The Brokenwood Mysteries


The Brokenwood Mysteries is a New Zealand detective, drama television series that premiered on Prime in 2014. The programme is set in the fictitious New Zealand town of Brokenwood and was filmed in the greater Auckland region. Tim Balme conceived the series and is lead writer with Philip Dalkin, James Griffin and Greg McGee. In December 2014, it was confirmed that The Brokenwood Mysteries would return for a four-episode second season set to premiere in 2015. NZ on Air approved funding of :New Zealand dollar|NZ$4.3 million for the first season, :New Zealand dollar|NZ$4 million for the second season and :New Zealand dollar|NZ$4.1 million for third season. The show was renewed for a fourth series in 2017, and a fifth season in 2018. Funding for the sixth season was confirmed in December 2018.
The cast includes Neill Rea as Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Shepherd, Fern Sutherland as Detective Kristin Sims, Pana Hema Taylor as Jared Morehu, Shepherd's Maori neighbour, Nic Sampson as Detective Constable Sam Breen and Cristina Ionda as Dr. Gina Kadinsky, medical examiner.
Critical response to the series has been mixed. Many reviewers have been impressed by the plots, but lament the occasionally hokey dialogue but as the series expanded it was later seen more as quirky and true to its kiwi roots. Some have criticised the two-hour length, which includes ads, as being too long for such a series but the general criticism from the ever growing fan base is that the seasons of 4 episodes each are too short and hope that that can be extended.

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 5000, and is located some from the coast. It is in a farming area, with crops ranging from wheat to viticulture, and the surrounding area is home to many people who have escaped city life. 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 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 further north. A map shown in "Catch of the Day" locates Brokenwood close to the settlement of Whangarei Heads, at the northern end of Bream Bay.

Cast

Main

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

Series overview

Series 1 (2014)

Series 2 (2015)

Series 3 (2016)

Series 4 (2017)

Series 5 (2018)

Series 6 (2019)

Ratings

Series 1

Series 2

International

Critical response to the series has been mixed, with many reviewers impressed by the plots but lamenting the occasionally hokey dialogue. The two-hour length of episodes has also been mentioned by some as too long for such a series.
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 cliched, 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 "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."
Christine Tidball, writing for entertainment website Cheese on Toast was kinder, rating the series "charming, without being cloying, very well-written 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 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 series has generally proved popular with the public, and has rated 7.0 out of 10 by reviewers on IMDb.com.
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.

Cars

Shepherd's car is a 1971 Holden Kingswood. 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.
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, Rob Fountain, The Eastern, and Esther Stephens.

DVD releases