‘Dept Q’ Casts James Cordon for Season 2
Netflix continues to saddle 'Dept Q' Season 2 with choices that seem designed to ensure it fails.
It’s still somewhat unclear what Netflix thinks of Dept Q. Adapted and directed by Scott Frank, whose series The Queen’s Gambit became an unlikely hit during the 2020 lockdowns, one might expect Netflix to pour money into promoting it, given Frank’s past success. Based on the best-selling Nordic Noir Department Q novels by Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen, and starring Downton Abbey’s Matthew Goode, the series had all the makings of a major splash arrival... which is why Netflix allowing it to become a sleeper hit due to a complete lack of marketing was rather perplexing.
Then there was the long delay in getting Season 2 off the ground. Technically, Season 2 was greenlit in mid-2025, but it wasn’t until the summer of 2026 that the series entered pre-production and filming finally got underway, a delay that still hasn’t been explained, other than “Netflix didn’t get around to it.” Again, not really the way you treat a show that’s become a hit, despite Netflix’s handling of it.
That brings us to this week’s news, originally reported by The Sun, but later confirmed by the far more reliable What’s on Netflix, that the series is adding the highly disliked James Cordon (Gavin & Stacey) to the roster for the show’s upcoming season. While perhaps this is a move made in hopes of restoring the comedian’s favorability ratings among American audiences, it’s yet another mark against the show as it returns, giving viewers – who will have mostly forgotten about the show completely by the time it turns up in 2027 or 2028 – yet another reason not to bother.
So next time you see an article about Netflix, and it’s “mysterious Season 2 problem,” please think of this casting choice, and all the oddly self-defeating decisions the streaming service made on the way to getting here. Maybe Netflix doesn’t really like the series; the mystery’s plot sure didn’t make a whole lot of sense. But that’s no excuse for treating a hit show this way.
Here’s the Season 2 synopsis, which is pretty useless:
DCI Carl Morck heads up the maverick Dept. Q from the basement of an Edinburgh police station, charged with cases previously deemed unsolvable. This darkly humorous, propulsive show delivers all the pleasures of a procedural, but takes us into the complex mysteries not just of the cases but of the detectives themselves.
The series returning cast includes Leah Byrne (Deadwater Fell) as DC Rose Dickson, Jamie Sives (Summerwater) as DS James Hardy, Kate Dickie (Game of Thrones) as Moira Jacobson, Mark Bonnar (Guilt) as Stephen Burns, Alexej Manvelov (Before We Die) as Akram Salim, Sanjeev Kohli (Moonflower Murders) as Martin Fleming, and Aaron McVeigh (The Cleansing Hour) as Jasper.
Season 2 adds nearly a dozen new faces to the roster besides Cordon, including Tony Curran (Mary & George), Aisling Franciosi (Black Narcissus), Greg Wise (The Buccaneers), Rebecca Root (Heartstopper), Nicholas Rowe (A Spy Among Friends), Ross Anderson (Shetland), Hamish Clark (Monarch of the Glen), Alex Ferns (Waiting for the Out), Isla Johnston (Life After Life), and Amy Brenneman (The Leftovers).
Season 2 will once again have all episodes written and directed by Scott Frank. The series is executive produced by Frank, Rob Bullock, and Charlotte Moore, alongside Manda Levin and Jessica Burdett for Netflix.
Dept. Q Season 2 is currently in production in Scotland and is expected to arrive on Netflix sometime in 2027. Season 1 is available to stream on Netflix.
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