The Brokenwood Mysteries must never die
New Zealand's deadliest drama is back for its 10th season. Plus: your next must-watch police thriller, and the sweet delights of Netflix’s Geek Girl.
I have a lot of questions whenever I catch an episode of The Brokenwood Mysteries, but the main one is always: why would anyone live there, given everyone keeps getting killed? There’s something about Brokenwood that pulls people in, and it’s the same for audiences around the world who can’t get enough of this quiet homegrown murder-mystery. As the show returns for an impressive 10th season, I turned detective to work out why a show about unusual new ways of dying is such a reassuring watch. We’ve also got plenty of great TV, film and podcast recs to keep you going through this wintery weekend. Happy watching.
How is this show about murder and mayhem such a comfort watch?
In the dark of night, a mysterious figure drags a body through a sea of mud. The next morning, as the local community celebrates the discovery of a dinosaur fossil, two men see that same body floating down a stream. “Any chance he’s still alive?” one man asks as they pull the dripping body ashore. Then, we see it: a hammer protruding from the victim's head in a way that hammers should generally not protrude from a head.
“I don’t think so,” the other man replies.
Welcome back to the sleepy community of Brokenwood, and say hello to a 10th season of murder and mayhem in The Brokenwood Mysteries. For the past decade, this New Zealand murder mystery series has entertained viewers both here and around the world, beloved by audiences from America to Italy to Africa. It’s screened in 150 countries, won several international TV awards and starred nearly every New Zealand actor under the sun, including Dame Miranda Harcourt, Ian Mune and Robyn Malcolm. Fans of the show travel to Aotearoa to visit Brokenwood locations in the flesh, and if you’ve ever yearned for Mrs Marlowe’s cheese roll recipe, you can now buy your own official Brokenwood merch.
The Brokenwood Mysteries is one of our most successful and long-running television series, and the first episode of season 10 hits all of the show’s familiar marks. Country-music loving Detective Mike Shepherd (Neill Rea) and his team must unravel a typically bizarre murder, complicated by a variety of eccentric locals hiding secrets of their own. It's an enduring picture of small-town New Zealand life that many of us can relate to – apart from all the inventive killing. Just when these detectives think they’ve seen every possible way to knock someone off, along comes a palaeontologist with a hammer stuck in his noggin.
It’s this familiarity that’s the secret to Brokenwood’s success. Sure, it’s not the most searing of New Zealand dramas; it doesn’t have the intensity of After the Party or the contemporary sharpness of Friends Like Her, but it doesn’t matter. Brokenwood isn’t trying to be anything it’s not, and it never takes its audience for granted. It sits comfortably in a niche of its own making, a reliably entertaining murder mystery filled with dry wit and dark humour that viewers around the world are clearly dying to escape into.
In this unpredictable, fast-changing world, there’s a weird comfort to this show that presents us with a thousand different ways to die. It’s a cozy world of its own time and place, set in a lush green corner of the country that’s somehow nowhere in particular yet still recognisably us. There’s nothing confronting about Brokenwood, even when the victim is garrotted on a World War Two torture device. And if nobody in Brokenwood worries about living in the murder capital of Aotearoa, why should we? They’re too busy having lovely time visiting the local farmers market, until a body falls out of a barn with a pitchfork wedged in their back.
Nothing about Brokenwood makes sense, but somehow, everything about it works. You’ll always know where you are with Brokenwood, and as the 10th season begins this weekend, there are few other shows that make murder so enjoyable. The Brokenwood Mysteries might well be obsessed with death, but there’s no more comforting New Zealand show on television.
The Brokenwood Mysteries returns to TVNZ1 on Sunday 16 June at 8.30pm and streams on TVNZ+.
Introducing Juggernaut: The Story of the Fourth Labour Government
In a new six-part series, Toby Manhire interviews more than 20 people at the heart of the momentous social, cultural and economic changes that resulted from NZ's pivotal 1984 snap election. Follow now to make sure you get every episode. Episode 1 - I love you, Mr Lange is available now.
Juggernaut was made with the support of NZ On Air.
Why you should watch: Blue Lights (ThreeNow)
Line of Duty is on semi-permanent hiatus. Happy Valley has definitively concluded. Slow Horses has become more like a video game. It means the British cops-and-crims thriller crown is vacant – or was, because the BBC's Blue Lights has just snatched it with a superb second season. Set in Northern Ireland, amid echoes of the Troubles, the first season followed three new recruits joining a besieged police station facing down pernicious organised crime while dealing with messy personal lives. Season two picks up a year on, with a heroin infestation blighting Mt Eden, here an impoverished (!) fictional suburb of Belfast. A loyalist ex-soldier enters the fray, setting off a morally complex main plot, with generous doses of muscular thriller and will-they-or-won't-they romantic tension. It all adds up to a taut, gripping series which feels like it could run for years to come. / Duncan Greive
Why you should watch: Border Patrol (TVNZ+)
It’s been a fixture on our screens for two decades and screens in over 40 countries, and I loved Alex Casey’s deep dive into the history of Border Patrol. It seems we can’t get enough of watching strangers making questionable choices – or as the CEO of Greenstone TV (which makes the series) puts it, “human beings are endlessly interesting, and people do dumb shit all the time.”
“Border Patrol is like a contraband box of chocolates – you never know what you’re going to get,” Alex writes. “It might be a festering horse head, a Latvian national declaring that he is here to start a new country, or a middle-aged woman with a suitcase lining laced with $800,000 worth of cocaine. There could be a man with suspiciously wet cargo pants, later revealed to be smuggling dozens of tropical fish under his clothes, or a Canadian woman who brought a live cat in her carry-on. Whatever episode you watch, one thing is for sure: someone is going to get busted.”
More pop culture news from The Spinoff:
It’s more politics than pop culture, but I can’t recommend The Spinoff’s new podcast Juggernaut enough. Listen to episode one here and read more about the ghosts of 1984 here.
It was a delight to speak with comedian Dai Henwood about his favourite TV memories for this week’s My Life in TV, and I haven’t stopped thinking about Jin the Otter since.
Duncan Greive had a natter with one of TV’s most likeable blokes Phil Spencer, ahead of the launch of new show NZ’s Best Homes with Phil Spencer.
“After a night of making poor decisions, this slapper really cures any traces of hangxiety dealing with my Sunday blues”. This week’s Perfect Weekend Playlist with SPYCC from SWIDT is a cracker.
I took a close look at the first trailer for season two of The Traitors NZ, which features zero celebrities and a whole lot of drama.
Never before has a toothbrush caused so much heartache, so don’t miss Alex Casey’s magnificent Married at First Sight NZ power rankings.
Mad Chapman’s whistleblowing piece about the sweary filth oozing out of RNZ is an absolute gem.
Check out all the new shows dropping on your favourite streaming service this week.
Why you should watch: Geek Girl (Netflix)
I had zero expectations when I lazily hit play on Geek Girl last Friday night. It looked like the kind of “mid” young adult fare I might put on for background noise. Good lesson in not judging a show by its Netflix cover art. Geek Girl is based on a series of books by Holly Smale. It’s the slightly unbelievable, highly watchable and quite sweet story of Harriet Manners (Emily Carey), a socially awkward and bullied teenager who gets talent spotted and becomes a sought-after model.
It’s not tricky or heavy, but Carey is pretty beguiling as Harriet, and Emmanuel Imani is fab as Wilbur, her modelling agent. It cracks on quickly and has many satisfying Princess Diaries-esque metamorphoses. It’s light but has a lot of heart. It’s never said out loud in the show, but Harriet is neurodiverse. There’s been a bit of criticism about not labelling her more overtly and debate about whether it's an “authentic” portrayal, but Smale had this retort:
“It’s based on books written by me (autistic), about me as a teen (autistic). I wrote all of Harriet for the show (still autistic) and the lead actor is autistic. It’s the DEFINITION of authentic. I think people are so used to seeing inauthentic representation they don’t recognise it when it’s in front of them.” / Anna Rawhiti-Connell
Before we pop off…
The New Zealand International Film Festival 2024 schedule has been released, and I’m especially looking forward to We Were Dangerous. It stars Rima te Wiata and is written by New Yorker cartoonist (and My Life in TV guest) Maddie Dai.
Check out the trailer for new local drama Madam, which also stars Te Wiata, as well as Rachel Griffiths, Danielle Cormack and Martin Henderson. Based on a true story, Griffith stars as a woman who starts up an ethical brothel in small town New Zealand, and screens on Three and ThreeNow in July.
New Zealand actors Rena Owen, Frankie Adams and John Tui will join The Rock to star in the live-action film of Moana.
Do we need a New Zealand version of this show? Ahead of the Belgian general election, viewers have been captivated by a new reality show that puts the country’s political rivals in a medieval chateau for the weekend to see if they can resolve their differences.
John Cleese might not be a fan, but the Faulty Towers: The Dining Experience is touring the North Island later this year, promising “delicious 70s-style three-course meal and 5-star comedy”.
That’s it for Rec Room for this week. If you liked what you read, why not share Rec Room with your friends and whānau.
