Netflix has revealed the cast for “Department Q” from showrunner Scott Frank (“The Queen’s Gambit”).
The cast is led by Matthew Goode (“The King’s Man”), Chloe Pirrie (“The Queen’s Gambit”), Alexej Manvelov (“Jack Ryan”) Kelly Macdonald (“Line of Duty”) and Leah Byrne (“Call The Midwife”). It also includes Mark Bonnar (“Napoleon”), Shirley Henderson (“Harry Potter”), Jamie Sives (“Guilt”) and Kate Dickie (“Inside Man”).
“Department Q” is an adaptation of the novels of the same name from Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen. They have spawned a successful Danish film series with more in production.
Written by Scott Frank, Chandni Lakhani, Stephen Greenhorn and Colette Kane, the series revolves around Carl Morck, a former top-rated detective in Edinburgh assigned to a new cold case whilst wracked with guilt following an attack that left his partner paralysed and another policeman dead.
Goode plays Morck. Upon his return to work, he is tasked with setting up Department Q – a new cold case department, which is little more than a PR exercise. At first, being sidelined suits Carl; he’s happy to waste his days playing solitaire and skiving. Yet over the course of the series, Carl’s detective instincts are reawakened, and his new department down in the basement becomes an unlikely magnet for the misfits and mavericks of Chief Super, Moira’s police team.
Merritt plays a ruthless and ambitious prosecutor who has quickly risen the ranks in the Crown Office. Merritt had a troubled childhood, raised by her absent father on the Isle of Mull. But after her brother William suffered a severe brain injury, she turned her life around and dedicated her life to him, whilst striving for justice in her role as prosecutor. However, in the wake of the biggest case of her career, Merritt decides she needs to make a change. As a result, Merritt and Carl’s paths collide.
Manvelov plays a former officer in the Syrian police force who flees to Europe when civil war breaks out. Unable to work as a cop in the U.K., he petitions for work at Edinburgh’s police station, becoming Carl’s assistant. Akram keeps his past life in Syria private, but as the series goes on, Carl realises he’s underestimated his new partner.
Macdonald plays the therapist charged with getting officers back on the front line. She’s smart, and she soon gets the measure of Carl, his trauma and his superiority complex. Intrigued by one another, the two develop a deeper connection across the series.
The eight part series is produced by Left Bank Pictures. The first twoepisodes are directed by Frank. It is executive produced by Rob Bullock, Frank, Lakhani and Andy Harries.
The series is currently in production in Edinburgh.
