David Farnor | On 07, Feb 2024

Netflix is lining up an impressive cast to populate Deparment Q.

An adaptation of the novels of the same name from Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen – previously adapted for a trilogy of films – the series revolves around Carl Morck, a former top-rated detective in Edinburgh assigned to a new cold case while wracked with guilt following an attack that left his partner paralysed and another policeman dead.

Written by Scott Frank (Godless, The Queen’s Gambit), Chandni Lakhani, Stephen Greenhorn and Colette Kane, the series is a a Left Bank Pictures production with the first two episodes directed by Scott Frank.

Matthew Goode (The King’s Man, The Offer) will star as Carl Morck – brilliant but impossible – who has his life turned upside down after a violent incident leaves his partner paralysed and an officer dead. Upon his return to work, he is tasked with setting up Department Q – a new cold case department, which is little more than a PR exercise. At first, being sidelined suits Carl; he’s happy to waste his days playing solitaire and skiving. Yet over the course of the series, Carl’s detective instincts are reawakened, and his new department down in the basement becomes an unlikely magnet for the misfits and mavericks of Chief Super, Moira’s police team.

Chloe Pirrie (Shell, Under The Banner of Heaven, The Queen’s Gambit) plays Merritt Lingard, a ruthless and ambitious prosecutor who has quickly risen the ranks in the Crown Office. Merritt had a troubled childhood, raised by her absent father on the Isle of Mull. But after her brother William suffered a severe brain injury, she turned her life around and dedicated her life to him, whilst striving for justice in her role as prosecutor. However, in the wake of the biggest case of her career, Merritt decides she needs to make a change. As a result, Merritt and Carl’s paths collide.

Alexej Manvelov (Jack Ryan, Top Dog) plays Akram Salim, an officer in the Syrian police force when civil war broke out. He decided to flee to Europe with his family. Unable to work as a cop in the UK, he petitions for work at Edinburgh’s police station, becoming Carl’s assistant. Akram keeps his past life in Syria private, but as the series goes on, Carl realises he’s underestimated his new partner.

Kelly Macdonald (Line of Duty, Operation Mincemeat) will play Dr Rachel Irving, the therapist charged with getting officers back on the front line. She’s smart, and she soon gets the measure of Carl, his trauma and his superiority complex. Intrigued by one another, the two develop a deeper connection across the series.

Leah Byrne (Call The Midwife, Nightsleeper) will play Rose, a top police cadet with a promising future in the force until a mental-health-related breakdown during her first year as a detective constable has left her on shaky ground. Demoted to a desk job, the stigma has followed her ever since. She appeals to Carl in his new department down in the basement for a chance to prove herself once again.

The cast also includes Mark Bonnar (Napoleon, Guilt) as Stephen, Shirley Henderson (Harry Potter, Bridget Jones) as Clare Marsh, Jamie Sives (Guilt, Crime) as DS Hardy and Kate Dickie (Inside Man, The Witch) as Moira.

Filming is currently underway in Edinburgh.

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