Netflix’s ‘Dept. Q’ – Review

CinemaBlind’s Review – 95%

If you loved the hilarious dark comedy of Slow Horses and the thrilling mystery crime drama of Luther, then Netflix’s new British crime thriller drama series, Dept. Q is just for you, but I have one big problem, and that is that I fear Netflix will cancel it.

Based on the Danish Nordic noir crime thriller novel series, Department Q by author Jussi Adler-Olsen. Created by Scott Frank, the Netflix series is set in Edinburgh, and it follows former top-rated detective Carl Morck, who returns to his job after a tragic incident that left his best friend and partner paralyzed and one police officer dead. When he returns, he is tasked with forming a new department that will focus on solving cold cases.

Before I go on about how much I love this series, I do have one minor gripe, and that is that the series could have benefited from cutting at least one or two episodes, but even though I am saying this, there is nothing in the series I would like to see cut out. Everything from the gothic environment to the darkly comedic and thrilling story is extremely entertaining and gripping.

When it comes to performances, I think everybody in the series is absolutely perfect, from every one of its side characters to our main trio. Matthew Goode absolutely embodied the leading part of Carl Morck as he brought everything in his performance from the haunted detective to the irritated older brother, but the one who stole the show for me has to be Alexej Manvelov, who played the role of Akram Salim. Manvelov stole every scene he was in, and his and Goode’s pairing was extremely entertaining to see. Dept. Q also has great performances from Chloe Pirrie, Kelly Macdonald, Leah Byrne, Mark Bonnar, Jamie Sives, Shirley Henderson, and Kate Dickie.

Dept Q.’s main mystery is a high-profile missing cold case which our main trio tries to tackle, but because of the lack of evidence and clues, the disappearance took place four years ago, Morck and team have to follow up on even the tiniest clue, which may or may not lead somewhere. This sometimes makes things frustrating for the characters and the viewers, but in my opinion, that is the brilliance of the series, as it takes you on a thrilling ride with extremely fun and complex characters.

In conclusion, Dept. Q is a must-watch series mainly for two reasons. The first one is the extremely entertaining main trio, and the second one is the brilliantly written mystery that gives you an edge-of-the-seat experience.