Culture Cinema & Tv News & features

Netflix sets global premiere date for crime drama Dept Q, starring Matthew Goode and written by Scott Frank

Netflix sets global premiere date for crime drama Dept Q, starring Matthew Goode and written by Scott Frank

Netflix has announced that its new nine-part crime drama series, Dept Q, will premiere globally on 29th May 2024. The series, set in Edinburgh, stars Matthew Goode as Detective Chief Inspector Carl Morck, a detective tasked with leading a newly established cold case unit. Dept Q is written and directed by Scott Frank, known for his work on The Queen’s Gambit, and features a supporting cast including Chloe Pirrie, Alexej Manvelov, Kelly Macdonald and Leah Byrne.

The series centres on DCI Carl Morck, described as a “brilliant cop but a terrible colleague”. Following a shooting incident that leaves a police constable dead and Morck’s partner paralysed, Morck is relegated to the basement offices of Dept Q. The department, presented as a cold case unit, is depicted as a public relations effort by a struggling police force. According to the official synopsis, “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.”

Despite the inauspicious circumstances, Morck assembles a team of unconventional colleagues, each with their own motivations and challenges. The narrative follows their investigation into the disappearance of a prominent civil servant, a case that has remained unsolved for several years. As new leads emerge, Morck is said to return to his investigative roots, “rattling cages and refusing to take no for an answer.”

Dept Q is adapted by Scott Frank, who also serves as an executive producer alongside Rob Bullock and Andy Harries. The series marks a continued collaboration between Frank and Netflix, following the critical success of The Queen’s Gambit and Godless.

Goode leads the cast as Morck, with Chloe Pirrie, Alexej Manvelov, Kelly Macdonald and Leah Byrne in key roles. The production is set in Edinburgh, with the city’s landscape featuring prominently in the first-look images released by Netflix.

The editorial unit

Dept Q is released on Netflix on 29th May 2025.

More in Cinema & Tv

Tinsel Town: Robbie Williams, Alice Eve, Ray Fearon, Katherine Ryan, Rebel Wilson, Matilda Firth and Ava Aashna Chopra at the London premiere

Sarah Bradbury

Stranger Things season five, volume one

Andrew Murray

Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis bring Patricia Cornwell’s forensic icon to life in Prime Video’s Scarpetta

The editorial unit

Sean Combs: The Reckoning – Explosive four-part documentary lands on Netflix this December

The editorial unit

Kristen Stewart steps behind the camera for powerful debut The Chronology of Water, in cinemas February 2026

The editorial unit

Joanna Lumley, Richard Curtis and Beatles family attend exclusive screening of The Beatles Anthology at BFI Southbank

The editorial unit

“I just find it mad, but also incredibly exciting”: Ellis Howard on BAFTA Breakthrough

Sarah Bradbury

Power, paranoia and deepfakes: Holliday Grainger returns in first look at The Capture series thre

The editorial unit

Nia DaCosta directs 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, a brutal evolution of the horror series

The editorial unit