Matthew Goode & Kelly Macdonald to Headline Netflix's 'Department Q'

Netflix first announced it had secured the rights to make a television adaptation of Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Department Q mystery novel just under a year ago, in April 2023, along with a slew of other U.K.-based projects at the time. Unlike some other projects announced during that session, like Black Doves, it did not have a cast already attached, nor were English-speaking audiences that familiar with it. But with filming now underway for the series, reset in Scotland, and Matthew Goode (Downton Abbey) cast in the lead role, viewers will start taking notice. 

American audiences may not be familiar with the Department Q series, but Adler-Olsen’s books are wildly popular in Europe. In his home country, the series has spawned a Danish Nordic noir film series starring Nikolaj Lie Kaas (Britannia) as lead detective DCI Morck, which has been a box office smash. The most recent release, The Purity Of Vengeance, the fourth in the franchise, is currently the highest-grossing Danish film domestically.

Scott Frank, best known as the series creator behind Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit and the more recent Acorn TV series Monsieur Spade, is the creative force behind the adaptation, which moves the story to Edinburgh. Goode takes on the role of DCI Morck, co-starring opposite Kelly Macdonald (Line of Duty) as Dr. Rachel Irving, the therapist tasked with getting officers back on the front line, whom Morck is forced to see after his last case goes sideways. With her support, he sets up Department Q in a loose adaptation of the first novel, The Keeper of Lost Causes.

Here's the synopsis for Department Q's inaugural season:

After a violent incident turns DCI Carl Morck’s life upside down, the emotionally scarred detective is charged with setting up cold case unit, Department Q, upon his return to work. At first, the disillusioned cop is happy to waste his days away, but his detective instincts are ultimately reawakened and his new department becomes a magnet for a crew of misfits and mavericks.

Goode and Macdonald will be joined by Chloe Pirrie (To Walk Invisible), Alexej Manvelov (Before We Die), and Leah Byrne (Deadwater Fell) as the members Morck recruits for his team in Department Q. Co-stars for the series include Mark Bonnar (World on Fire), Jamie Sives (Annika), Shirley Henderson (Tom Jones), and Katie Dickie (Inside Man).

Department Q was adapted by Frank, with writers Chandni Lakhani, Stephen Greenhorn, and Colette Kane also credited. Frank also will direct the first two installments of the eight-episode series. The series is produced by Left Bank Pictures, best known for The Crown and Netflix. Filming is currently underway. 

The series does not yet have a release date but is expected to debut on Netflix in 2025.