Dept. Q is the latest detective drama to land on our screens, and this Netflix offering looks better than most - with an intriguing plot, great cast, and brilliant writer.

There's admittedly an abundance of cop dramas out there, with some good (Happy Valley), some bad (sorry McDonald & Dodds, but you were axed), and some plain ugly (step forward Holby Blue).

Like Unforgotten, and Black Snow, Dept. Q focuses on a cold case unit. But that's where the similarities stop. Here's everything you need to know about new detective drama Dept. Q on Netflix, including plot, cast, start date, and location.

What's the plot of Dept. Q on Netflix? What's it about?

Dept. Q on Netflix introduces DCI Carl Morck, who is described as "a brilliant cop but a terrible colleague, whose razor-sharp sarcasm has made him no friends in Edinburgh police".

A synopsis says: "After a shooting that leaves a young PC dead, and his partner paralysed, DCI Carl Morck finds himself exiled to the basement and the sole member of Department Q; a newly formed cold case unit."

It's clear the department is a PR stunt - created to distract the public from the failures of an under-resourced, failing police force that is glad to see the back of him.

However, more by accident than design, the detective starts to build "a gang of waifs and strays who have everything to prove".

Soon, they come together to investigate the cold case of a prominent civil servant who disappeared several years ago. And Carl is back doing what he does best - "rattling cages and refusing to take no for an answer".

The series was written by Netflix today Scott Frank, the writer and director of acclaimed Netflix series The Queen's Gambit.

When's the start date? How can I watch it?

Netflix has confirmed the start date for new detective series Dept. Q is Thursday, May 29, 2025.

All episodes will stream from that day.

Who's in the cast of new detective drama?

Matthew Goode stars as DCI Carl Morck, a brash, but brilliant detective leading a cold case unit in Edinburgh. The former top-rated DI is wracked with guilt following an attack that left his partner paralysed and another policeman dead. On his return to work, Carl is assigned to a cold case that will consume his life.

The Devon-born actor is best known for portraying Henry Talbot in the TV series Downton Abbey, and the subsequent spin-off films. He's also famous for playing Finn Polmar in The Good Wife, Tony Armstrong-Jones in The Crown, and Matthew Clairmont in A Discovery of Witches. More recently, he starred as Robert Evans in The Offer.

Kelly Macdonald portrays Dr. Rachel Irving in the cast of Dept. Q. Of course, she's famous for playing Diane in the 1996 film Trainspotting, which was her first ever screen role. Roles in State of Play, Boardwalk Empire, Line of Duty, and Girl/Haji followed.

Other key cast include Temple's Chloe Pirrie, Top Dog's Alexej Manvelov, and Nightsleeper's Leah Byrne.

Scottish actor Mark Bonnar, star of Shetland, will also appear, alongside Game of Thrones' Kate Dickie, Guilt's Jamie Sives, Bridget Jones' Shirley Henderson, and Protection villain Alec Newman. That is a pretty impressive cast for a Netflix drama.

How many episodes is it?

The Netflix series Dept. Q will be nine episodes, of around 45 minutes to an hour long. That's a meaty drama.

As is typical of Netflix series such as Black Doves, all nine episodes will stream on that day. Devout crime drama fans could easily finish the series off in one day.

Where was Dept. Q on Netflix filmed?

Dept. Q is set in Edinburgh, and was filmed in and around the Scottish city centre, too.

The cast and crew based themselves at FirstStage Studios in Leith and filmed in Edinburgh over six months, making use of many, varied and new to screen locations across the city, according to Film Edinburgh.

Is detective series based on a book?

Dept. Q is adapted from the Jussi Adler-Olsen novel of the same name. The Keeper of Lost Causes: Department Q 1 came out in 2014.

A Danish author, Jussi Adler-Olsen set his novel in his homeland, so the Netflix series has shifted from the original novels' setting of Copenhagen, Denmark.

The Keeper of Lost Causes (originally published in the UK as Mercy) is the first book in the Department Q series. A Danish-language movie based on the novel was released in August 2014.

Read more: Little Disasters on Paramount+ unites Jo Joyner and Diane Krueger in thriller based on famous book

Dept. Q streams on Netflix from Thursday, May 29, 2025.