When the end credits roll on the Season 1 finale of Netflix‘s Dept. Q, fans of the Edinburgh detective series starring Matthew Goode will be left longing for DCI Carl Morck to crack more cold cases.
So has Netflix renewed Dept. Q for Season 2? Or is this the end of our time with this skilled, messy, incredibly charming group of detectives?
The British crime drama, created by Scott Frank (The Queen’s Gambit) and based on Adler-Olsen’s novel series, followed Morck (Goode) as he mentally recovered from his own shooting and returned to work to head Department Q, a newly formed cold case unit designed to keep him out of trouble. With help from Akram (Alexej Manvelov), DC Rose Dickson (Leah Byrne), and his pal DCI James Hardy (Jamie Sives), Morck set out to make something of the department by reopening and solving Merritt Lingard’s (Chloe Pirrie) four-year-old missing persons case.
Those who devoured Dept. Q know that Season 1 ends with endless storytelling potential ahead. So has Netflix green lit Dept. Q Season 2? Or is this the end of our time with the compelling series?
Curious if Netflix canceled or renewed Dept. Q for Season 2? Wondering how Dept. Q Season 1 ended, what Season 2 could look like, and how many books are in the series? Or when Dept. Q Season 2’s premiere date could be? Here’s everything to know about the future of Netflix’s Dept. Q.
Dept. Q Season 1 consists of nine episodes that range in length from 42 to 71 minutes, so if you’re looking for a typical Episode 10 on Netflix, you’re out of luck.
As of Dept. Q Season 1’s premiere date (May 29), the series has yet to be renewed for a Season 2. But that’s not to say a renewal isn’t still possible. Though Season 1 dropped in full already, it’s not uncommon for streamers to wait for a series to find its audience and see how it performs before announcing its fate.
Ahead of its premiere, Dept. Q had a solid 86% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, so stay tuned to see if viewers agree with critics. With a gripping mystery, Goode as leading man, and a book series behind it, we have a good(e) feeling we haven’t seen the last of Dept. Q.
Since Dept. Q has yet to be renewed yet, there’s no official Season 2 premiere date. That said, hopefully the drama would aim for a new season each year, so if renewed, fans could potentially expect new episodes in 2026.
If you’re looking for a detailed Dept. Q Season 1 finale recap, Decider’s Dept. Q Ending Explained article has you covered. For the purposes of predicting Season 2 storylines, however, here are the main points you need to remember.
After a season spent searching for answers, Carl and the team solved Merritt’s case and rescued her from the hyperbaric chamber in the nick of time. Following a three-month break, Carl returned to work with Akram, Rose, and even Hardy, and since boxes of unsolved cold cases await, Season 2 would almost certainly see the team trying to crack a new one. As some fans of the Netflix series know, Dept. Q is based on Adler-Olsen’s novel series, so if Season 2 follows the events of Book 2, The Absent One, here’s what could be in store:
“…By the opening of Adler-Olsen’s shocking, fast-paced follow-up, Morck is satisfied with the notion of picking up long-cold leads. So he’s naturally intrigued when a closed case lands on his desk: A brother and sister were brutally murdered two decades earlier, and one of the suspects – part of a group of privileged boarding-school students — confessed and was convicted.
But once Morck reopens the files, it becomes clear that all is not what it seems. Looking into the supposedly solved case leads him to Kimmie, a woman living on the streets, stealing to survive. Kimmie has mastered evading the police, but now they aren’t the only ones looking for her. Because Kimmie has secrets that certain influential individuals would kill to keep buried… as well as one of her own that could turn everything on its head.”
Yes! Dept. Q is an on-screen adaptation of Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen’s novel series of the same name. There are currently ten main books in the Dept. Q series, so if the show performs well, there’s a good chance it will get renewed for more seasons. Want to get reading? Here’s a rundown of the series:
Yes! In addition to the Netflix series, Adler-Olsen’s novels were also adapted into a series of Danish films. The first six novels have already been turned into movies, with four franchise installments still upcoming.
Dept. Q Season 1 is now streaming on Netflix.