The Brokenwood Mysteries

At first I was skeptical of Brokenwood mysteries. I enjoy murder mysteries, I'm quite fussy. Yes it seems to have some similarities with Midsommer murders, however this show has a distinctively kiwi feel to it. The writers and actors have managed to incorporate a good amount of humor without overshadowing the mysteries. I thought it might put me off as there are a lot of ex shortland street actors in this show, it hasn't.

Worth a watch if you enjoy murder mysteries. This show is a breath of fresh air for NZ TV, amongst some very stale offerings. A worthy recipient of NZ on air funding. I hope this show will be a good spring board for emerging actors. Great choice of characters and actors.

Midsommer murders can sometimes get confusing and require a lot of concentration to follow. The 3 episodes I have seen on Brokenwood have been very well put together, kept me guessing and taken me along for the ride with out loosing me on the way.

I have read some scathing unfair reviews online. I have talked to several people of various ages who have had nothing but positive comments about this show. I am keen to see more of this show and really hope there will be many more seasons. I would like to see it get a good following overseas also.

Came across this well done series from the "you may like " section and was pleasantly entertained. The show built the characters quickly and the result was a wonderful mix of personalities with a nice mix of serious and humour ,especially from Fern and Neill. The Medical Examiner is like someone everyone knows, and the banter between all the cast is the strongest part of the show.

I quite enjoyed this little romp in the countryside - not an intellectual pursuit (you can usually work out "whodunit" about halfway through) but still fun. I saw a review saying it was derivative and unoriginal and they disliked the overtly individualistic detective - well yes, he does seem to be a little "try hard" but what do you want - a guy in a nice suit and Ford Focus? How boring would that be - I think some people miss the idea of "entertainment". So good stories, interesting characters, beautiful scenery and enough to keep you entertained for 90 minutes. I hope they make more with perhaps a little more oomph but not so much that it looses it's quaint country feel. I'd give it a B with a comment of "could do a little better". But well done anyway - enjoy

I stumbled across this series just out of curiosity and for some exposure to New Zealand and its culture. What I got was a quirky light-hearted show that combines solving murder mysteries with a dose of humor, and none of the dark, disturbing plots and atmosphere that most shows today seem to favor.

Acting is excellent. I particularly love Gina and her interaction with Mike, and others. She steals the show with her one liners. It's also has a great format that introduces many recurring characters from previous episodes to truly give the feeling that you're watching stories that take place in a community, not just a series of unrelated stories that could take place anywhere.

As a foreign viewer, I don't recognize any of the actors. In most of these crime solving procedural shows I watch in the US, the murderer is always the guest star with the top billing, usually a recognizable face, and that spoils the mystery. In Brokenwood, it's more difficult to pick out the murderer, so extra entertaining for me.

It's nice to watch a wholesome show like this once in a while, without all the gun violence. And being a long-running show, you can be invested in it without being disappointed.

As Gina would say, in Russia, they would not like this show. They do not like humor. And not enough people die.

Really enjoyed seeing a program in NZ that wasn't trying to portray either Auckland as "Little Sydney" all glam and international or South Auckland as "Little Harlem", for the 1.5mil that live in Auckland, there are stories from the other 3 million outside of the city.

The settings were real without LOTR CGI, the characters were not over the top, the stories had their twists and turns without relying on overnight DNA tests.

Similar to other cop shows, probably, different and standing on its own, yes it does that too.

Really though, how many police shows are all that unique nowadays anyway (CSI and NCIS franchises) or the formulaic UK shows: Two unusual surnames for the title, a male/female lead, one of the two has some disturbing past that troubles them.......doesn't make them bad watching.

It's perfectly fine to watch TV for entertainment and not to be educated or enlightened, that's what real life is for. Brokenwood does that from an NZ viewpoint with a bit of brain engagement and if you don't think this sort of thing happens, you haven't read the papers for 40 years.