Netflix’s newest British crime thriller series, Dept. Q, premiered today on the streaming service, and while reviews are still coming in, it’s managed to land an impressive Rotten Tomatoes score right out of the gate. Debuting with an 83%, the new series is being lauded by many for its characters, themes, and engaging mystery. “Dept. Q will likely grip fans of whodunit fare well enough, but with some crucial tweaks, it’s not hard to imagine it becoming a better show if further seasons are to follow,” writes Samuel R. Murrian from Collider. “Dept Q is thoroughly engaging – ranging from its twists, humor to its performances, everything is a slam dunk,” adds Archi Sengupta from LeisureByte.com.

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Based on the Danish Nordic noir crime novels by Jussi Adler-Olsen, Dept. Q stars Matthew Goode (Downton Abbey) as Carl Morck, an emotionally scarred detective charged with setting up Department Q, a cold case unit. Turning an Edinburgh basement office space into a well-oiled machine full of misfit officers, the team dedicates itself to cracking whatever seemingly impossible cases come across their desks. It’s an interesting premise, and one that Kristen Baldwin from Entertainment Weekly says works very well:
“‘Broken people healing themselves by providing closure for crime victims’ can be an especially effective sub-genre if the writing, directing, and casting align — and in Dept. Q, everything gels beautifully.”

‘Dept. Q’ Differs From the Source Material

Created by Scott Frank and Chandni Lakhani, in addition to Goode, Dept. Q also stars Kelly Macdonald (Trainspotting), Chloe Pirrie (The Queen’s Gambit), Alexej Manvelov (Jack Ryan), and Leah Byrne (Call the Midwife). While it’s obvious that some of the cast may have been familiar with the source material before starting production, Goode recently told RadioTimes that the books weren’t required reading due to the fact that much of what they needed to know was already in the script, which changed the setting from Copenhagen to Scotland:
“I was aware of the books but Scott said… he didn’t demand it, he didn’t say you can’t read them, he just said, ‘You don’t have to, if you want to.’ And then because, obviously, he’s transposed it from Copenhagen, he’s put it in Scotland, he’s made me suddenly English, so a lot of that stuff doesn’t really… and a lot of it’s in the script. That sounds really lazy, doesn’t it? But I really enjoyed the fact that we could make up some of Carl’s history, as opposed to having to do the book. I find it very freeing.”
Speaking of the cast, critic Jonathon Wilson from Ready Steady Cut points to Manvelov’s character of Akram Salim – a Syrian cop forced to flee to Europe – as a personal favorite, saying: “If there’s a reason to watch this show, it’s Akram. He’s a superb character played at a remarkably even keel by Manvelov, and his unflappable demeanor pulls double duty as the source of the best comedy but also the most earnest sentiment.” Of course, Dept. Q has its detractors, like Sean Boelman from FandomWire who calls it “one of the most underwhelming new shows to come out in quite a while.” Still, with an 83% score on Rotten Tomatoes, the good clearly outweighs the bad here. You can judge things for yourself this weekend, as all nine episodes of Dept. Q Season 1 are now available to stream on Netflix. Source: Rotten Tomatoes

Dept. Q

Release Date

May 29, 2025

Network

Netflix

Chloe Pirrie

Merritt Lingard

Alexej Manvelov

Akram Salim