9 Shows Like Dept Q to Watch Next
Netflix‘s newest series is the crime drama Dept. Q starring Matthew Goode (A Discovery of Witches, The Imitation Game) as DCI Carl Morck. From Scott Frank, writer and director of The Queen’s Gambit, Dept. Q premiered on May 29 with all 9 episodes and is an adaptation of the book series of the same title by Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen.
Set in Edinburgh, Scotland, Dept Q. follows DCI Carl Morck who is a brilliant cop but a terrible colleague who finds himself exiled to the basement and the sole member of Department Q; a newly formed cold case unit. Morck ends up leading an unlikely team of misfits in solving Edinburgh’s cold cases.
The cast also includes 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 (Deadwater Fell, Nightsleeper), Jamie Sives (Annika, Guilt), Kate Dickie (The Day of the Jackal, Game of Thrones), Shirley Henderson (Bridget Jones’s Diary, Harry Potter franchise), Kelly Macdonald (Giri/Haji, Boardwalk Empire), and Tom Bulpett (Father Brown, Casualty).
If you’ve already binged the series and are looking for similar content, here are 9 shows like Dept. Q you can stream next.
Annika (2021 – )
Cast: Nicola Walker, Jamie Sives, Katie Leung, Silvie Furneaux, Ukweli Roach, Kate Dickie, Paul McGann
Synopsis: “Detective Inspector Annika Strandhed works for Glasgow’s Marine Homicide Unit which investigates the puzzling crimes and unexplained murders that wash up on the shores of Scotland’s waters.”
Where to watch: PBS Masterpiece
Broadchurch (2013-2017)
Cast: David Tennant, Olivia Colman, Jodie Whittaker, Andrew Buchan, Carolyn Pickles, Arthur Darvill, Charlotte Beaumont, Adam Wilson, Matthew Gravelle, Jonathan Bailey, Joe Sims
Synopsis: “When the corpse of an 11-year-old British boy, Danny Latimer, is found bloodied and dirty on an idyllic beach, a small Dorset community becomes the focus of a police investigation and media madness. Out-of-town Detective Inspector Alec Hardy gets the point position over Detective Sgt. Ellie Miller, who feels the job should have been hers. Now she must engage in an efficient working relationship with taciturn Hardy.”
Where to watch: PBS Masterpiece, Peacock, Pluto TV, Plex, Prime Video, Roku
DCI Banks (2010-2016)
Cast: Stephen Tompkinson, Andrea Lowe, Jack Deam, Lorraine Burroughs
Synopsis: “A series of novels written by Peter Robinson are the basis for this crime drama programme featuring DCI Alan Banks. The title investigator works alongside DS Annie Cabbot, along with other detectives, to solve crimes that range from murder to armed robbery and kidnapping. Each novel is split up into two hourlong episodes of the show.”
Where to watch: BritBox
Deadwind (2018-2021)
Cast: Pihla Viitala, Lauri Tilkanen, Mimosa Willamo, Jani Volanen, Tommi Korpela, Pirjo Lonka, Riku Nieminen
Synopsis: “Just months after a tragic loss, detective Sofia Karppi investigates the murder of a woman with ties to a Helsinki construction company.”
Where to watch: Netflix
Detective Frost (2024 – )
Cast: Borys Szyc, Zuzanna Saporznikow, Andrzej Bienias, Kamilla Baar, Aleksandra Grabowska, Szymon Wróblewski
Synopsis: “When a detective’s maverick approach to investigating gets him suspended, he teams with a journalist to solve a series of brutal murders outside the law.”
Where to watch: Netflix
Marcella (2016-2021)
Cast: Anna Friel, Ray Panthaki, Nicholas Pinnock, Jamie Bamber, Jack Doolan, Nina Sosanya, Charlie Covell, Sophia Brown, Amanda Burton, Michael Colgan
Synopsis: “Despite marriage woes, a tragic loss, memory blackouts and her struggles as a mom, a London detective excels at what she does best: catching killers.”
Where to watch: Netflix
Shetland (2013 – )
Cast: Douglas Henshall, Alison O’Donnell, Steven Robertson, Lewis Howden, Mark Bonnar, Anne Kidd, Erin Armstrong, Julie Graham, Conor McCarry, Angus Miller
Synopsis: “Detective Jimmy Perez is a native Shetlander who returns home to lead a murder investigation that uncovers deadly secrets and lies from the past.”
Where to watch: BritBox
Slow Horses (2022 – )
Cast: Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas, Rosalind Eleazar, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Jonathan Pryce, Kadiff Kirwan, Christopher Chung, Saskia Reeves, Chris Reilly, Freddie Fox
Synopsis: “Slow Horses follows a team of British intelligence agents who serve in a dumping ground department of MI5 – Slough House. Oldman stars as Jackson Lamb, the brilliant but irascible leader of the spies who end up in Slough House due to their career-ending mistakes.”
Where to watch: Apple TV+
Unforgotten (2015 – )
Cast: Sanjeev Bhaskar, Jordan Long, Carolina Main, Hitel Patel, Lewis Reeves, Nicola Walker, Peter Egan, Pippa Nixon, Sinéad Keenan
Synopsis: “The detectives are on a mission to uncover the mystery behind an unsolved murder that occurred 39 years ago. Beneath the ground of a demolished house, the bones of the victim are found. With this evidence, the modern police team open a case to unearth the history that has remained buried for decades.”
Where to watch: PBS Masterpiece, Prime Video
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