Step aside, "Slow Horses" — there's a new purgatory for law enforcement misfits in town. Netflix just released the first trailer for "Dept. Q," its latest crime thriller mystery series aimed at connecting with true crime lovers.
The show has some serious pedigree behind it, too, with "Queen's Gambit" and "Godless" writer Scott Frank at the helm.
All nine episodes of "Dept Q." will drop on May 29, and based on the trailer, it looks like the streamer's next must-watch. "A Discovery of Witches" actor Matthew Goode stars as Carl Morck, a cantankerous detective who's described as "a brilliant cop, but a terrible colleague."
That much is clear immediately as the trailer opens with Morck heckling his therapist when she makes an observation that cuts a little too close to home, asking her, “Is this some new kind of therapy?”
That razor-sharp sarcasm has earned him few friends in the Edinburgh police department, and he only grows more reclusive after a shooting that kills a young officer and paralyzes his partner leaves him wracked with guilt. Upon his return to work, matters go from bad to worse when his bosses "promote" him to lead a new department tackling cold cases.
In reality, it's a thinly veiled PR stunt to distract the unsatisfied public from their failures. Even calling it a department is a stretch. He's exiled to a new basement office that's littered with discarded files and stacks of old office furniture.
More a fluke than a strategy, his department starts to attract more screw-ups and strays from the ranks, including an eager new assistant (Alexej Manvelov) with everything to prove that Carl wastes no time writing off as "a pain in the ass." There's no shortage of quips throughout the trailer, and the characters play off each other with a genuine chemistry that I'm excited to see more of.
Though Carl understands his assignment is to stay out of everyone's way, it's clear they picked the wrong man for the job. He's keen to get back to what he does best, rattling cages and reopening cases the department would rather stay buried. While his partner's injury still haunts him, his confidence grows with each case solved, even compelling him to turn his investigative prowess on the police themselves.
‘Dept. Q’ on Netflix — here’s what we know so far
"Dept. Q," which is based on Jussi Adler-Olsen’s novels of the same name, is primed to be Netflix's next big mystery adaptation. It joins the ranks of other hotly anticipated projects this year, like the Agatha Christie-inspired "The Thursday Murder Club" and "I Will Find You" starring Sam Worthington.
Adler-Olsen had great confidence in Frank’s ability to adapt his work. Speaking to Tudum, Frank said this collaboration had been on his radar since 2014's "A Walk Among the Tombstones," another adaptation of his novels that Frank wrote and directed. Frank said the author told him "he'd always hoped I would be the one to write and direct it.”
While Frank is most well-known for "The Queen's Gambit," this isn't his first time tackling gumshoes. His last series, "Monsieur Spade," followed Dashiell Hammett’s fictional private detective, Sam Spade (Clive Owen).
"Dept. Q" unites the writer with Goode, who Frank previously worked with on "The Lookout" and specifically wrote this character for. The show marks Goode's return to television after his roles in "A Discovery of Witches" and the limited series "The Offer" wrapped up in 2022. Other cast members include Chloe Pirrie, Kelly Macdonald, Kate Dickie, Leah Byrne, Mark Bonnar, Tom Bulpett, and Jamie Sives.
We don't have long to wait, as "Dept. Q" lands on Netflix on May 29, 2025, with all nine episodes releasing at once. Netflix has proven its ability to craft compelling original series, and this latest crime thriller looks set to continue that trend.
Stream "Dept. Q" on Netflix starting May 29.
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