'The Brokenwood Mysteries' Trailer Celebrates A Decade of Seeing Out of the Ordinary Things

It's the tenth anniversary of New Zealand's Sky Open (formerly known as Prime) debuting the beloved cozy crime show The Brokenwood Mysteries. Set in the (fictitious) titular town on the North Island of the country in the greater Auckland region (where the show is actually filmed), the odd couple buddy detective series began as one of those traditional "old wily copper sent down vs new rule following young thing coming up" shows, with some gender dynamics at play. The series stars Neill Rea (which most Americans will remember from the 1990s series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, the less-popular male counterpart to Lucy Lawless' Xena: Warrior Princess) as the old wily cop, DSS Mike Shepherd and local New Zealand actor Fern Sutherland as his reluctant partner DS Kristin Sims.

A decade is a long time for a show to last, as most fans of shows like Grantchester (which is on its third priest going into Season 9) or Death In Paradise (which is hiring its fifth lead heading into Season 14). It's a tribute to Rea and Sutherland's chemistry and commitment to the show that the two still co-lead the series ten years on. It helps that series creator Tim Balme is the current showrunner and continues to work as head writer and producer. This stability was key to the show's continuing success, as it actually left Prime in 2021 when faced with possible cancelation, moving fully under the auspices of American streaming partner Acorn TV, and now airs on TVNZ One in its original home country.

With the tenth anniversary season arriving in America first, fans will get to see the weird and quirky ways the team solves this new set of six cases when the series premieres at the end of April 2024. Check out the trailer.

Here's the synopsis:

It's been ten years since the launch of "New Zealand's answer to Midsomer Murders," when DI Mike Shepherd arrives in the seemingly peaceful town of Brokenwood with a classic car, a country music collection, and an indeterminate number of ex-wives to find himself saddled with a by-the-book investigator 15 years younger than his car in DC Kristin Sims. A decade on, Shepherd is still discovering Brokenwood is full of secrets and suspicions. From a brutal murder with a Jurassic twist to a spooky crime scene amidst the Day of the Dead, a lovestruck dental patient and a vicious visit to a House of Horrors, this seasons’ homicides capture the quirky spirit of New Zealand’s deadliest town.

Season 10 sees the return of core cast Neill Rea as Shepherd, Fern Sutherland as Sims, Jarod Rawiri as DC Daniel Chalmers, and Cristina Ionda as Dr. Gina Kadinsky. Also returning for the anniversary season: Karl Willetts as Frodo Oades, Jason Hoyte as Ray Neilson, Tracy Lee Gray as Trudy Neilson, Shane Cortese as Dennis Buchanan, Zara Cormack as Kimberly Mason, Roy Ward as Rev. Lucas Greene, Phil Peleton as Neil Bloom, and Cameron Rhodes as Dr Roger Plummer.

The Brokenwood Mysteries Season 10 premieres on Acorn TV on Monday, April 29, and airs one episode a week every Monday through June 2024.