The ‘Dept. Q' Showrunner Already Has Ideas for Season 2

Elle

06-06-2025

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Spoilers ahead.
Netflix's latest thriller series, Dept. Q, has been a hit with viewers for a plethora of reasons. From attractive and damaged detective Carl Morck—played by eternal heartthrob Matthew Goode—to the extremely twisted cold case his team is tasked with solving, viewers eagerly binged the first season of the Edinburgh-set crime drama. But will Dept. Q be back for a second season? Here's what we know so far.
While Netflix has yet to confirm Dept. Q will be back for season 2, the cast and crew have made it clear they'll return to the show in a heartbeat.
Matthew Goode described playing Dept. Q's moody detective as 'very freeing,' telling the BBC, 'All these characters have trauma but they're also hilarious, you really root for him.' The actor continued, 'He's so rude to people that their eyebrows shoot off their faces.' While speaking to Collider, Goode shared his hopes for a second season, including the possibility viewers would 'see a bit more of what Carl's life is and his home life, which is a very interesting throuple that's going on.' Goode was, of course, referring to his character's awkward living situation, as Morck resides with his stepson Jasper (Aaron McVeigh), and lodger Martin (Sanjeev Kohli).
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Goode further expressed excitement about returning to play Carl Morck. 'We got to create a different past [for the character],' the actor explained. 'So [Morck] is still a bit of a mystery to people, which is, again, why I want to come back.'
In an interview with Cosmopolitan UK, actress Chloe Pirrie, who plays kidnapped prosecutor Merritt Lingard in season 1, said, 'I think [a second season] would be really great for the cast...And great for Scotland to have a show like this run again. It's definitely something we would all want.' The actress also told Yahoo UK that, having spent much of the season 1 shoot in isolation, she was thrilled to watch Dept. Q's team of detectives at work. 'I just loved meeting all those characters on the screen and I just think, 'I've got to spend more time with these people,'' she explained. 'I want to see that team do more stuff together.'
One of the reasons Dept. Q is highly likely to be renewed for a second season is its source material. While Netflix's TV series relocated the action to Scotland, Dept. Q is actually based on a Copenhagen-set book series by Danish crime writer Jussi Adler-Olsen. Just like in the TV adaptation, Adler-Olsen's 10 novels follow former homicide detective Carl Mørck, who is chosen to head up a cold case unit known as Department Q, after being the victim of a violent crime himself.
In a 2017 interview with Crime Fiction Lover, writer Adler-Olsen said of his popular detective books, 'Before I wrote the first novel I wrote a synopsis of the entire series. I defined the main characters, although they have certainly developed during the writing process.' The author also admitted to basing Dept. Q's main character, Morck, on himself to some degree, including giving the detective his own real first name, Carl. 'One characteristic we share is a certain degree of laziness,' Adler-Olsen explained, while noting he envies Morck's ability to deliver 'plain truths directly to people.'
With a 10-book series to draw upon, Netflix's adaptation has the potential to run for a very long time. Scott Frank, the creator of Dept. Q, is open to making future seasons of the gritty detective series, telling the BBC, 'I'd love to do more with this and the next book in the series is even more interesting and relevant.'
Speaking to Collider, creator Frank revealed that the season 1 finale of Dept. Q ended in a very purposeful place, in the hopes of reuniting everyone for a second season. 'One of the points of the first season was to end it with everybody together,' Frank told the outlet. 'Everybody is in isolation at the beginning, living their own pathetic lives, and by the end, they're all in that shitty little basement together.'
Referencing the second book in Adler-Olsen crime series, Frank told the publication, 'I've got a great idea for a second season. It is another cold case and also a current case, at the same time, that they're looking into. So, I would do that.' However, the creator also suggested viewers shouldn't necessarily expect another nine-episode season if the show returns for season 2. 'I might just do six next time,' Frank explained. 'We'll see. But I do know what I want to do next. I do have the story in mind for the next season.'
While speaking with Collider, Goode suggested more time should be allotted to exploring the life of Akram Salim (Alexej Manvelov), a Syrian refugee and widowed father of two daughters who has a mysterious past and becomes a member of Dept. Q. 'I want to see what it's like back at Akram's house with his daughters,' Goode told the outlet. 'There's a lot of stuff to play around with. It's going to be really exciting if we do get to come back.'
During his interview with Yahoo UK, Goode elaborated on his hopes for exploring Akram's impressive physical strength and impeccable skills as an investigator. 'We need to get Alexej into eight weeks of Krav Maga training so the fight scenes in season 2 can be amazing,' the actor enthused. 'It's going to be a sort of Syrian [Jason] Bourne.' For his part, Manvelov simply said, 'Hopefully we get to come back down.'
It's also worth noting that, while the majority of crimes explored in Dept. Q's first season were resolved in the show's finale, it's still unclear who shot Carl and his colleague James Hardy, murdering a young police officer in the process. It's highly likely this unsolved mystery would continue into a second season.
Throughout the first season of Dept. Q, Carl meets with therapist Dr. Rachel Irving (Kelly Macdonald), and the pair develop a flirty rapport. As for whether or not a relationship might develop between the pair in future seasons, Goode told Collider, 'Maybe there's a romantic entanglement. I have no idea. But sometimes I think people shouldn't be afraid to see a man and a woman navigate a friendship, rather than it necessarily needing to end up in bed. But I don't know. She's a brilliant actress. That's what I can say.'
The show's creator Frank also addressed whether or not romance could play a part in the series if it's renewed, telling Collider, 'I could see Carl having a couple women in his life. Also, his ex-wife because there is enormous chemistry between the two of them as well, even though there's conflict. Watching the two of them in the room together, I thought, 'Oh, there's actually a hot chemistry here.''
This story will be updated.