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Police
D.S.S. Mike Shepherd
D.S.S. Mike Shepherd
Portrayed by Neill Rea
The new head detective of the Brokenwood Police Department and an avid country music fan.
- Doesn't Like Guns: Rarely carries a gun, even in hostage situations.
- Hero's Classic Car: He's head detective and drives an original 1971 Holden Kingswood.
- Hidden Depths: While out-of-shape in the present day, he is a former junior tennis champion and still has the skills.
- Intergenerational Friendship: With Jared, his friendly young neighbor.
- The Lost Lenore: Is averse to boats because one of his ex-wives drowned at sea.
- Married to the Job: Has cost him marriages.
- Serial Spouse: He's been married four times; three ended in divorce, and a fourth in her untimely demise.
- Talking to the Dead: Mike tends to crouch down and speak to the victim at the crime scene.
- Working with the Ex: One of his ex-wives is the head of media relations for the police, who he dreads working with.
Det. Kristin Sims
Det. Kristin Sims
Portrayed by Fern Sutherland
Second-in-command to Mike, having moved to Brokenwood three years prior to his arrival.
- Action Girl: Likeliest to wield a gun of the main three, she's the team's fleeing-suspect-tackler. One early episode sees her punt her armed kidnapper between the legs while gagged and strung from a pole.
- Cultured Badass: She's well-versed in Shakespeare, having taken a course at university. She also knows some Latin.
- Fair Cop: Sims is young and strikingly beautiful.
- Lethal Chef: The show's biggest Running Gag is her inability to make good coffee. She's the only one who sees no problem with its taste.
D.C. Sam Breen
D.C. Sam Breen
Portrayed by Nic Sampson
A young cop and the only member of the trio to have grown up in Brokenwood.
- Butt-Monkey: Is always assigned the dullest or flat-out unappealing parts of the case, such as interviewing Smelly Nellie or doing Forensic Accounting work. His superiors also tease him for his phobias and odd hypotheses.
- Fiery Redhead: Has flaming red hair and temper that flares when interviewees are being difficult.
- Put on a Bus: Leaves the show after the second episode of the seventh series.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Has arachnophobia and a fear of clowns, though he tries to play off his phobias as less serious than they are.
Dr. Gina Kadinsky
Dr. Gina Kadinsky
Portrayed by Cristina Ionda
The forensic pathologist, who is a Russian immigrant.
- The Coroner: Called to figure out the cause of death for each episode's victim(s), which sometimes leads her to conduct experiments involving food products.
- Dogged Nice Girl: Becomes this to Mike as the series progresses. He is put off by her unsubtle flirting, having zero interest in her romantically.
- Flanderization: What begins as a crush on Mike grows to the point where she's completely uncooperative to any detective that isn't him. This comes to a halt when she accepts that he has a girlfriend.
- Funny Foreigner: She's prone to odd Russia-tinged sayings, mannerisms, and behavior regarding dead bodies. Some of her behavior causes the detectives to clear up third-party confusion by explaining "She's Russian."
- Glorious Mother Russia: Tells many anecdotes that portray Russia as a harsh place with lots of vodka, snow, and machismo.
- Single-Target Sexuality: Mike. She is even disinterested in the handsome author who all the other women swoon over, even when he made passes at her through written correspondence.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Starts to hate Kristin as she grows into an Abhorrent Admirer to Mike, despite there not being any romantic interest between the two. Once she accepts that Mike has a girlfriend, Gina becomes friendly to Kristin again.
Hughes
Simon Hughes
Portrayed by Colin Moy
Mike's superior, whose appearances are usually him calling about the case from his office in the city.
- Bald Head of Toughness: Is bald and an imposing superior. His mentioned hobbies are of an athletic nature, so despite the desk-bound nature of his job, he is still physically fit.
- Last-Name Basis: The character is credited as "Hughes" and his first name is almost never mentioned.
D.C. Daniel Chalmers
D.C. Daniel Chalmers
Portrayed by Jarod Rawiri
A cop who joins the Brokenwood force following Breen's departure. Despite being a Brokenwood native, he had been away from the town for two decades.
- Badass Biker: Gets to bring out his motorbike for a case.
- Convenient Replacement Character: Arrives during Breen's farewell party.
- Fair Cop: Chalmers is young and fit.
- Minority Police Officer: Chalmers is Māori. All the other detectives have been pākehā.
- Token Minority Couple: Chalmers's Love Interest, Missy, is also Māori.
Residents of Brokenwood
Jared Morehu
Jared Morehu
Portrayed by Pana Hema Taylor
Mike's neighbor who does a variety of odd jobs around the town.
- Arms Dealer: Occasionally deals black-market guns. Mike pointedly looks the other way.
- Chick Magnet: Many women over the course of the show are interested in him, including his married ex and his Hamlet co-star.
- Intergenerational Friendship: With middle-aged Mike.
- Jack of All Trades: Has skills in wine-tasting, gardening, horse-riding, Shakespearean acting, electrical engineering, and cat-burglary, among many things.
- Mysterious Stranger: Before he's introduced as a friendly neighbor, Jared appears as a mysterious young man casing and breaking into the victim's house.
- Nephewism: With a Disappeared Dad and a mother who died in childbirth, he was raised by his whānau. An aunt and uncle appear in a couple episodes.
- Only Mostly Dead: He is found unconscious with a major head injury and a stab wound that barely missed its intended artery. Thankfully, he recovers.
- Parental Abandonment: His mother died in childbirth and his father's identity is unknown.
- Put on a Bus: Does not appear in the fourth series, or the seventh onward.
- Wine Is Classy: Jared is an erudite manual laborer/wine taster who loves a good glass of red.
Mrs. Marlowe
Mrs. Jean Marlowe
Portrayed by Elizabeth McRae
A kindly old woman who always wants to chat with the detectives.
- Cool Old Lady: A fan of classic rock and extreme sports, in addition to her more typical grandmotherly interests like sewing and baking.
- Gossip Evolution: What she hears through the grapevine about the cases at hand are typically rather off.
- Gossipy Hens: She is quite the gossiper, always having at least some idea of the episode's murder. Her chats with the detectives always reveal some detail about the people involved in the case.
- I Was Quite a Looker: In her youth, she was an actress's body double for a nude scene.
- Put on a Bus: She doesn't appear after the seventh series.
- Supreme Chef: Her cheese rolls are a favorite of Brokenwood residents, though everything she makes is well-received.
- They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: Defied by the people of Brokenwood. She asks people to call her Jean, but everyone calls her Mrs. Marlowe anyway.
Frodo
Frankie "Frodo" Oades
Portrayed by Karl Willetts
A well-intentioned but not-particularly-bright resident of Brokenwood who, after working a variety of jobs, settles into steady ownership of a coffee cart.
- Abhorrent Admirer: To his coffee cart associate Kimberly, who repeatedly rebuffs his advances. Any woman who he has interest in is simulatenously off-put and pitying of poor, simple Frodo.
- Guilt Complex: Goes on a three-day bender thinking that a murder is his fault until it's explicitly explained to him how he could not have been the murderer.
- Kindhearted Simpleton: He is a loyal friend and always means well, but is rather dim and easily taken advantage of as a result.
- New Job as the Plot Demands: While he eventually settles into his work as a barista (who's conveniently parked at plot-relevant locations or serving coffee to persons of interest), the first few series see him working a variety of jobs ranging from apprentice mechanic to corndog entrepreneur that place him near the scene of the crime.
- Only Known By His Nickname: Frodo is rarely addressed with his given name after his first appearance and he prefers not to be called by it.
- Shipper on Deck: The coffees he serves Mike and Beth have heart-shaped coffee art on them.
- Tangled Family Tree: He delivers a eulogy to his "god-auntie-mum" Janis, as she had at various points been his godmother, step-mother, and aunt. His father admits that he may not even be Frodo's dad, as there was overlap between him and Frodo's uncle.
Ray Neilson
Ray Neilson
Portrayed by Jason Hoyte
The local publican who runs a handful of thematically-named bars in town.
- The Bartender: Tends bar at his own establishments.
- Brother–Sister Team: With his sister Trudy, who runs his establishments with him. They always have each others backs when the detectives come calling.
- Con Man: Runs tours that prey on non-English-speaking tourists who want to see Lord of the Rings sites.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Is fine ripping off non-English speakers, but draws the line at shark fin soup.
- The Lost Lenore: His first wife died of a spider bite on their OE. His second wife dying of the same cause sends him into complete denial.
Trudy Neilson
Trudy Neilson
Portrayed by Tracy Lee Gray
Ray's sister who works at his bars and is rather intimidating.
- Brawn Hilda: She's intimdating, strong, and somewhat churlishly masculine in her comportment.
- The Bartender: Tends bar at her brother's establishments.
- Brother–Sister Team: With her brother Ray. They always have each others backs when the detectives come calling.
- I Didn't Mean to Kill Him: She meant to scare Phillip Henderson but accidentally killed him.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite her typical unfriendliness, she does seem to genuinely care for some of the women in her cell block.
- Manipulative Bastard: Arranges the successful public humiliation of one of her fellow inmates (as a test of trust) by lying to both her and Ray. While never leaving prison herself.
- Never Going Back to Prison: A stickler about her parole terms, she becomes very strict about legal adherence when bartending after her stint in Brokenwood Women's.
Dennis Buchanan
Dennis Buchanan
Portrayed by Shane Cortese
A local lawyer who is often called in to represent suspects, much to the detectives' chagrin.
- Amoral Attorney: A slick-talking slimeball of a lawyer, though his clients never seem to heed his advice not to say anything to the detectives.
- Hidden Depths: He takes care of his mentally-ill brother and runs a charity fundraiser for mental health. As such, the topic of mental illness is no laughing matter to him.
- Polyamory: His first appearance has him in a relationship with both the episode's victim and the victim's wife.
Kimberly
Kimberly Mason
Portrayed by Zara Cormack
Frodo's associate in his various entrepreneurial ventures who teaches fitness classes on the side.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She's a beautiful young blonde who is genuinely sweet and charitable in all her appearances.
- New Job as the Plot Demands: Downplayed compared to Frodo, but she works at his food ventures and is found to be teaching exercise classes at murder-relevant locations on two occasions.
- Nice Girl: Even her high school friends describe her as a peacemaker in the group. She's just nice.
- Put on a Bus: She doesn't appear after the seventh series, with Frodo explaining that Kimberly is fully a city girl now.
Rev. Greene
Rev. Lucas Greene
Portrayed by Roy Ward
Brokenwood's reverend, who presides over funeral services.
- Closet Key: For his husband, Roger, who divorces his wife to be with him.
- Covert Pervert: For a man of the cloth, his debut mystery novel is very steamy.
- Good Shepherd: Kindly and always wanting to help those in need of spiritual guidance.
- Straight Gay: Not particularly effeminate, but very much gay.
Neil Bloom
Neil Bloom
Portrayed by Phil Peleton
Brokenwood's pharmacist and eventual first gay mayor.
- Insistent Terminology: He's a pharmacist, not a chemist.
- May–December Romance: His partner, Gray, appears to be markedly older than him.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Though he doesn't quite understand steampunk, he's willing to host a festival anyway because it's diverse, harmless, and makes his nephew happy.
Kahu Taylor
Kahu Taylor
Portrayed by Rawiri Jobe
A plumber who becomes Kristin's Love Interest.
- Mistaken for Romance: Twice. The first is his pregnant sister, who Kristin mistakenly assumes is his girlfriend. The second is his doubles partner Chontelle, with whom his relationship is entirely platonic.
- Put on a Bus: Said to have taken a job on an offshore oil rig.
- Smart People Play Chess: Bonds with Kristin over games of chess, showing they're both sharp.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Kahu is a handsome young Māori man who works manual labor, knows a lot of the town's goings-on, and has a handful of disparate plot-relevant hobbies. Jared is even stated to be his relative.
