I loved this new Edinburgh-based cop drama on Netflix and you will too

Move over, London, it’s time for Edinburgh to shine on Netflix in a brand new series from Scott Frank (The Queen's Gambit) starring Matthew Goode (Downton Abbey, A Discovery of Witches) as a grumpy copper with many demons to fight.

In Dept. Q, Goode plays DCI Carl Morck, excellent at his job but terrible with his colleagues. Indeed, his razor-sharp sarcasm has made him no friends amongst the Edinburgh police, so when a shooting leaves a young PC dead and his partner paralyzed, Mock finds himself exiled to the basement and the sole member of Department Q, a newly formed unit dedicated to solving cold cases.

The show then brilliantly weaves together its two main stories : the investigation around the shooting and the cold case Carl reopens. Just like it was in The Queen’s Gambit, Frank’s writing is superb as he paints a riveting portrait of the show’s characters.

Unsurprisingly, Goode is perfect as a bitter cop who yearns to feel better about himself and about his job. And trust me, if you like Jackson Lamb’s sharp wit on Slow Horses, you will very much enjoy Carl’s dark sense of humor.

Of course, the department Carl suddenly leads is mostly meant as a PR stunt designed to distract the public from the failures of an under-resourced police force. Yet, Carl finds a few allies and inadvertently builds a team that will help him follow the trail of a prominent civil servant who disappeared several years ago but might very well still be alive.

Also in the cast, Chloe Pirrie (The Queen’s Gambit), Alexej Manvelov (Top Dog) and Leah Byrne (Call The Midwife) all embody their characters very well and give Dept. Q the edge it needs to be compelling from one episode to the next.

And then of course, there is the backdrop of Edinburgh, which is always a joy to see on screen. Few UK cities have the same moody, cinematic feel as Scotland’s capital, and I for one relish in seeing my hometown featured on TV and found it very amusing to watch Matthew Goode hop on the bus down the street from where I actually live.

But aside from getting a kick out of seeing Edinburgh be at the heart of this show, I also appreciated how Dept. Q takes advantage of other Scottish locations to give itself even more of a different vibe than many other cop dramas on telly.

All in all, Dept. Q works very well because it balances well-rounded characters with a mystery that unravels at a steady pace.

To help viewers understand Carl better, the show pits him against a therapist played by Kelly Macdonald (Line of Duty), who doesn’t put up with his moody attitude and manages to get him to open up. The two characters share many great scenes and help make the show relatable.

Thanks to its dark humor, well-structured story and captivating cast, I found Dept. Q to be a very enjoyable watch throughout its nine episodes.

I am not familiar with the book series by Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen that the show is based on, but it still seems to me like Scott Frank has done it again and delivered to Netflix subscribers a new show that will keep them on the edge of their seat.

Will Dept. Q have a second season?

Unlike The Queen’s Gambit, Dept. Q definitely has the potential to go on for more than one season. It wasn’t designed as a limited series, so Carl Mock could very well investigate more cold cases in the future.

Netflix will certainly wait and see if the show finds its audience before making a decision but I would love to see it renewed so that Goode can once more irritate his coworkers, and Frank take us on a new mysterious investigation with Edinburgh as its backdrop.