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Netflix dropped Dept. Q this May, and it’s already stealing the spotlight, although honestly, it’s easy to see why. The cinematography? Pure atmospheric magic, like you’re sneaking through foggy alleyways right beside the detectives. The actors? Brilliantly stepping into convincing roles that will haunt you for all the episodes you watch them in.
What sets Dept. Q apart is its perfect cocktail of style and smarts, telling a story that trusts you to piece things together without relying on cheap jump scares. Critics have been raving about the grimy gothic treat, and honestly, once you start, you won’t be able to look away. If you crave a crime drama that’s equal parts eerie and addictive, Dept. Q is your next binge obsession. Here’s why this British series absolutely deserves a place on your watch list.
Origins and Adaptations of Dept. Q
Dept. Q started off as a Danish crime book series by Jussi Adler-Olsen. The books follow a cold case unit in Copenhagen, packed with dark mysteries and characters that stick with you long after you’ve put the book down. They’re the kind of stories that mess with your head, in a good way. When Scott Frank, the genius behind The Queen’s Gambit, got wind of these books, he snapped up the rights to make an English-language TV version for Netflix. Initially, they thought about setting the show in Boston, but then they landed on Edinburgh, Scotland, because honestly, that city’s old-school gothic vibe and rainy gray skies are like the perfect mood for a noir crime show.
Filming kicked off in early 2024, right on Edinburgh’s streets. The real city backdrop gives Dept. Q this gritty, lived-in feel that’s miles away from glossy crime dramas.
Matthew Goode plays DCI Carl Morck, the brooding lead who’s carrying a lot of emotional baggage while digging through cold cases. The cast also includes Leah Byrne as Rose Dickson, Kelly MacDonald as Dr. Rachel Irving, and Alexej Manvelov as Akram Salim. The script was written by creative masterminds like Frank, Chandni Lakhani, Stephen Greenhorn, and Colette Kane, who made sure the show stays tight, tense, and totally binge-worthy.
What is Dept. Q about?
So here’s the setup: Carl Morck used to be the kind of detective you didn’t mess with. Sharp mind, sharp tongue, total lone wolf. But after a violent shooting leaves him physically injured, emotionally wrecked, and one of his colleagues dead, the guy's basically been tossed into career purgatory. Instead of handing him his badge and walking him out, the brass shoved him into a forgotten basement and slapped a label on it: Department Q. His job? Reopen dusty old cold cases no one cares about anymore. It’s a move that’s half punishment, half political stunt, and Carl knows it.
Enter Akram Salim, an ex-Syrian cop turned admin assistant, who quietly joins the cause. He’s methodical, sharp, and has zero patience for being underestimated. He becomes Carl’s unlikely partner, and together they take on a haunting disappearance that never sat right. But this isn’t just a missing-persons file. The deeper they go, the more they uncover a mess of corruption, cover-ups, and people who really don’t want the victim, a lawyer, Merritt Lingard, to be found.
As the investigation intensifies, Department Q starts growing. There's Rose Dickson, a young detective trying to rebuild herself after a breakdown. And Hardy, Carl’s old partner, is now in a wheelchair but still razor-sharp and unexpectedly funny. With help from therapist Dr. Rachel Irving and pushback from powerful figures like Lord Advocate Stephen Burns, the team starts piecing together a case that was never meant to be solved.
Set against the gray, rain-soaked streets of Edinburgh, Dept. Q mixes a broody atmosphere with deep emotion. It's not just about solving crimes, it’s about broken people trying to fix something, whether it’s justice or themselves. And honestly? It’ll get under your skin in the best way.
How real-life instances inspired the premise of the series
Apart from the novels, multiple other inspirations helped form the premise for the show, and yes, some of these were true stories. Although the show is not exactly rooted in reality, the stars did incorporate a lot of real-life scenarios into the portrayals of the characters.
Speaking to The Scottish Sun, Chloe Pirrie, who plays Merritt Lingard on the show, stated,
“I did a lot of research around the legal world in Edinburgh. The court system there has been televised quite a lot through the BBC documentary series Murder Trial so I could see how it works, and how it feels like a bit of a club. I spent a lot of time looking into the effects of solitary confinement and what it does to people psychologically."
The actress also familiarized herself with the role by viewing BBC Scotland’s Murder Trials documentaries, which detailed actual court cases, including Bill McDowell being convicted for the murder of his lover, Renee MacRae, and her three-year-old son, Andrew, who vanished in the 1970s.
What sets Dept. Q, apart from other shows
Dept. Q isn’t your average whodunnit. It’s less about ticking off plot points and more about peeling back layers of trauma, of guilt, of people who’ve been broken and left behind. At the center is Carl Morck, a detective thrown into the basement literally and emotionally after a botched case leaves him bruised, bitter, and haunted. His new assignment? Cold cases no one cares about. But these aren’t just files, they’re ghosts, and Carl can’t look away. Morck might just be one of the most compelling protagonists we have seen in a crime series in recent years, and Goode manages to sell his character so convincingly it's almost surreal.
Edinburgh is more than just a backdrop here. Its gray skies, dripping stone walls, and ancient alleyways practically breathe alongside the characters. Every shot feels soaked in history and sorrow, like the city’s holding its own secrets.
The mystery that kicks it off isn’t loud. It doesn’t scream. It whispers from a locked file and drips into your bones. Merritt Lingard, brilliant, relentless, gone. No body, no goodbye, just silence that stretches for years. When Carl and Akram dig into her case, it’s not about solving a crime. It’s about cracking open a sealed room full of rot. What starts as one woman’s disappearance turns into something uglier, a web of power, ego, and people who’d rather bury the truth than face it. And the closer they get, the more dangerous it becomes. This isn’t justice, it’s a knife fight in the dark.
But here’s what really sets Dept. Q apart: It’s not here to give you heroes. It gives you the broken, the angry, the ones hanging on by a thread. It’s messy. It’s human. It’s two men in a damp basement clawing at the past, not because it’s noble, but because they can’t not. Every scene feels lived-in, heavy with rain and regret. You don’t just watch it, you feel it tightening around you. And when season two rolls around? You’ll already be haunted.
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Dept. Q is available to stream on Netflix.
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