Acorn Media have long been the leaders of so-called “cosy crime” procedural television, and their latest three releases only go to further prove that. We’ve got the newest series of longtime favourite Midsomer Murders, along with the latest from New Zealand hit The Brokenwood Mysteries, and the first series of newcomer The Chelsea Detective. These three shows are each like warm hugs; they’re comforting and undemanding, and will be indispensable over the coming winter months. Fans will be absolutely delighted with each release here, while even the most ardent naysayers will find themselves hooked by their mysteries if forced to watch them.
Midsomer Murders Series 22
All is not as it seems, and beneath the tranquil surface of village life exists a disturbing and cunning propensity for murder. Barnaby and Winter investigate an urban myth becoming a murderous reality, a post-operative heart rehabilitation club whose members’ dreams of a second chance at life are cut short, a murder mystery weekend, a twisted scarecrow festival and an amateur dramatics company with deadly secrets.
The Brokenwood Mysteries Series 9
Detectives Mike Shepherd (Neill Rea), Kristin Sims (Fern Sutherland), and Daniel Chalmers (Jarod Rawiri) and pathologist Gina Kadinsky (Cristina Ionda) employ ingenious methods to apprehend the evildoers lurking in their quaint but killer town. In six feature-length mysteries, the team sets out to solve an onstage electrocution, a fatal sibling rivalry, the strangling of a nun whose order takes a vow of silence, twin sisters’ entanglement in a nurse’s demise, a mysterious murder at a motel, and a death tied to an all-women motorcycle club. Amid the investigations, Mike faces down one of his most formidable adversaries yet: his ex-wife Tabatha (Rebecca Gibney).
The Chelsea Detective Series 1
London’s Chelsea neighbourhood is a beautiful borough for beautiful people, but it has a dark underside of deception, violence, greed — and murder. Bodies have a way of showing up, and things are rarely what they seem. DI Max Arnold (Adrian Scarborough, Sanditon) lives on a shabby houseboat on the Thames, just yards from some of the most valuable real estate in Europe. He’s an unprepossessing figure with one of the shrewdest minds in the Metropolitan Police. His partner, Priya Shamsie (Sonita Henry, Luther), is a no-nonsense detective sergeant newly returned from maternity leave. Together, they must root out the truth behind heinous crimes and bring those responsible to justice, no matter their wealth or status.