Latest news with #Dept.Q.


Scotsman
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Dept. Q series 2: Edinburgh-filmed Netflix hit starring Matthew Goode to return for second season
The hit show spent six weeks on Netflix's global top ten list Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Netflix has announced the Edinburgh-filmed detective drama, Dept. Q, will return for a second season. The show's debut series, which aired on Netflix in May, spent six weeks on the platform's global top ten list, and was a hit with both critics and viewers. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The second season is due to be filmed and set in Edinburgh. Matthew Goode will return as Detective Chief Inspector Carl Morck, the notorious figure in charge of a new cold-case unit of the Scottish police force. The first series featured an array of city-centre locations, including the Edinburgh City Chambers, Parliament Square and the Signet Library, while the Hilton DoubleTree Hotel in North Queensferry also appeared. Matthew Goode stars in Netflix crime drama Dept. Q. | Justin Downing/Netflix The first season followed DCI Morck and his team of maverick colleagues as they attempted to solve the case of a missing Scottish lawyer who disappeared four years before the story begins. Across nine episodes, the show delved into the complex mysteries of the case, and the inner lives of the detectives themselves. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Alexej Manvelov is expected to return as the mysterious Syrian detective Akram, while Leah Byrne will remain as Rose and Jamie Sives as Hardy. Netflix's Mona Qureshi and Manda Levin said: 'We are raring to return to Carl Morck and his band of glorious misfits at Dept. Q. Scott Frank brought us best-in-class storytelling and thrilled Netflix audiences worldwide. We can't wait to see what Morck and the gang uncover in season two ... Edinburgh, we're back.' The series is an adaptation of the novels of Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen, with the action transposed from Copenhagen to the streets of Edinburgh. Writer and director Scott Frank, whose hit show The Queen's Gambit also brought Netflix success, said: 'I'm grateful to the folks at Netflix, as well as our shining cast and crew, for once more risking their careers to enable my folly.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Mr Frank was given the rights to the books by the Danish author 15 years ago, and flirted with shooting the series in the US before settling on Edinburgh. The first season boasted a large Scottish cast with names from Kelly Macdonald and Chloe Pirrie to Mark Bonnar and Kate Dickie all appearing. Goode said: 'I'd like to thank Netflix for giving us the opportunity to further investigate Dept. Q's storylines. We have a wonderful cast and crew, headed by our resident genius Scott Frank. I cannot wait to read what comes from his magic quill.' Rob Bullock, executive producer at Left Bank Pictures, said: 'So, we are going downstairs to Dept. Q for a second season. We at Left Bank Pictures nervously await what Scott has in store for his alter-ego Carl Morck, and the other enabling members of team do-lally. We salute Netflix's courage to let them loose once again.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Scotland's capital has been the backdrop to a string of crime novel adaptations, including Ian Rankin's Rebus, Kate Atkinson's Case Studies and Irvine Welsh's Crime.


Elle
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Elle
Why The Internet Is Obsessing Over 'Dept. Q's' Alexej Manvelov Who Plays Akram
Dept Q is one of those few shows that is stacked with a knockout cast. You might've come for Matthew Goode, Chloe Pirrie or Kelly Macdonald - and rightfully so, but we'd have no qualms if you finished the series thinking breakout star Alexej Manvelov who portrayed Akram was your favourite character. Just shy of a month since its release, it is evident that the world still cannot get enough of Netflix's Dept. Q. Still going strong, it has held a top 10 spot in Netflix TV series' since premiering on May 29. But of course, what was not to love? The combination of an emotionally tortured yet highly skilled police detective tasked with the responsibility of forming a cold case unit against the backdrop of Edinburgh and Lothian's moodiness (and of course, those interiors throughout the series) makes for the perfect crime solving settings in this adapted Nordic noir. One of the series' main characters, Akram is first introduced to viewers as a quiet and obedient Syrian expat working in Department Q as Detective Carl Morck's assistant. While he might have had a mysterious air about him in the first episode, it was easy to overlook Akram as an uninteresting assistant aiming to impress - through willingness to help Carl sift through case files and offering his colleagues (Rose) a sweet treat that was supposedly made by his wife, we don't expect to get much out Akram. However, this all changes in the second episode when we see Carl interrup Akram's prayers. A quiet frustration takes over his face, yet he does not verbally express this to Carl, until the final moments of the episode, when he calmly, yet firm states, 'Carl when I am praying, don't interrupt me,' after helping ease his boss out of an anxiety attack. Beyond this, as the episodes go on, Akram's charming and personable nature as compared to Carl's is also an added factor in him becoming one of our favourite characters in the series. In an interivew with The Upcoming, Manvelov touched on Akram's evasive nature. 'He's multi-layered, with the backstory we came up with makes him a mystery, but also very human.' While the mystery of what his job was previously in Syria remains a mystery for the entirety of the series, it comes to a head for the first time in episode six when Akram pays Edmund a visit, and uses physical violence to get answers out of him. Even after Edmund threatening to kill Akram, as polite and calm as ever, he responds, 'Okay. But in the meantime, please tell me who you work for,' all while crushing his already broken femur and maintaining his usual stoic mannerisms and facial expressions. It's at this point exactly, were we really begin to wonder, who on earth is Akram? Prior to this, while questioning a group of drug addicts who get violent, Akram manages to escape the situation, unharmed, despite leaving one of the drug addicts hospitalised with a crushed windpipe. Even by the end of the series, the truth about Akram's former profession and the mysterious death of his wife is never answered, which only adds to the build up of season two, and naturally we're left in awe and slight fear of this mysterious and impressively dangerous man, but even more so by Manvelov's enigmatic and chilling performance. ELLE Collective is a new community of fashion, beauty and culture lovers. For access to exclusive content, events, inspiring advice from our Editors and industry experts, as well the opportunity to meet designers, thought-leaders and stylists, become a member today HERE.


Express Tribune
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
'Dept. Q' delivers grime and grit
Amongst the rarest breed in television is the happy detective with a sunny disposition and good manners. Which is why those who prefer the much more commonplace rude, surly specimens (think Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock or Idris Elba's Luther) will be pleased to learn that Netflix's Dept. Q. does not bother with rare detective breeds. Instead, it shoves before us some top tier scowling and filter-free bouts of rage in the form of lone wolf Carl Morck, exquisitely brought to life by Matthew Goode and his haunted, beautiful face. A shooting gone awry, dodgy lawyers, PTSD, therapy sessions conducted with supreme reluctance, and a loose cannon policeman hurled in the midst of it all is, in a nutshell, what Dept. Q offers the thriller junkie – and in a world infested with mediocre thrillers populated by characters as interesting as pencil sharpenings, here is a show that delivers its promise. Goode's good looks will be familiar to romcom addicts from 20 years ago (Chasing Liberty) and anyone who adores a devious villain (The Crown, Ordeal By Innocence). In Dept. Q, however, Goode has to work to earn our sympathies as he treads the fine line between a brainy hero and a man who lets the razor-sharp barbs gush from his lips with the force of the Amazon river during the rainy season. You do not need to be a great detective or have an overactive imagination to work out whether or not he succeeds. Pray, tell us more Set in a perpetually overcast Edinburgh but based on Danish crime noir novel The Keeper of Lost Causes (the first book in a series of ten) by Jussi Adler-Olsen, Carl's tale of woe does not so much swan dive into action as it does freefall before hitting the ground running. We are plunged into Carl's bleak angst-ridden universe as he and his partner stroll into a crime scene, with some very unexpected results. Carl's mental health spirals out of control, manifesting in a sullen demeanour and a penchant for shouting. Thisis bad news for anyone who has to engage with him in conversation, be it his unfortunate colleagues, his therapist, or his long-suffering boss, mainly because (like all TV detectives with a healthy ego) Carl is convinced that they are all far, far stupider than he is. Tempted though she is, Carl's boss, Moira (Kate Dickie), is unable to fire him. Therefore, adopting an unspoken 'out of sight, out of mind' philosophy, Moira does the next best thing: she banishes Carl to 'Department Q', the office's urinal-filled basement, which appears to be illuminated (if that is not too strong a description) by a single 20-watt bulb from the 1980s. In these uninspiring new surroundings, Moira also dumps upon Carl an unwanted IT man called Akram (Alexej Manvelov). At a later date, Moira is startled to learn that Akram spends very little time doing IT-related work as initially advertised and deals with uncooperative witnesses by throwing them down the stairs or bruising their windpipes, depending on what the occasion calls for. Akram's other identifying mark is that he is a Muslim who has fled Syria. We are made acutely aware of his faith because he declines Morck's offer of alcohol and prays in the office on a prayer mat, albeit not in a way any Muslim has ever prayed in their lives, presumably because the research department behind Dept. Q did not ask the right questions when fleshing out the script. However, in the grander scheme of things, we must overlook these niggling details, as Akram's piety is not the focal point of this story. To seal the trio, Carl also unwittingly inherits Rose, a fresh-faced rookie aching to do something more interesting than filing paperwork. Having thus sent away her Department Q team down to the basement, Moira bequeaths them all an alarmingly large pile of unsolved cold cases that had, up until now, been festering away in an office cabinet somewhere. It is, of course, one of these cases that Carl and co pick up to work through for the duration of the show's nine episodes. Can Carl and his team overcome their fearless leader's grumpiness and come together as a cohesive whole? A second strand Carl's is not the only sordid tale we are introduced to. Minutes into Dept. Q's opening, we encounter stern-faced prosecutor Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrie) who, sadly, is not having the greatest luck in court when we witness her in action. Merritt's troubles are not limited to the courtroom; she also has someone sending her threatening voice messages and stalking her. And because bad luck comes in threes, Meritt's life is consumed by worrying about her beloved disabled brother. Mentally, she has no spoons left to spare, but because she sports a severe, unflattering haircut, we are far less disposed to be sympathetic to her plight than we are to the rude Carl's gaunt handsome face. That, unfortunately, is how shallowness works. Goode's bearded Carl gets a pass, and Pirrie's monstrous fringe (although nowhere near as horrific as the one sported by Violett Beane's Imogene Scott in Death and Other Details) pits us against her. But not for long – a welcome relief for those viewers plunging into an awkward moment of self-reflection as they ponder over how they could possibly be shallow enough to be manipulated by a bad hair day. As with any thriller that follows the rules, Carl's and Merrit's stories become irrevocably intertwined in a roller coaster ride, culminating in a conclusion that brings a welcome release after escalating tension. If there are moments of mortifying cheesiness throwing a spanner in the works, the interspersed moments of raw horror chisel it all away. Bullets meet flesh, rocks go flying, faces get kicked. Carl's sullen demeanour is definitely earned. When gore meets good Those moments of gore, however, are just that: moments. With an underlying thread of black humour stitching everything together, Dept. Q ensures that you will miss very little if you watch with your hands over your eyes during the more blood-heavy moments. The one redeeming factor of all this violence is that it is all accompanied by a llinguistically intoxicating lilting Scottish accent. (Conversely, if the more rural Scottishness sails over your head, be grateful that we live in the age of subtitles.) Are there unanswered questions left hanging as the credits roll by on the final episode? Yes. Is Goode good looking enough that shallow viewers can forgive this travesty? Also yes. Because unanswered questions mean one thing: the possibility of season 2. Until then, we will have to dream up the answers ourselves, and perhaps write to the Dept. Q team with gentle suggestions about how Akram can improve his prayer technique moving forward.


The Advertiser
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
Good cop or bad cop? In Netflix's new Dept. Q, actor Matthew Goode plays both
Being a leading man? Matthew Goode quite likes it. He's the star of Dept. Q, based on the books by Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen and set in the cold case division of the Edinburgh police. From The Queen's Gambit showrunner Scott Frank, the nine-part Netflix miniseries stars Goode as a one-man combination of good cop/bad cop. While Detective Chief Inspector Carl Morck is a brilliant investigator, he is equally successful at annoying people - even begrudging respect for his talent quickly turns into intense dislike. Goode has been No. 1 on the call sheet before, but he didn't enjoy it: "It's something I shied away from after the beginning of my career where I was there for a bit and then I had some sort of bad things ... things weren't necessarily positive at that point, after that. And I just went, I just want to be, you know, not the lead any more". Goode acknowledges that actors don't get to choose if a main part is "bestowed" on them and notes that Frank fought to cast him in Dept. Q. The pair first worked together on The Lookout (2007). The English actor portrayed an American thief, a long way from the period dramas he's recently been known for, playing suave Brits in The Crown, Downton Abbey and Freud's Last Session. Goode and Frank talked and teased each other in a recent interview about working together and breaking Goode out of his period drama groove. The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity. Question: Describe your relationship. GOODE: Father and son. FRANK: Taxing, toxic, troubling. GOODE: Well, he's the genius and I just do what he says, basically. FRANK: I wish. We go way back. We made a film together, the first film I ever directed, in fact. And I was lucky that I had Matthew because he was outstanding and made it easier for me at that point. And I think we both just really know one another and I love this man. I would work with him in everything I ever did, but he's a pain in the ass. GOODE: Well, you know. There has to be some cost! FRANK: He is Carl Morck, in many ways. To know him is to want to strangle him. Does that sum it up? GOODE: OK, so now you see what I'm working with. This is the second time he's given me a character that I genuinely don't think that many other people would have taken that chance, because I don't really scream Kansas City bank robber (in The Lookout). And I think this is a part that some people would have kind of gone, it's a bit more sort of Tom Hardy-ish, perhaps. But that's what we are, we're actors, but you don't necessarily get to be versatile a lot of the time, so I feel very indebted to you. Q: Did you write with Matthew in mind? FRANK: I had always thought he would be terrific for this, and I didn't know if we would end up doing it together, but from the minute I started thinking about it, doing it here, I really ... I knew he would love it. I think a lot of times people only see actors in one way or a particular way ... they just see the roles they've already played, they're not really paying attention to what else is happening. Q: Dept. Q is not a period drama. GOODE: There you go, that's a prime example, yeah. Q: So is that part of the appeal? GOODE: I mean a career is, for want of a better way of explaining it, is a bit like a river where essentially you can go, there's the main channel in it, but there's eddies and you get caught in certain things and you get cast in certain ways. So you're not really ever particularly in control of it. Certainly unless you have your own production company or you become a massive star where you actually sort of have the keys to Hollywood and then you have a bit more of a sphere of influence and you can dip your toes in different waters. And he had to fight for me a little bit for this one. He had to go bat for me to actually do the part. Q: Have you played a detective before? GOODE: No, this is my first time, I think. I've got a memory like a sieve now; I've got three kids, that's the only thing I really think about. But no, I think this is my first time. FRANK: I don't think you have. GOODE: Only with my wife with some dress up, but that's about it. Q: Carl is not a posh character. GOODE: No because (Frank) transposed it from the original Danish setting, Copenhagen, and it works brilliantly, obviously, in Edinburgh, and it becomes this amazing character. But he made the character English. But we haven't given too much detail yet as to as to his past, which I love the fact, because we're aiming to be able to keep doing this because there's 10 books. AP/AAP Being a leading man? Matthew Goode quite likes it. He's the star of Dept. Q, based on the books by Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen and set in the cold case division of the Edinburgh police. From The Queen's Gambit showrunner Scott Frank, the nine-part Netflix miniseries stars Goode as a one-man combination of good cop/bad cop. While Detective Chief Inspector Carl Morck is a brilliant investigator, he is equally successful at annoying people - even begrudging respect for his talent quickly turns into intense dislike. Goode has been No. 1 on the call sheet before, but he didn't enjoy it: "It's something I shied away from after the beginning of my career where I was there for a bit and then I had some sort of bad things ... things weren't necessarily positive at that point, after that. And I just went, I just want to be, you know, not the lead any more". Goode acknowledges that actors don't get to choose if a main part is "bestowed" on them and notes that Frank fought to cast him in Dept. Q. The pair first worked together on The Lookout (2007). The English actor portrayed an American thief, a long way from the period dramas he's recently been known for, playing suave Brits in The Crown, Downton Abbey and Freud's Last Session. Goode and Frank talked and teased each other in a recent interview about working together and breaking Goode out of his period drama groove. The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity. Question: Describe your relationship. GOODE: Father and son. FRANK: Taxing, toxic, troubling. GOODE: Well, he's the genius and I just do what he says, basically. FRANK: I wish. We go way back. We made a film together, the first film I ever directed, in fact. And I was lucky that I had Matthew because he was outstanding and made it easier for me at that point. And I think we both just really know one another and I love this man. I would work with him in everything I ever did, but he's a pain in the ass. GOODE: Well, you know. There has to be some cost! FRANK: He is Carl Morck, in many ways. To know him is to want to strangle him. Does that sum it up? GOODE: OK, so now you see what I'm working with. This is the second time he's given me a character that I genuinely don't think that many other people would have taken that chance, because I don't really scream Kansas City bank robber (in The Lookout). And I think this is a part that some people would have kind of gone, it's a bit more sort of Tom Hardy-ish, perhaps. But that's what we are, we're actors, but you don't necessarily get to be versatile a lot of the time, so I feel very indebted to you. Q: Did you write with Matthew in mind? FRANK: I had always thought he would be terrific for this, and I didn't know if we would end up doing it together, but from the minute I started thinking about it, doing it here, I really ... I knew he would love it. I think a lot of times people only see actors in one way or a particular way ... they just see the roles they've already played, they're not really paying attention to what else is happening. Q: Dept. Q is not a period drama. GOODE: There you go, that's a prime example, yeah. Q: So is that part of the appeal? GOODE: I mean a career is, for want of a better way of explaining it, is a bit like a river where essentially you can go, there's the main channel in it, but there's eddies and you get caught in certain things and you get cast in certain ways. So you're not really ever particularly in control of it. Certainly unless you have your own production company or you become a massive star where you actually sort of have the keys to Hollywood and then you have a bit more of a sphere of influence and you can dip your toes in different waters. And he had to fight for me a little bit for this one. He had to go bat for me to actually do the part. Q: Have you played a detective before? GOODE: No, this is my first time, I think. I've got a memory like a sieve now; I've got three kids, that's the only thing I really think about. But no, I think this is my first time. FRANK: I don't think you have. GOODE: Only with my wife with some dress up, but that's about it. Q: Carl is not a posh character. GOODE: No because (Frank) transposed it from the original Danish setting, Copenhagen, and it works brilliantly, obviously, in Edinburgh, and it becomes this amazing character. But he made the character English. But we haven't given too much detail yet as to as to his past, which I love the fact, because we're aiming to be able to keep doing this because there's 10 books. AP/AAP Being a leading man? Matthew Goode quite likes it. He's the star of Dept. Q, based on the books by Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen and set in the cold case division of the Edinburgh police. From The Queen's Gambit showrunner Scott Frank, the nine-part Netflix miniseries stars Goode as a one-man combination of good cop/bad cop. While Detective Chief Inspector Carl Morck is a brilliant investigator, he is equally successful at annoying people - even begrudging respect for his talent quickly turns into intense dislike. Goode has been No. 1 on the call sheet before, but he didn't enjoy it: "It's something I shied away from after the beginning of my career where I was there for a bit and then I had some sort of bad things ... things weren't necessarily positive at that point, after that. And I just went, I just want to be, you know, not the lead any more". Goode acknowledges that actors don't get to choose if a main part is "bestowed" on them and notes that Frank fought to cast him in Dept. Q. The pair first worked together on The Lookout (2007). The English actor portrayed an American thief, a long way from the period dramas he's recently been known for, playing suave Brits in The Crown, Downton Abbey and Freud's Last Session. Goode and Frank talked and teased each other in a recent interview about working together and breaking Goode out of his period drama groove. The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity. Question: Describe your relationship. GOODE: Father and son. FRANK: Taxing, toxic, troubling. GOODE: Well, he's the genius and I just do what he says, basically. FRANK: I wish. We go way back. We made a film together, the first film I ever directed, in fact. And I was lucky that I had Matthew because he was outstanding and made it easier for me at that point. And I think we both just really know one another and I love this man. I would work with him in everything I ever did, but he's a pain in the ass. GOODE: Well, you know. There has to be some cost! FRANK: He is Carl Morck, in many ways. To know him is to want to strangle him. Does that sum it up? GOODE: OK, so now you see what I'm working with. This is the second time he's given me a character that I genuinely don't think that many other people would have taken that chance, because I don't really scream Kansas City bank robber (in The Lookout). And I think this is a part that some people would have kind of gone, it's a bit more sort of Tom Hardy-ish, perhaps. But that's what we are, we're actors, but you don't necessarily get to be versatile a lot of the time, so I feel very indebted to you. Q: Did you write with Matthew in mind? FRANK: I had always thought he would be terrific for this, and I didn't know if we would end up doing it together, but from the minute I started thinking about it, doing it here, I really ... I knew he would love it. I think a lot of times people only see actors in one way or a particular way ... they just see the roles they've already played, they're not really paying attention to what else is happening. Q: Dept. Q is not a period drama. GOODE: There you go, that's a prime example, yeah. Q: So is that part of the appeal? GOODE: I mean a career is, for want of a better way of explaining it, is a bit like a river where essentially you can go, there's the main channel in it, but there's eddies and you get caught in certain things and you get cast in certain ways. So you're not really ever particularly in control of it. Certainly unless you have your own production company or you become a massive star where you actually sort of have the keys to Hollywood and then you have a bit more of a sphere of influence and you can dip your toes in different waters. And he had to fight for me a little bit for this one. He had to go bat for me to actually do the part. Q: Have you played a detective before? GOODE: No, this is my first time, I think. I've got a memory like a sieve now; I've got three kids, that's the only thing I really think about. But no, I think this is my first time. FRANK: I don't think you have. GOODE: Only with my wife with some dress up, but that's about it. Q: Carl is not a posh character. GOODE: No because (Frank) transposed it from the original Danish setting, Copenhagen, and it works brilliantly, obviously, in Edinburgh, and it becomes this amazing character. But he made the character English. But we haven't given too much detail yet as to as to his past, which I love the fact, because we're aiming to be able to keep doing this because there's 10 books. AP/AAP Being a leading man? Matthew Goode quite likes it. He's the star of Dept. Q, based on the books by Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen and set in the cold case division of the Edinburgh police. From The Queen's Gambit showrunner Scott Frank, the nine-part Netflix miniseries stars Goode as a one-man combination of good cop/bad cop. While Detective Chief Inspector Carl Morck is a brilliant investigator, he is equally successful at annoying people - even begrudging respect for his talent quickly turns into intense dislike. Goode has been No. 1 on the call sheet before, but he didn't enjoy it: "It's something I shied away from after the beginning of my career where I was there for a bit and then I had some sort of bad things ... things weren't necessarily positive at that point, after that. And I just went, I just want to be, you know, not the lead any more". Goode acknowledges that actors don't get to choose if a main part is "bestowed" on them and notes that Frank fought to cast him in Dept. Q. The pair first worked together on The Lookout (2007). The English actor portrayed an American thief, a long way from the period dramas he's recently been known for, playing suave Brits in The Crown, Downton Abbey and Freud's Last Session. Goode and Frank talked and teased each other in a recent interview about working together and breaking Goode out of his period drama groove. The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity. Question: Describe your relationship. GOODE: Father and son. FRANK: Taxing, toxic, troubling. GOODE: Well, he's the genius and I just do what he says, basically. FRANK: I wish. We go way back. We made a film together, the first film I ever directed, in fact. And I was lucky that I had Matthew because he was outstanding and made it easier for me at that point. And I think we both just really know one another and I love this man. I would work with him in everything I ever did, but he's a pain in the ass. GOODE: Well, you know. There has to be some cost! FRANK: He is Carl Morck, in many ways. To know him is to want to strangle him. Does that sum it up? GOODE: OK, so now you see what I'm working with. This is the second time he's given me a character that I genuinely don't think that many other people would have taken that chance, because I don't really scream Kansas City bank robber (in The Lookout). And I think this is a part that some people would have kind of gone, it's a bit more sort of Tom Hardy-ish, perhaps. But that's what we are, we're actors, but you don't necessarily get to be versatile a lot of the time, so I feel very indebted to you. Q: Did you write with Matthew in mind? FRANK: I had always thought he would be terrific for this, and I didn't know if we would end up doing it together, but from the minute I started thinking about it, doing it here, I really ... I knew he would love it. I think a lot of times people only see actors in one way or a particular way ... they just see the roles they've already played, they're not really paying attention to what else is happening. Q: Dept. Q is not a period drama. GOODE: There you go, that's a prime example, yeah. Q: So is that part of the appeal? GOODE: I mean a career is, for want of a better way of explaining it, is a bit like a river where essentially you can go, there's the main channel in it, but there's eddies and you get caught in certain things and you get cast in certain ways. So you're not really ever particularly in control of it. Certainly unless you have your own production company or you become a massive star where you actually sort of have the keys to Hollywood and then you have a bit more of a sphere of influence and you can dip your toes in different waters. And he had to fight for me a little bit for this one. He had to go bat for me to actually do the part. Q: Have you played a detective before? GOODE: No, this is my first time, I think. I've got a memory like a sieve now; I've got three kids, that's the only thing I really think about. But no, I think this is my first time. FRANK: I don't think you have. GOODE: Only with my wife with some dress up, but that's about it. Q: Carl is not a posh character. GOODE: No because (Frank) transposed it from the original Danish setting, Copenhagen, and it works brilliantly, obviously, in Edinburgh, and it becomes this amazing character. But he made the character English. But we haven't given too much detail yet as to as to his past, which I love the fact, because we're aiming to be able to keep doing this because there's 10 books. AP/AAP


Newsweek
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Dept. Q Ending Explained: Who Shot Morck?
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Entertainment gossip and news from Newsweek's network of contributors Who kidnapped Merritt? Why were Morck and Hardy shot? And will there be a Dept. Q Season 2? These are the biggest questions running through Dept. Q. In this feature, we're answering everything that happened in the ending to Netflix's latest zeitgeist-capturing crime drama. The first season sees DCI Morck (Matthew Goode) and his hastily slapped together team crack their first case wide open. With the massively positive reception (a 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes), it's likely this won't be the last season either. Matthew Goode stars in Dept. Q Matthew Goode stars in Dept. Q Netflix Be warned: this article contains major spoilers, including pivotal character or plot details. Proceed at your own risk. What Happened at the End of Dept. Q? Detectives Morck and Akram track down kidnapped solicitor Merritt, discovering her locked in a pressurised chamber and forced to listen to recordings of her own voice. Lyle surprises the pair, shooting Morck in the shoulder. Akram responds by shooting Lyle in the face, killing him. Morck and Akram depressurize Merritt's chamber without killing her as Hardy follows the action over the phone. Merritt is removed from the chamber and escorted to safety. Meanwhile, Ailsa is cornered by police and shoots herself in her car. Finally, Department Q gets a sorely needed budget boost, Akram gets a well-deserved promotion, and Morck finally gets a nicer car. Will There Be a Dept. Q Season 2? Dept. Q Season 2 has not currently been confirmed. However, the first season sets it up nicely. The final scene sees Morck return to his dank basement and get started on another cold case, feeding into a possible Dept. Q Season 2. Hardy's out of hospital, albeit on crutches, and Department Q gets the gears started on the next case. Why was Morck shot in Dept. Q? It's not answered definitively in the show. However, Morck's theory is that the shooting was committed by two criminals, who lured police to the scene as a trap with the aim of killing the young officer. Who Kidnapped Merritt in Dept. Q? Lyle Jennings kidnaps Merritt in Dept. Q. He poses as another man, Sam Haig, before killing the real Haig and trapping Merritt in a hyperbaric chamber for four years. This is located the grounds of the Jennings' shipping company, Shorebird Ocean Systems. Her disappearance forms the pervading mystery in Dept. Q Season 1.