The Brokenwood Mysteries: a Quirky Kiwi Delight (TV show REVIEW)

My latest streaming recommendation is—not surprisingly (if you know me)—international, but—more surprisingly—not from Great Britain or any of the Nordic countries. Instead, this very enthusiastic pick is from a land Down Under (hint: the one associated with a lovely, fuzzy fruit, not the one with adorable-fluffy eucalyptus-munchers).

The Brokenwood Mysteries might be described as the antipodean second-cousin of Midsomer Murders (the looooong-running mystery series set in the British countryside)… but if so, it’s the charming, wry, witty, non-uptight cousin. As in MM, TBM is set in a small (New Zealand) town which also covers the rest of the county, wherein a shocking number of murders (and other shenanigans) occur. Both shows also share a light touch; there’s always at least one murder—and usually more—but the tone is never grim, because the focus is always strongly on the personalities.

And for me, that’s where TBM really shines. First, there’s a fantastic main cast—Neill Rea as the middle-aged, country-music-lovin’, detective inspector, is a delightful everyman; Fern Sutherland as his younger detective partner, brings all sorts of smarts and sass; and Nic Sampson as their younger subordinate, delivers bon mots with impeccable timing—all of whom share fantastic chemistry together. TBM also boasts a wonderfully-offbeat set of recurring characters… but not just the sort who are sort of always in the background; here, characters from previous seasons are often brought back—to great effect—when you least expect it.

While the very-British MM skews more to the “cozy” side of mysteries, TBM goes full-on quirky (and to me, irresistibly-likable)… while still retaining believability. Packaging this much sheer charm and humor with intelligent stories in ways that never come across as cloying or hackneyed is a feat… one that those Kiwis have mastered brilliantly, with this one. :) 
~GlamKitty

(The Brokenwood Mysteries currently streams on AcornTV, either as a standalone or through Amazon.)

Note: I had a hard time getting into the first episode, for some reason, so ended up watching a later episode at random--which hooked me instantly--then going back and starting at the beginning, again. So, if you find yourself watching the first ep and not immediately getting into it, I promise it gets better quickly. :)

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