Scripted series · Netflix
Dept. Q
Not all causes are lost.
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Matthew Goode
DCI Carl Morck
9 eps
Chloe Pirrie
Merritt Lingard
9 eps
Jamie Sives
DCI James Hardy
9 eps
Alexej Manvelov
Akram Salim
9 eps
Leah Byrne
DC Rose Dickson
9 eps
Kelly Macdonald
Dr Rachel Irving
9 eps
Kate Dickie
Moira Jacobson
9 eps
Aaron McVeigh
Jasper Stewart
9 eps
Shirley Henderson
Claire Marsh
5 eps
James Macnaughton
Dennis Piper
4 eps
Gordon Brown
Fergus Dunbar
2 eps
Bobby Rainsbury
Teenage Merritt
1 eps
Kai Alexander
Teenage Lyle
1 eps
Clive Russell
Jamie Lingard
2 eps
Rebecca Palmer
Lila Lingard
1 eps
Steven Miller
Sam Haig
4 eps
Stuart Bowman
Terry Dundee
1 eps
Mark Bonnar
Stephen Burns
8 eps
Sanjeev Kohli
Martin Fleming
8 eps
Douglas Russell
Graham Finch
3 eps
Jack Greenlees
Sam Haig
1 eps
Catriona Stirling
DC Wilson
7 eps
Aron Dochard
DC Clark
7 eps
Kal Sabir
DCI Logan Bruce
6 eps
Patrick Kennedy
Liam Taylor
5 eps
Jack Bishop
Neughbour
1 eps
Angus Yellowlees
PC Anderson
1 eps
Lily Knight
Caroline Kerr
1 eps
David Gallacher
Robert MacDonald (Defence Advocate)
1 eps
Michelle Duncan
Dr. Fiona Wallace
2 eps
Hannah Low
Elise (Dr. Wallace's Assistant)
1 eps
Alison Peebles
Female Captor
3 eps
Gabrielle Monica Hughes
Hardy's Nurse
4 eps
Ellen Bannerman
Kirsty Atkins
2 eps
Gilly Gilchrist
Constable Cunningham
2 eps
Lauren Grace
Female Junkie 1
1 eps
Chris Forbes
Male Junkie
1 eps
Eleanor Kane
Female Junkie 2
1 eps
Brian Ferguson
Jonathan Barnes
1 eps
Angus Miller
Colin Cunningham
1 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Dept. Q actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Dept. Q reads strongest on Tension, Character Depth and Bingeability.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
The story
What it's about
A brash but brilliant cop becomes head of a new police department, where he leads an unlikely team of misfits in solving Edinburgh's cold cases.
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.
S01E08
Episode 8
The kidnappers give their victim a clue as they press her for an answer to their question. Dept. Q gets closer to unravelling its own riddle.
- Directed by Scott Frank
- Written by Scott Frank
S01E09
Episode 9
A decades-old recording helps all the clues to fall into place. But as the pressure rises — in and out of the chamber — can Carl get there in time?
- Directed by Scott Frank
- Written by Scott Frank
S01E06
Episode 6
The police detain a suspect for the Leith Park shooting. Carl returns to the scene of the crime, before losing his temper in public once again.
- Directed by Scott Frank
- Written by Scott Frank
S01E07
Episode 7
Carl makes some dangerous allegations to some powerful men, while Rose takes a fresh angle to uncover more information about Sam Haig.
- Directed by Scott Frank
- Written by Scott Frank
S01E03
Episode 3
Carl and Akram recreate the fateful ferry journey on their way to the Isle of Mhòr. A frustrated Rose makes her case for joining their Department.
- Directed by Elisa Amoruso
- Written by Chandni Lakhani, Scott Frank
S01E05
Episode 5
The prosecutor's disappearance becomes connected with a death. A scuffle in a newspaper office sees Carl making headlines, and Moira sees a therapist.
- Directed by Elisa Amoruso
- Written by Jussi Adler-Olsen, Scott Frank
Recently aired
Latest Episodes
S01E01
Episode 1
- Directed by Scott Frank
- Written by Chandni Lakhani, Scott Frank
S01E02
Episode 2
- Directed by Scott Frank
- Written by Chandni Lakhani, Scott Frank
S01E03
Episode 3
- Directed by Elisa Amoruso
- Written by Chandni Lakhani, Scott Frank
S01E05
Episode 5
- Directed by Elisa Amoruso
- Written by Jussi Adler-Olsen, Scott Frank
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Rob BullockExecutive Producer
- Chandni LakhaniExecutive Producer
- Charlotte MooreExecutive Producer
- Andy HarriesExecutive Producer
- Scott FrankExecutive Producer
Writing
- Chandni LakhaniWriter
- Jussi Adler-OlsenWriter
- Scott FrankWriter
- Stephen GreenhornWriter
Direction
- Scott FrankDirector
- Elisa AmorusoDirector
Music
- Carlos Rafael RiveraOriginal Music Composer
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- NetflixStreaming
- Netflix Standard with AdsStreaming
If you liked this
Similar Series
Series that share this one's texture, not just its genre tags.
Black Out
2024
Moral complexity · Slow-burn mystery
Connection
2024
Moral complexity · Slow-burn mystery
IT: Welcome to Derry
2025
Slow-burn mystery · Similar storytelling style
The Missing
2014
Moral complexity · Slow-burn mystery
The Åre Murders
2025
Moral complexity · Slow-burn mystery
56 Days
2026
Moral complexity · Slow-burn mystery
Cross
2024
Moral complexity · Slow-burn mystery
Bodies
2023
Moral complexity · Slow-burn mystery
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
2026
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
Bodyguard
2018
Moral complexity · Slow-burn mystery
Dark
2017
Moral complexity · Slow-burn mystery
The Ark
2023
Slow-burn mystery · Similar storytelling style
Where to go from here
Watch Next
Our editors' suggestion for the show you should start tonight — and why.
Dexter
2006
Another morally complex epic for anyone who wanted more grey.
The Mentalist
2008
Watch this next if you like protagonists you can't quite defend.
FROM
2022
If the world-building is what held you, this is the next map to walk.
CSI: Miami
2002
Another morally complex epic for anyone who wanted more grey.
Reacher
2022
Watch this next if you like protagonists you can't quite defend.
Peaky Blinders
2013
A crime story told with the patience of a novel.
Never stop watching
Related Collections
No related collections yet
This title isn't in a published Nutevio collection yet. It will appear here automatically as soon as it is.
Join the conversation