Dept Q creator Scott Frank and some of the cast of the Netflix crime series have revealed what fans should expect from the second season of the Edinburgh-set show.

Matthew Goode, Kate Dickie, Alexej Manvelov and Leah Byrne took a break from filming to chat about the series that is based on Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Department Q Nordic noir novels.

Dept Q launched in May 2025, and followed Goode’s detective Carl Morck as he returned to police work following a shooting that left his colleague James Hardy (Jamie Sives) paralysed.

Under the instruction of his commander, Moira Jacobson (Dickie), Morck was assigned as the sole officer working on a new unsolved crimes unit, and had to work from the former shower area in the basement of the police station.

He was joined by former Syrian policeman Akram Salim (Manvelov), DC Rose Dickson (Byrne) and a recovering Hardy.

At the Bloody Scotland crime-writing festival, Matthew Goode hinted what was to come for Morck and the team.

“This is what’s so interesting about season 2, you suddenly start getting the scripts and you’re like, ‘Oh my god.’ You start finding out about Akram and you’re just like, ‘awesome.’ Those of you who like the show, you’re going to be in for an absolute treat.”

Manvelov then described his character, Akram as “a contrast to Carl, who is insane".

“Akram has to be secretly insane. But on the surface he looks calm. [The team] deal with trauma, but they do it in different ways. And this is a facet of a person who already kind of thinks that he dealt with that trauma. He’s all cried out, he’s all done. And now he’s being the stable point of gravity for the rest of the group. But of course, inside, he is raging.”

Meanwhile Kate Dickie revealed that there are changes ahead for her character, Moira Jacobson, in season 2.

“Moira didn’t really leave the office much in season 1,” she said. “You do go to her flat this season. Yes, you may see a little of my whole life.”

The show’s creator, Scott Frank, also confirmed that one character from season one won’t be returning – Dr Rachel Irving, Morck’s therapist, who was played by Line of Duty’s Kelly Macdonald.

“She’s making another show,” Frank explained. “She’s doing Lanterns, so our show and their show couldn’t make it work. But she may come back. We never know. Depends on how her career is going on the other show.”

While Macdonald may not be returning for season 2, Goode hinted that more seasons could follow as there is certainly enough source material (there are 11 novels in Adler-Olsen’s Department Q series) and he was drawn to his character, Carl, from the start.

“I read it [the first script for season 1] and the dialogue is so good. And this Carl character, it’s outrageous. And like looking in the mirror,” he said.

“I try not to start doing the character before I read the scripts, but with Carl, I started trying him on for size. It’s not like I get offered these kind of things all the time. So I was super interested. And 10 books as well. Super interested.”

While no release date for season 2 has been announced by Netflix, executive producer Rob Bullock noted that "we are 15 weeks into a 20-week shoot. It’s long and gruelling hours and we are actually in the middle of night shoots as well".

This would indicated that production will wrap by the end of October, and a possible late-2026 or early 2027 return for the Dept Q team could be on the cards.

Dept Q season 1 is available to stream on Netflix.

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