‘Department Q’ Takes Shape: Matthew Goode, Chloe Pirrie, Alexej Manvelov, Leah Byrne, Kelly Macdonald Join Netflix Series Adaptation Of Danish Crime Novels

Stewart Clarke
·2 min read

Department Q has staffed up. Cameras are rolling in Scotland on the upcoming series adaptation of Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen’s hugely popular crime novels.

Matthew Goode, Chloe Pirrie, Alexej Manvelov, Leah Byrne and Kelly Macdonald are all on board Netflix’s English-language series Deadline can reveal.

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The project comes from showrunner Scott Frank (The Queen’s Gambit). It has been written by Frank, Chandni Lakhani, Stephen Greenhorn and Colette Kane. Frank directs the first two of the eight instalments. Filming is taking place in Edinburgh, where the series will be set.

Goode will play DCI Carl Morck. After a violent incident turns Morck’s life upside down, the emotionally scarred detective is charged with setting up cold case unit, Department Q, upon his return to work. At first, the disillusioned cop is happy to waste his days away, but his detective instincts are ultimately reawakened and his new department becomes a magnet for a crew of misfits and mavericks.

The project sees Goode working with Left Bank Pictures and Netflix once more. He played Antony Armstrong Jones in season two of Left Bank’s regal drama The Crown.

Pirrie, whose credits include The Queen’s Gambit, plays ruthless and ambitious prosecutor Merrit Lingard. Fellow Scottish actor Macdonald takes the role of Dr. Rachel Irving, a therapist tasked with getting officers back on the front line.

Manvelov (Jack Ryan) is Syrian cop Akram Salim, who was forced to flee to Europe and ultimately becomes part of the new department. Byrne takes the role of Rose, a star police cadet left shaken by a breakdown and looking for a chance to prove herself in DCI Morck’s team.

The cast also includes Mark Bonnar (Guilt), Shirley Henderson (Bridget Jones), Jamie Sives (Crime) and Kate Dickie (Inside Man).

Adler-Olsen’s books have spawned a very successful film franchise. The fourth film based on the novels, The Purity Of Vengeance, became the highest-grossing Danish film at the local box office. New movies are in the works.

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