The long-running New Zealand detective series The Brokenwood Mysteries is getting ready for its twelfth season. The show, which mixes crime solving with dry humor, first started in 2014. Now, the team is coming back with six new episodes to solve more unusual deaths in the fictional small town.
Fans in North America can mark their calendars. Season 12 will start streaming on April 6, 2026, on Acorn TV. New episodes will come out every Monday . The show will also be available in other countries like Australia, the UK, and Canada at later dates. Season 11 finished airing on May 26, 2025, and the response was strong enough to bring the show back for another round.
The Main Detective Duo Returns for Season 12
The heart of The Brokenwood Mysteries Season 12 is the partnership between Neill Rea and Fern Sutherland. Rea plays Detective Inspector Mike Shepherd, a cop from Auckland who decided to stay in Brokenwood. He drives a classic car and loves listening to country music on cassette tapes. His style is laid-back, and he often uses his gut feeling to solve cases.
Sutherland plays Detective Constable Kristin Sims. She is much younger than Shepherd and follows the rules strictly. She is very smart and keeps Shepherd focused when he wants to go off on strange ideas. Their back-and-forth talking is one of the main reasons people watch the show.
Both actors have been with the series since the very first episode in 2014. Their characters have grown a lot over the years. Shepherd has become more connected to the town, while Sims has learned to trust her instincts more.
The Supporting Cast and Familiar Faces
The show is not just about the two lead detectives. A whole group of returning actors helps make the town of Brokenwood feel real.
Cristina Serban Ionda plays Dr. Gina Kadinsky, the medical examiner. She is from Russia and has a very sharp tongue. Her funny one-liners and strange sense of humor make her a fan favorite. She often argues with Shepherd about his unusual theories while examining dead bodies.
Jarod Rawiri joins the main cast as DC Daniel Chalmers. He brings new energy to the police team. Karl Willetts returns as Frankie Frodo Oades, a local officer who knows everyone in town. Jason Hoyte plays Ray Neilson, and Tracy Lee Gray plays Trudy Neilson, two local residents who often get caught up in the strange events happening around Brokenwood.
Some characters from past seasons, like Nic Sampson (Detective Sam Breen) and Pana Hema Taylor (Jared Morehu), have moved on or appear less often. But the core group remains strong for this new season.
What to Expect from the New Episodes
The Brokenwood Mysteries Season 12 will have six episodes, each running for about 90 minutes . The writers have come up with some very strange situations for the team to solve.
The first episode is called Theyre Out There Alright. It starts when a chef is found dead inside a crop circle. At the same time, a UFO convention is happening in Brokenwood. Some people think aliens are responsible, but Shepherd and Sims have to find out if the real killer is human.
Episode two, Angels and Demons, deals with the death of a priests wife in a cemetery. The team must dig into secrets hidden within the local church. Episode three, Midnight in the Garden, takes place at a masked New Years Eve party. A guest ends up dead, and everyone is a suspect.
Later episodes include a murder on a vintage train during a wedding and a property developer killed during a ukulele orchestra rehearsal. The season ends with Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend, where a murder at a restaurant puts someone Shepherd knows under suspicion.
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Where You Can Watch the Show
For viewers in the United States and Canada, The Brokenwood Mysteries Season 12 will be available only on Acorn TV starting April 6, 2026. The service works on many devices, including smart TVs, phones, tablets, and gaming consoles like Xbox.
In Australia, the show is expected to stream on Foxtel Now, BINGE, and Acorn TV shortly after the North American release . Fans in the United Kingdom and India should check local Acorn TV listings for the exact dates. The show is a New Zealand production, and local broadcast details for TVNZ are still being confirmed.
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