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Knock on Brokenwood

Knock on Brokenwood

By DQ
October 14, 2025

STAR POWER

Eleven seasons and counting, New Zealand murder-mystery drama The Brokenwood Mysteries is still going strong, boosted by a broad international audience. Actors Neill Rea, Fern Sutherland and Jarod Rawiri reflect on the show’s success.

Since 2014, something strange has been occurring in Brokenwood. In the seemingly quiet New Zealand town, the country’s newest resident, Detective Inspector Mike Shepherd, finds murder lurks around every corner.

Now running to 11 seasons, each episode of The Brokenwood Mysteries follows detectives Shepherd (Neill Rea) and Kristin Sims (Fern Sutherland) as they set out to solve the latest murder case, with Daniel Chalmers (Jarod Rawiri) entering the fray in season seven.

Created by lead writer and producer Tim Balme, the series airs in New Zealand on TVNZ1 and in more than 150 countries worldwide, including Acorn TV in the US, France Télévisions and U&Drama in the UK. It is produced by South Pacific Pictures and distributed by All3Media International.

Here, Rea, Sutherland and Rawiri reflect on the show’s success, the community of Brokenwood and some of their favourite episodes.

Eleven seasons in, how are you enjoying the continuing success of The Brokenwood Mysteries?
Neill Rea: The success of the ‘tiny show that could’ kind of snuck up on us. Early on it was faring far better overseas than in Aotearoa (New Zealand) so the attention wasn’t overbearing. It’s now pretty big at home as well. Over the past three years my partner and I have done quite extensive trips through Europe. I was recognised and approached a lot. That was both humbling and surprising. If there was secret sauce for creating successful TV then that sauce would sell extremely well. The reality, I believe, is that creating a successful TV show is part planning, part luck, part alchemy and a decent dollop of humility.

And what can you tell us about your character, DI Mike Shepherd?
Rea: Great at solving crime. Terrible at relationships. Five marriages deep he’s close to swearing off commitment. Prone to being a lone wolf, his off-siders are slowly beating that out of him. He’s two parts empathy, one part avenging angel and one part apparently distracted Colombo.

Fern, what can you tell us about your character, Kristin Sims?
Fern Sutherland: Kristin is hard working with an eye for detail. She can be a bit myopic, and once she latches on to a hunch she will go down that road until someone (usually Mike or Chalmers) tells her to stop. Similarly, her personal life (what personal life?!) is always the first thing to be sacrificed as she is entirely married to her job. She finds people interesting but also quite confounding and sometimes lacks the tact required for nuanced interrogation. She loves and respects Mike as a colleague and is loyal to him above all else.

Neill Rea as DI Mike Shepherd: ‘Great at solving crime. Terrible at relationships.’

How has Kristin changed or evolved over the 11 seasons?
Sutherland: She has certainly relinquished some of her need for control and to do things ‘by the book.’ This is in large part due to Mike arriving in Brokenwood. He gently and gradually expanded her approach. When they first met she received him with a generous dose of scepticism and even outright disdain, but they have become a solid team and enjoy a relationship that is somewhere between friend and mentor.

I get the sense that this is the longest Kristin has stayed in any professional role before, as she is far too driven to hang about, but the fact that she has come to truly love her murderous little town and adore her colleagues has meant that she’s recalibrated her priorities. The accolades and glory of bigger promotions no longer hold their appeal, now she appreciates the things that matter: people. That shows that she’s changed a great deal to when we first met her 12 years ago.

And Jarod, can you introduce your character, Daniel Chalmers?
Jarod Rawiri: Daniel is the eye candy of the show! Jokes. He’s the local boy who went to the city to find himself and returned back home to Brokenwood. His private life is just that, private. He’s loyal, trusts his instincts and believes in doing the right thing. He will do whatever needs to be done for the team.

The community of Brokenwood is an important part of the show. How would you describe it?
Rea: They feel a little like the inhabitants of Dylan Thomas’s Llareggub [the fictional setting of his play Under Milk Wood]. They’re all eccentric, most have a heart of gold and it’s unnerving how they often, unwittingly have the tiny kernel of intel that helps unlock the case.

The Brokenwood Mysteries airs on TVNZ1 and in more than 150 other countries

Is there a format or familiar structure to each episode?
Rea: There is, or there are several variations on that structure. However, the most rewarding ones deviate from those structures. Season 11, episode one, for instance, delivers a sucker punch at the end that is quite unexpected and a little un-Brokenwood. In season seven, Dog Day Afternoon is a kind of Dumb & Dumber meets heist movie. Funny but touching in the end nonetheless. Basically any of the episodes that feature the Oades crime family – the thickest mob gang ever – follow their own structure. It’s like you can’t box in those characters.

In what ways does the series explore real-life in New Zealand and the country’s diverse culture?
Rea: I think my favourite episode is A Dark Angel. It parallels a real-life story in Aotearoa/NZ which centred around abusive Electric Shock Treatment. It was hard hitting but also deftly handled by the writer.

Neill, how involved are you now behind the scenes, having worked on the show for so long?
Rea: I’ve done a spot of trainee directing on it, which I enjoyed. We’re all constantly suggesting storylines which Tim, our glorious leader, is only too happy to cherry pick. I used to work as a casting director, so at times I offer some unsolicited advice.

What are the challenges in making the series, either in front of the camera or behind the scenes?
Rea: Keeping it fresh and giving ourselves obstacles as actors. For the core cast, I think the moments when the personal life stories intrude on cases are the most rewarding. This is often when a character’s even keel or balance is upset. In these moments of inconsistency we see real character.

The episode Publish or Be Damned begins with a body found in a waterfall

The series is also hugely popular overseas. What’s the universal appeal?
Sutherland: Someone once described the show as ‘Scooby Doo for adults,’ which is perhaps simplistic but I kind of thought it was brilliant. Everyone, child or adult, loves to solve a puzzle, especially the high-stakes ones, such as a murder. I get people of all ages telling me they enjoy the show because of this fact. And it’s nice these days to still have a scripted show that people could potentially all watch together as a family, because the subject matter is handled in a manner where it isn’t too gruesome and the language isn’t too inappropriate.

I also think everyone in the world knows and understands the “small town” dynamic, these idiosyncratic places exist everywhere, the places change but the archetypes are the same. Many of us live in cities and perhaps lack a tight-knit sense of community. It’s nice to visit a place where this is front and centre, even if the trade-off is that someone dies every time.

Why do you think viewers continue to enjoy murder mystery series, and why do you think this one stands out?
Rawiri: I don’t know if our show stands out over other shows, but I do know that fans relate easily to the town and its characters. People who I have interacted with talk like they know Mike, Kristen and Daniel, as if they live just up the road. That’s what I think makes it charming. Of course the murder and the whodunits are cleverly placed as well so it does a great job of feeling cosy and puzzling all in one show.

Are there any particularly memorable episodes or cases the team has had to solve?
Rawiri: In recent memory, the final episode of season 11 with the Oades Christmas caper. It was hilarious and the actors who play the Oades family are an absolute joy to work with. The murder is so ridiculous that solving it is less interesting than the joy of watching this family tie themselves in knots as they try to dupe the detectives. So much fun!

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