MATTHEW GOODE as DCI CARL MORCK in Dept, Q – Picture: Netflix
What’s on Netflix can exclusively reveal some new first looks at Netflix UK’s highly anticipated new crime drama series, created by the creator of Godless and The Queen’s Gambit. The new series will also be available globally on the streamer in May 2025 on May 29th. Here’s what you need to know about Dept. Q (previously titled Department Q).
Created, written, and directed by Scott Frank, the new series is based on the bestselling novels by Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen. Set in Edinburgh, the story follows DCI Carl Morck, a brilliant detective whose razor-sharp sarcasm and abrasive nature have earned him few friends within the police force. Played by Matthew Goode—known for The King’s Man and The Offer—Morck is still reeling from a tragic shooting that left his partner paralysed and a young PC dead. As a result, he’s exiled to the basement and made the reluctant head of Dept. Q, a newly established cold case unit that exists more for PR than actual results.
But what begins as a bureaucratic dead end soon turns into something more. Burdened by guilt yet driven by a dogged sense of justice, Morck slowly assembles an unlikely team of outsiders—each with something to prove. Together, they start to unearth the long-buried secrets behind Scotland’s most baffling unsolved crimes, starting with the chilling disappearance of a prominent civil servant years earlier.
Frank reunites with Chloe Pirrie (Under the Banner of Heaven, The Queen’s Gambit) on the project, who plays Merritt Lingard, along with the rest of the cast, including Alexej Manvelov (Jack Ryan), Kelly Macdonald (Black Mirror), and Leah Byrne (Call the Midwife).
The series has been in the works for a long time, with the project first announced in one form or another over a decade ago. Netflix was only tied to the project as far back as 2023. The series rounded out its cast in early 2024, as production began in Edinburgh, Scotland, shifting the location of the story away from the original novel that’s set in Copenhagen, Denmark. Furthermore, we can also confirm that the series has been bumped from its initial eight-episode order to nine episodes.
The project is just the latest collaboration between Left Bank Pictures, a production company within the Sony Pictures Television group. Previous collaborations include Netflix’s flagship series The Crown, Behind Her Eyes, Who Is Erin Carter?, Everything Now, and White Lines. Elsewhere, the company has worked on Outlander, Without Sin, Insomnia, and The City Is Ours.
Now let’s dive into those first looks at the new series:
KELLY MACDONALD as DR RACHEL IRVING in Dept. Q
CHLOE PIRRIE as MERRITT LINGARD in Dept. Q
ALEXEJ MANVELOV as AKRAM SALIM in Dept. Q
MATTHEW GOODE as DCI CARL MORCK
LEAH BYRNE as ROSE in Dept. Q
Picture Credit: Netflix
Picture Credit: Netflix
Picture Credit: Netflix
Dept. Q is executive produced by Rob Bullock, Scott Frank, Chandni Lakhani, and Andy Harries.
We have a lot more on Department Q in our full preview, which we’ll keep updated in the run-up to the release.
