Netflix's Dept Q. teases a darker season 2 — see the plot reveal

Right, here we go again – Netflix is heading back to the moody underbelly of Edinburgh with its quietly massive hit, Dept. Q. If you missed it first time round, the show’s a blackly comic police procedural, lifted from Jussi Adler-Olsen’s book series and dragged by its ankles into Scotland. Somehow, detective Carl Morck (played with properly grumpy energy by Matthew Goode) manages not to be sacked, despite basically haunting the police station basement with his squad of fellow professional oddballs, taking on historical cases no one else wants to touch.

Return to the Basement – Who’s Back?

Netflix has officially fired up cameras for a second season in Edinburgh – and given recent Netflix axe-swings (insert standard nervous laugh), that’s genuinely a relief. Season one sat in the global top ten for six weeks and pulled in a Rotten Tomatoes ‘Certified Fresh’ 88%. Normally, renewal would be a formality, but as we’ve learned, Netflix plays by the rules of chaos. So, confirmation that filming is underway is cause for cautious optimism, especially for anyone waiting on answers about that opening shooting that’s been dangling since episode one.

• Matthew Goode returns as Carl Morck – terminally put-upon, still inexplicably on the force.
• Jamie Sives (aka Jory from Game of Thrones) is back as Hardy, the king of deadpan sidekicks.
• Leah Byrne continues as Rose, the team’s no-nonsense (and reliably sardonic) assistant.
• Alexej Manvalov reprises Akram, fan favourite and wildcard rolled into one.
• Supporting faces: Kate Dickie, Sanjeev Kohli, and Mark Bonnar all return.
• Noticeably absent – at least for now – is Kelly Macdonald. Her name’s missing from official updates, so watch this space.

New cast members for season two include: Aisling Franciosi (The Nightingale, Speak No Evil), Greg Wise (The Crown), Alex Ferns (Chernobyl, Star Wars: Andor), and Amy Brenneman (The Old Man, Heat).

Behind the Scenes – Who’s Calling the Shots?

Scott Frank, the man who gave us The Queen's Gambit, is still running the show, officially back as writer/director/overlord. He actually had season two mapped out before Netflix gave the green light, and in a chat with Collider, made it fairly obvious he fancied adapting the second book. Here’s how he put it – and frankly, the directness is refreshing:

'The second book in the series is quite good, so I’ve got a great idea for a second season. It is another cold case and also a current case, at the same time, that they’re looking into.'

Production is being typically tight-lipped about specifics, but executive producer Rob Bullock did at least drop a few clues – and a pretty blunt swipe at the rich and powerful:

'This season, Carl and his band of misfits tackle a terrible crime hidden in the highest echelons of Scottish society. It is a story for our times: rich and powerful people who believe they are above the law. Carl, of course, knows otherwise.'

Plot – Back to the (Presumably) Dead Girl

If you’ve read the second book, The Absent One, you’re ahead of the class on what’s coming: Morck gets stuck into a supposedly solved 1980s murder case, which somehow spins out into a hunt for a missing girl most people think is long gone. The exact details are under wraps, but the broad strokes match up, and I’d bet money they won’t stray too far from the source – at least, in spirit.

When’s It Actually Out?

Netflix haven’t slapped a date on this one, and with shooting only just ticking over, I wouldn’t expect to see Dept. Q popping up before 2027. Yep, that’s a bit of a wait, especially for first-season binge-watchers already gnawing furniture. But at least it’s officially happening, and if it’s as twisted and sharp as round one, the wait might just be worth it.