Second season for cop show

Neill Rea, Fern Sutherland, and Nic Sampson.

The picturesque country town of Brokenwood is back in the frame — but you wouldn't want to visit in case you ended up dead.

Murder victims started piling up in the local morgue today when filming began on a new series of crime drama The Brokenwood Mysteries.

Actress Fern Sutherland, who plays feisty detective Kristin Sims, reckons life in the sleepy fictional hamlet should come with a serious health warning.

The first instalment of series two will kick off on Prime later this year with a grisly death, when a naked rugby coach is found swinging on a rope from the goalposts at the playing fields.

"With all the killings the town's population is rapidly declining, for sure," said Sutherland, who has also starred in The Almighty Johnsons. "I wouldn't recommend it for a holiday, or you might end up in a bodybag."

The rolling New Zealand scenery featured in the first series of The Brokenwood Mysteries has proved a hit overseas.

It has been dubbed into French and is being shown in 15 Russian territories as well as in Denmark, Australia and the United States.

Sutherland is overwhelmed about support from foreign fans.

"It buzzes me out when you get messages from people working in the suburbs somewhere on the other side of the world, saying how much they enjoy the show," she said. "And it is bizarre when you see your character talking in a French accent."

Robyn Malcolm, Miranda Harourt, Ben Barrington and Peter Hambleton are among the stellar cast who will turn up in the new series.