with the show now domiciled on TVNZ 1 in its home country of New Zealand, its audience constantly places it ratings wise as the highest locally made drama.

Christine Tidball, writing for the entertainment website Cheese on Toast was kinder, rating the series "charming, without being cloying, very well-written (thanks to Tim Balme) and funny, but not too funny [...] It’s also engaging, full of twists, and will keep you guessing right till the end."

As the series has progressed, reviews have become more positive. DVD review website High Def Standard described the first series as "uniquely thrilling TV" and "a New Zealand Midsomer Murders that isn’t afraid to venture off into Twin Peaks territory every now and again." The Manawatu Standard's Malcolm Hopwood enjoyed the series but lamented episode length: "The Brokenwood Mysteries (Prime Sundays) is like our TPP negotiations. They are long, energy-sapping but satisfying if you're still awake after two hours." He added that the series was "intriguing, confusing and exhausting", and that it "deserves our support but it needs to be recorded and watched in small chunks." Michael Reuben, writing for blu-ray.com, rated series one at 4 stars out of 5.

The Brokenwood Mysteries received SWANZ Best Script Award from The NZ Writer's Guild for Tim Balme's script 'Sour Grapes' in 2015.

The Brokenwood Mysteries received a bronze world medal at the New York Festival's International Television and Film Awards in 2014.

The Brokenwood Mysteries received a silver world medal at the New York Festival's International Television and Film Awards in 2018.

The Edgar Allan Poe Award - Nomination - Episode 3 Season 7 - 2022

The Brokenwood Mysteries received a bronze world medal at the New York Festival's International Television and Film Awards in 2023.

Cars

Shepherd's car is a 1971 Holden Kingswood (HG series). It has a cassette player for his country music cassettes.

Music

Brokenwood Mysteries showcases New Zealand's own country and alternative rock music. In the first season, Shepherd is introduced as a fan of country and western music, sharing the music with Sims while driving around in his car. The music he listens to and the background music of the show are all New Zealand performers. Season two, which climaxed with the death of country singer Holly Collins, was scored by Canadian-born Kiwi-based Tami Neilson and her brother Jay Neilson. Three volumes of soundtracks covering season 1, 2, and 6 of the show have been released digitally on Apple Music, Amazon and Spotify.

With the exception of Season Two, all episodes have been scored by Joel Haines, including many original compositions.

New Zealand musicians exhibited on Brokenwood include Tami Neilson, Mel Parsons, Delaney Davidson, Barry Saunders, the Harbour Union, Barnaby Weir of the Black Seeds, the Unfaithful Way, and Jenny Mitchell. Other singers are Marlon Williams, the Warratahs, Bannerman, The DeSotos, Aldous Harding, Jackie Bristow, The Fables, Ghost Town, Reb Fountain, The Eastern, Carla Werner and Esther Stephens.