Dept Q: Release date and latest news for Matthew Goode Netflix show

Joining Goode in the key cast are the likes of Chloe Pirrie, Kelly Macdonald and Mark Bonnar, but who else stars in the series, what is it about and when can viewers expect it to be released?

Read on for everything you need to know about Dept Q on Netflix.

When will Dept Q be released on Netflix?

All nine episodes of Dept Q will be released on Netflix on 29th May 2025, meaning there's just a matter of weeks until viewers can watch them.

It was first announced that the series was in development two years ago, back in April 2023.

What is Dept Q about?

Dept Q is based on Department Q, the series of 10 novels by Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen. The novels have previously been adapted into a series of six Danish films, with four more on the way.

The synopsis for the Netflix adaptation says: "DCI Carl Morck is a brilliant cop but a terrible colleague. His razor-sharp sarcasm has made him no friends in Edinburgh police. After a shooting that leaves a young pc dead, and his partner paralysed, he finds himself exiled to the basement and the sole member of Department Q; a newly formed cold case unit.

"The department is a PR stunt, there to distract the public from the failures of an under-resourced, failing police force that is glad to see the back of him. But more by accident than design, Carl starts to build a gang of waifs and strays who have everything to prove.

"So, when the stone-cold trail of a prominent civil servant who disappeared several years ago starts to heat up, Carl is back doing what he does best - rattling cages and refusing to take no for an answer."

Unlike the novels, which are set in Copenhagen, the series is set in Edinburgh and the surrounding area in Scotland.

Creator Scott explained this shift, telling Tudum: "I hadn’t really seen a show in Edinburgh before, and it’s a beautiful city. When I went to go look at the city, I was like, ‘Okay, this is amazing. It’s the perfect combination between the modern and the medieval.’ They’re there side by side and it just works in such a lovely way."

Goode added: "Scott brilliantly transposed it from Denmark to Scotland. Edinburgh is smaller than Copenhagen, but both are big port cities. [With its] gothic architecture, and it being the judicial center of Scotland, it’s just a really lovely fit."

Who stars in Dept Q?

The cast of Dept Q is led by The Crown Star Matthew Goode, while Chloe Pirrie (Black Mirror), Jamie Sives (Annika), Mark Bonnar (Doctor Who) and Kelly Macdonald (Line of Duty) take on key supporting roles.

You can find a full list of the central cast members here:

• Matthew Goode as Detective Chief Inspector Carl Morck
• Chloe Pirrie as Merritt Lingard
• Jamie Sives as Detective Chief Inspector James Hardy
• Mark Bonnar as Stephen Burns
• Alexej Manvelov as Akram Salim
• Leah Byrne as Detective Constable Rose Dickson
• Kate Dickie as Detective Chief Superintendent Moira Jacobson
• Shirley Henderson as Claire Marsh
• Kelly Macdonald as Dr. Rachel Irving
• Tom Bulpett as William Lingard

Dept Q trailer

You can watch the trailer for Dept Q right here now.

Dept Q will stream on Netflix from 29th May 2025. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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