Created by Scott Frank and primarily based on the long-running Danish e book collection by Jussi Adler-Olsen, Netflix’s new British whodunit collection Dept. Q is a darkish, usually darkly comedic police procedural with promise. Matthew Goode (finest identified to worldwide audiences for his work in The Crown and Downton Abbey) is terrific as an archetypal no-nonsense cop, and the very best a part of a collection that’s fleetingly sensible and persistently entertaining. Whereas the season boasts some tough edges, general Dept. Q has greater than sufficient potential to proceed if it is renewed for a second season.

What Is ‘Dept. Q’ About?

Dept. Q opens with fairly a literal bang. Through flashback, an improvised investigation goes horribly, tragically incorrect. Virtuoso Edinburgh detective Carl Morck, performed by Goode, is moderately cockily sloppy in securing a murder web site, and the incident leaves his companion paralyzed and a youthful cop murdered. Morck suffers from layers of survivor’s guilt and PTSD following the incident, and his lack of a heat welcome as soon as he is again at work — his colleagues principally cannot stand him — someday later solely exacerbates this.

Morck is relegated to the grungy basement of the police station by his superiors, and the outdated rusting former bathe facility is repurposed to change into a brand new division devoted to chilly instances. Considerably not directly, he is additionally paired with bold cadet Rose (Leah Byrne) and Syrian refugee Akram (Alexej Manvelov), and the trio investigates the years-old disappearance of infamous native prosecutor Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrie). In the meantime, Morck struggles together with his personal damaged household life, in addition to his intensely adversarial, mandated remedy periods with police counselor Dr. Rachel Irving (Kelly Macdonald).

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‘Dept. Q’ Is Uneven and Convoluted, however Effectively-Acted

There is a strategy to do a whodunit that is consistently one step forward of the viewers in the appropriate method — which is, maybe, the best possible sort of whodunit. That stated, it is arduous to not usually really feel a step behind Dept. Q‘s story, and never in a complimentary sense. Because the investigation into Merritt’s disappearance positive factors traction, there is a grueling variety of leads, contacts, and interrogations over 9 episodes that seemingly would have benefited extra from being seven or eight. The collection by no means missteps in any substantial method, however the narrative and sprawling forged of characters are bloated to a level that takes some urgency away from the central thriller, and threatens to overshadow Dept. Q‘s stronger belongings.

Happily, Goode has by no means been higher. The gruff, salty investigator is a personality archetype that is been carried out to oblivion elsewhere, however Goode nimbly defies any cemented expectation with darkish humor and no scarcity of surprises. Goode is mesmerizing in Dept. Q, no much less so within the bits coping with his messy private life, particularly his interactions and complicated relationship with stepson Jasper Stewart (Aaron McVeigh). Their scenes collectively are actually well-acted in that oblique, intermittently stifled method during which males usually talk.

The opposite actual standout in Dept. Q is Macdonald. From her breakout in Trainspotting to roles in movies like No Nation for Previous Males and Goodbye Christopher Robin, Macdonald has persistently remained one of the underappreciated and effortlessly interesting actors round. The psychological exchanges between Carl and Rachel are a mix of empathy and aggression, and are the perfect elements of this collection for causes having extra to do with the actors than with the writing. Dept. Q suffers from being an excessive amount of of too many issues at occasions, however it is an incredible present within the scenes that play out between Goode and Macdonald.

Dept. Q‘s performances on the whole are sturdy, although it is price mentioning one clear side of missed potential. Manvelov is definitely recreation, however the script by no means offers his character Akram a lot shading; he is usually simply quietly useful, with bursts of aggression. Certainly among the display time devoted to investigating lead after lead would have been higher spent giving Akram extra depth and backstory. It is moderately consultant of a thriller present that makes an attempt to do greater than it ought to, moderately than focusing intently on what it must do.

Dept. Q will seemingly grip followers of whodunit fare properly sufficient, however with some essential tweaks, it is not arduous to think about it turning into a greater present if additional seasons are to observe. Adler-Olsen has written ten novels and counting (the Danish setting of the books has been moved to Scotland for Netflix’s collection), so if Dept. Q finds an viewers, there ought to be loads of materials to work with shifting ahead. If that occurs, hopefully, future installments of the collection can be nearly as good as its appearing.

All episodes of Dept. Q are actually streaming on Netflix.

Dept. Q

Dept. Q is an entertaining, convoluted whodunit with sensible performances from Matthew Goode and Kelly Macdonald.

Launch Date

Might 29, 2025

Community

Netflix

Execs & Cons

• Matthew Goode and Kelly Macdonald are terrific. The present is nice every time they’re each on-screen.
• Dept. Q delivers the products as a whodunit, but it surely’s extra gripping as a psychological drama.

• Dept Q. suffers from a bloated narrative.
• A few of the modifying and results photographs are hardly seamless.