The Brokenwood Mysteries

A fundraising evening is held at the historic Brokenwood Empire Cinema, but the celebration turns tragic when a fire breaks out, engulfing the venue. After the smoke has cleared, emergency crews later discover a businessman dead, having been strangled in the auditorium.

is a television programme presented as a single episode. It falls within the drama genre and is listed simply as a programme rather than a series or film. The title suggests a focus on revelations that come to the surface when darkness is pierced, setting the tone for the story that follows. The episode centres on a fundraising evening held at the historic Brokenwood Empire Cinema. Organisers have gathered patrons and donors in the venerable venue, hoping the night’s events will raise money for a good cause. However, the celebration is abruptly interrupted when a fire erupts within the cinema, sending smoke billowing through the auditorium and plunging the gathering into chaos. When the flames are finally extinguished and the smoke begins to clear, the atmosphere shifts from emergency to shock. In the aftermath of the blaze, a businessman is discovered dead, his body found strangled amid the remnants of the fire‑damaged hall. The juxtaposition of the blaze and the homicide turns the night’s intended charitable purpose into a grim investigation. Thus, the narrative moves from a hopeful community gathering to a scene of tragedy, where a single evening at a beloved, historic cinema becomes the setting for both a destructive fire and a fatal murder, leaving the characters to confront the sudden, unsettling turn of events.