Dept. Q just wrapped up its first season on Netflix, and eyes are on a renewal. Is the Scottish crime series returning for another year?
Dept. Q dropped its nine-episode run on Netflix on Thursday, May 29, and quickly took off with critics and audiences. The series focuses on Edinburgh detective Carl Morck (Matthew Goode), who's shot in the throat in a call gone wrong, which also leaves his partner James Hardy (Jaime Silves) paralyzed.
Coming back to work with a bitter and sardonic attitude, Morck rubs his superiors the wrong way. They thus "promote" him to Dept. Q, which handles cold cases, a division with barely any budget, and other cops who their bosses don't trust.
Despite those obstacles, Morck soon becomes involved in the case of missing prosecutor Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrie), leading to a wild series of twists and turns. The first season closed out the main plotline with room for more to come, so will it happen?
Will Dept. Q season 2 happen?
As of now, Netflix has yet to renew Dept. Q for another season. There are hopes, as the show currently has an 83% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes with a 93% audience rating, and good word of mouth may help it gain more viewers.
Creator Scott Frank is quite hopeful for a second season, telling the BBC, "The last three shows I made were meant to be one and done. There was no more to say but I'd love to do more with this and the next book in the series is even more interesting and relevant."
The series has a low budget, and Netflix does enjoy its mystery thrillers, so there's a good shot Dept. Q gets more life with another year.
What can Dept. Q season 2 be about?
The show is based on the novels by Jussi Adler-Olsen, meaning there's plenty of material to draw upon. Season 1's plot drew from the first book in the series, The Keeper of Lost Causes. That would make it likely that season 2 could play on the second book, The Absent One.
Without giving too much away, season 1 ended with the main case about Merritt solved with the department getting the resources to continue their work. Hardy was with the team while Morck was still investigating who shot him.
If the show does come back for a second season, perhaps it would draw from the second book in the series, The Absent One. That revolves around Morck suffering a personal tragedy that pushes him to reopen a case of murdered twins in 1994, which leads to a clash with a powerful boarding school.
The show does have a fanbase in its Danish homeland, which includes a trilogy of movies in that country. With a total of six novels, the series can continue its good mix of a main overall story arc with smaller mysteries and character interactions.
The show does deserve its success with a compelling cast of characters and some very startling plotlines. Goode is terrific as Morck, a cop with a chip on his shoulder but still dedicated to the job and a supporting cast of character who need more time to develop.
While season 1 wrapped the first mystery up, there are dangling plotlines that can play into a second season. So, while we don't know if Dept. Q is coming back for season 2, we can hope this darkly funny mystery series returns for another year.
Dept. Q streaming on Netflix.
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