'The Brokenwood Mysteries' Return to Acorn TV for Season 11

The beloved cozy crime show The Brokenwood Mysteries returns to Acorn TV for Season 11, taking the New Zealand-set series into its second decade. Set in the (fictitious) titular town on the North Island of the country in the greater Auckland region, the series started as a traditional "old wily copper sent down vs new rule following young thing coming up" show, with some gender dynamics at play, but over the decade on the air, as the partners have become equals, it's turned into odd couple buddy detective series. The all-new season sees DSS Mike Shepherd and Detective Kristin Sims plunging into a web of deception as mysterious murders plague the community.

The series, which 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 DSS Mike Shepherd and Fern Sutherland as his partner DS Kristin Sims. The series was initially greenlit and aired on Sky Open (then called Prime) in New Zealand starting in 2014 and scooped up for exclusive streaming by Acorn TV. After its first seven seasons, it shifted from being a Sky-produced series to an Acorn TV-produced series, as Sky would have canceled it had Acorn TV not picked it up. 

The series now airs in the U.S. before it heads to its home country to air on TVNZ One later in the year, still featuring the original formidable duo and their team (which turned over post-Season 7) investigating crimes in the sleepy and secret-filled town of Brokenwood, New Zealand.

Here's the new season's synopsis:

From seemingly supernatural incidents in the idyllic community of Brokenwood to mysterious murders with hidden motives, Season 11 of the series sees Shepherd and his team plunge into a web of deception, greed and dark secrets, using less than conventional methods to tackle their most perplexing cases yet.

Here are the episode titles:

1. “The Ghost in You” (Monday, April 21)
2. “Sudden Death Round” (April 28)
3. “All Hallows Eve” (May 5)
4. “How the Other Half Dies” (May 12)
5. “The End of the Line” (May 19)
6. “An Oades to Christmas” (Monday, May 26) 

Season 11 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. 

Tim Balme is the Season 11 head writer penning two episodes, along with Laura Hill & Roy Ward, Tania Klouwens, and Mike Smith. Smith also directed two of the series' six episodes, with Ian Hughes, Jacqueline Nairn, Awanui Simich-Pene, and Katie Wolfe, also helming installments. The series is executive produced by Sally Campbell, Kelly Martin, and Andrew Szusterman. 

The Brokenwood Mysteries Season 11 premieres on Acorn TV on Monday, April 21, 2025, and airs weekly episodes every Monday through the end of May. The Brokenwood Mysteries Seasons 1 through 4 are streaming on select PBS Passports.