A must-watch for Slow Horses fans: Meet Netflix’s new Scandi crime series Department Q

Slow Horses fans take note: Netflix is bringing us a new must-watch Scandi crime drama – and it sounds somewhat similar to the Apple+ smash hit. Department Q, which is arriving on our screens this week (hurrah!), is set to introduce us to a new team of misfits relegated to the basement and tasked with solving crimes. See what we mean?

An adaptation of the novels of the same name by Danish author, Jussi Adler-Olsen, the series revolves around Carl Morck, a former top-rated detective in Edinburgh who, following an attack that left his partner paralysed and another policeman dead, is tasked with setting up Department Q. Cue the arrival of a team of misfits and mavericks.

Before you tune in, here's everything we know about the upcoming series, including the plot, cast and how you can watch it.

What is Department Q about?

An adaptation of the novels of the same name from Danish author, Jussi Adler-Olsen, Department Q is a bit like the Netflix version of Apple TV+’s Slow Horses. Downton Abbey’s Matthew Goode plays DCI Carl Morck, who has his life turned upside down after a violent incident leaves his partner paralysed and an officer dead.

When he returns to work, he’s tasked with setting up Department Q - a newly formed cold case department which, according to the official synopsis, “is little more than a PR exercise" - there to distract the public from the failures of an under-resourced, failing police force that is glad to see the back of him.

Initially, Carl doesn’t mind being sidelined, enjoying his days playing solitaire and skiving. But over the course of the series, his detective instincts are reawakened, and his new basement department becomes an unlikely magnet for the misfits and mavericks of Chief Super, Moira’s (played by Kate Dickie) police team.

The cast also includes Line of Duty’s Kelly MacDonald, who plays Dr Rachel Irving, the therapist charged with getting officers back on the front line. She quickly gets the measure of Carl, his trauma and his superiority complex and the pair develop a deep connection across the series.

Who's starring in Department Q?

The cast of Department Q includes:

• Matthew Goode (The King’s Man, Downton Abbey)
• Chloe Pirrie (Under The Banner of Heaven, The Queen’s Gambit)
• Alexej Manvelov (Jack Ryan, Top Dog)
• Kelly Macdonald (Line of Duty, Operation Mincemeat)
• Leah Byrne (Call The Midwife, Nightsleeper)
• Mark Bonnar (Napoleon, Guilt)
• Shirley Henderson (Harry Potter, Bridget Jones)
• Jamie Sives (Guilt, Crime)
• Kate Dickie (Inside Man, The Witch)

Is Department Q any good?

It's a little early to say, but we have a very good feeling about this one! We know that Adler-Olsen’s books are extremely popular and the series has already spawned a Danish Nordic noir film series, The Keeper of Lost Causes, The Absent One and A Conspiracy of Faith, which has been described as "flat-out superb".

There's also the rather major fact that Scott Frank, best known as the series creator behind Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit (the hit show about an orphaned girl's rise to chess stardom) is behind this series. If that’s anything to go by, we’re onto something pretty brilliant here.

How can I watch Department Q?

Good news - Department Q is arriving on our screens this week! The series will premiere on Netflix on Thursday 29th May.