Isn’t it a great feeling when you stumble upon a genuinely outstanding TV series that makes you want to return to it again… and again? That’s exactly how we think you’ll feel when you start watching The Brokenwood Mysteries, the Midsomer Murders-esque detective drama that’s currently storming the charts on U, which we’d highly recommend watching tonight.

The long-running series, which is so sensational it’s spawned 12 series (and counting!) takes us to the fictitious New Zealand town of Brokenwood where there’s, well, a lot of murders. Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Shepherd (Neill Rea) and Detective Kristin Sims (Fern Sutherland) investigate everything from vineyard deaths to stag party disappearances – and it makes for truly excellent viewing.

With a dozen series to get through and a 13th on the way, here’s everything you need to know about The Brokenwood Mysteries before you tune in, including the plot, cast and how to watch it.

What is The Brokenwood Mysteries about?

person wearing gloves and blazer in a restaurant setting.
UKTV

If you’re a fan of Midsomer Murders, you’ll be pleased to hear that The Brokenwood Mysteries isn’t all that dissimilar – only it has a Kiwi twist. The popular detective drama first aired in New Zealand in 2014 and takes us to a seemingly quiet country town known as Brokenwood where Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Shepherd (Neill Rea) discovers that murder lurks in even the most homely location.

Mike is new to town and, while he hoped to settle down in Brokenwood for a more peaceful life, that’s far from what he gets. Instead, he finds himself teamed up with Detective Kristin Sims (Fern Sutherland) who he slowly builds a camaraderie with as they solve rather unusual cases together. Think a wine critic found dead in a fermentation vat, an electrocuted musician and the murder of a mayor in a Santa costume. We told you it was a bit like Midsomer Murders...

two people standing at a police crime scene, looking concerned.
Matt Klitscher

The series has been so popular that it’s been shown in more than 150 nations since it first arrived on screens in 2014. Star Fern Sutherland told RNZ of its popularity: "It's amazing. No one thought when we first started that we'd still be making the show. Now it's just been a fortuitous series of events that made that happen.”

She added that the joy of the series lies in the fact it’s a "heightened, fun, frivolous" show. "It's murder but you don't have to feel too bad about it. Guilt-free murder,” she said.

Who’s in the cast of The Brokenwood Mysteries?

the brokenwood mysteries series 8 episode 5picture shows: kerry lee dewing as jane jessie lawrence as casey
UKTV

The cast of The Brokenwood Mysteries includes:

  • Neill Rea (The Warrior’s Way) as Detective Inspector Mike Shepherd
  • Fern Sutherland (A Mistake) as Detective Kristin Sims
  • Nic Sampson (Starstruck) as Detective Constable Sam Breen
  • Cristina Ionda (Out of Season) as Dr. Gina Kadinsky
  • Jarod Rawiri (Friends Like Her) as Detective Constable Daniel Chalmers
  • Phil Peleton (White Lies) as Neil Bloom
  • Pana Hema Taylor as (Good for Nothing) Jared Morehu
  • Elizabeth McRae (Shortland Street) as Mrs. Jean Marlowe
  • Colin Moy (My Father’s Den) as Simon Hughes
  • Karl Willetts (Punch) as Frankie "Frodo" Oades
  • Jason Hoyte (This Town) as Ray Neilson
  • Tracy Lee Gray (Shortland Street) as Trudy Neilson
  • Shane Cotese (Nothing Trivial) as Dennis Buchanan
  • Zara Cormack (Netherwood) as Kimberly Mason
  • Roy Ward (The Ugly) as Reverend Lucas Greene
  • Rawiri Jobe (My Life is Murder) as Kahu Taylor
  • Cameron Rhodes (The Paragon) as Dr Roger Plummer

Is there a trailer for The Brokenwood Mysteries?

Yes, you can watch the trailer for The Brokenwood Mysteries below.

Is The Brokenwood Mysteries any good?

the brokenwood mysteries series 9 episode 2picture shows: fern sutherland as kristin sims, neill rea as mike shepherd and jarod rawiri as d.c daniel chalmers
UKTV

Yes – there aren’t many detective dramas that are still going after 12 series but The Brokenwood Mysteries really ups its game with each one. The mysteries are brilliantly inventive, the setting is wonderfully escapist and the characters are so charming you can’t help but go back for more. If you ask us, it's the perfect Midsomer Murders replacement - in fact, it might even top it!

How can I watch The Brokenwood Mysteries?

You can watch all 12 series of The Brokenwood Mysteries now on U.

What other detective dramas can I watch now?

pensive woman in forest, police tape in background
BBC

If you fancy something a little bit darker than The Brokenwood Mysteries, we’d suggest Hidden. Over the course of three brilliantly absorbing series, we follow DI Cadi John (Sian Reese-Williams) and her professional partner DS Owen Vaughan (Siôn Alun Davies) as they attempt to crack deeply troubling crimes - from the abduction of a young woman to the murder of a local man whose body is found in a remote river. You can watch Hidden on STV Player. For a cosier affair, we’d suggest My Life is Murder, which takes us into the world of Alexa Crowe (Lucy Lawless), a fearless Australia-based investigator for whom there’s no case too tricky (quite literally). My Life is Murder is available to watch on Prime Video.