Cancel your weekend plans to binge new Netflix thriller hailed ‘pure greatness’

Dept Q is full of twists and turns to keep you hooked (Picture: Justin Downing/Netflix)

Netflix’s new Scotland-set crime thriller is already proving a hit with subscribers, having climbed up to the third spot in the streamer’s TV ranking just a day after its release.

Starring Matthew Goode as the rumpled detective Carl Morck, Dept Q is stuffed with twists, red herrings and complex characters you will want to root for, making it the perfect weekend binge-watch.

The new nine-part show finds Morck reeling from a botched murder investigation that left his partner paralysed and another police officer dead. The first episode sees his boss decide the answer is to squirrel him away in a basement department, rooting through cold case files.

He teams up with Syrian refugee and former police officer Akram Salim (Alexej Manvelov), who picks their first case: the disappearance of an ambitious young prosecutor Merritt Linguard (Chloe Pirrie) on a ferry trip four years ago.

Writer and director Scott Frank hoped to replicate the success he found on Netflix with The Queen’s Gambit and has been sitting on the rights to Jussi Adler-Olsen’s source Scandi-noir novels for over a decade.

Frank said he was inspired by his love of crime dramas like Line of Duty to use the long-untouched rights after owning them for 15 years. He admitted to Metro: ‘The books, you just knew that they could work that way. It took me a while to get to them.’

He added: ‘I thought this particular mystery and the situation and context for it was so interesting. I hadn’t seen that before. 

‘But also the potential for these characters. I think they’re all really interesting and you could take them in so many different directions and go so far with them. 

‘It just felt like this was a natural series. I hadn’t really made anything like this before and so it seemed like a really, really fun idea.’

It’s certainly gone down well with Netflix viewers, who have taken to X to urge others to give the new show a go.

Goode stars as the prickly detective Carl Morck (Picture: Justin Downing/Netflix) The show is based on a series of Scandi-noir novels by Jussi Adler-Olsen (Picture: AP/Netflix)

@Mon3yStretch wrote: ‘I gotta say, when it comes to detective shows, the British are cream of the crop. This new show on Netflix called Dept Q is pure greatness,’ as @emhoy chimed in: ‘Just watched first episode and it’s fantastic Dept Q.’

Perhaps given that Morck and his crew are down-and-outers in the precinct, one viewer compared it to Slow Horses on Apple TV Plus. @conorgeorge95 wrote: ‘Now this is a series Netflix needs to stick with, I see why it’s getting the Slow Horses of Netflix comparison, also the casting/acting is outstanding. Do not let this go to waste. #DeptQ’

@RhianReads1 tweeted: ‘Dept Q is so good I’m considering buying and reading the book before I continue.’

@chrisgbradford added: ‘Have just binge watched Dept Q on Netflix. Absolutely brilliant. The production, writing, and the cast all superb. Season 2 please!’

Dept Q is available to stream on Netflix.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.