'Dept. Q's Chloe Pirrie Reveals The Surprising Change Netflix Made From The Book

Elle

10-06-2025

It's the show on the tip of the world's tongue, but there are notable differences between Netflix's adaptation of Dept. Q and the novel series by Jussi Adler-Olsen that the nine-episode show is based upon.
For the uninitiated, Dept. Q, which is inspired by the first in Adler-Olsen's novel series, The Keeper of Lost Causes, tells the story of Detective Morck in the wake of his attack being assigned to lead a newly-assembled cold case unit. With a Mötley Crüe of unlikely peers, Detective Morck is tasked with his unit's first investigation: the mysterious disappearance of prosecutor Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrie) several years earlier.
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Indeed, in a new interview, Pirrie has elucidated a little further about the origins of her character, who, she reveals, is actually a politician in the novel Mercy. While the Merritt Lingard's job in the novels differs from that in the Netflix series, the essence of the character's journey remains the same.
'Ultimately, she's a person whose past catches up with her,' Pirrie said. 'In really, the most hideous terrifying way, that the human brain could imagine. Which is something Scott [Frank, the series creator] is so good at, that thing of crafting a story where you torture the characters in various ways, with their darkest secrets and fears.'
That's not the only creative difference the streaming platform made with the books. The novels, which are written by a Danish author, are set in Copenhagen — but the Netflix series was set in and around Edinburgh.
It was, in fact, Pirrie's previous role in ITV murder mystery The Victim (opposite her Dept. Q co-star Kelly Macdonald, no less) that fuelled her preparation for her role as Merritt in Dept. Q. 'I did quite a lot of research then [for The Victim] about how it works. And there's all these amazing shows on TV now, like the Murder Trial series, which is about real life cases. And so there's a lot actually out there of footage of people doing this job. It's a very particular job with its own set of rules and social conduct,' she said.
Dept. Q is available to stream on Netflix now.
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Naomi May is a freelance writer and editor with an emphasis on popular culture, lifestyle and politics. After graduating with a First Class Honours from City University's prestigious Journalism course, Naomi joined the Evening Standard as its Fashion and Beauty Writer, working across both the newspaper and website. She is now the Acting News Editor at ELLE UK and has written features for the likes of The Guardian, Vogue, Vice and Refinery29, among many others.