There's no doubt that Dept Q, Netflix's new detective drama, will be getting quite a few Slow Horses comparisons.
Sure, it's not a spy thriller and is instead set within the Edinburgh police, but it has plenty of overlaps, with an irascible but brilliant lead heading up a team of rejects and oddballs in order to bring about justice.
There's enough new in here to keep things fresh too, and books readers will note that Jussi Adler-Olsen's series on which this is based actually started before Mick Herron's Slough House novels.
That is to say, the comparisons with Slow Horses are not at all a problem. In fact, the biggest problem with Dept Q is that it didn't learn from that show's format and is, quite blatantly, far too long.
Dept Q stars Matthew Goode as Carl Morck, a senior English police officer based in Edinburgh who has a habit of rubbing people up the wrong way. If you think Gary Oldman's Jackson Lamb can be rude and off-putting, just wait until you meet Morck.
At the start of the series, we see him walk right into an ambush, one which sees his partner get injured and a young officer being killed. Morck is spared, something he struggles to understand, while also grappling with the guilt at the carnage his own sloppiness and headstrong demeanour wrought.
When he returns to work after some time away, he is put in charge of a new department, the titular Dept Q, which will be looking into cold cases. The department has been created by edict from above as a PR exercise, and Morck is told that the more high-profile the case he chooses to investigate, the better - so long as he gets results.
Soon joining Morck are Alexej Manvelov's Akram, a Syrian refugee who has previous police experience and a mysterious past, but who is unqualified to operate in Edinburgh's system, and Leah Byrne's Rose, a young, ambitious officer who has been desk-bound ever since she had a public breakdown.
Everything about this set-up works. The central trio are a delightful ensemble, and it's refreshing to see the licence Goode has been given to make Morck quite so unlikeable.
One wonders whether many other actors would have been allowed to push the envelope as far as he does. With Goode in the role, it was likely easier to trust that his innate charm would shine through, and that battling your way through his hard exterior over nine hours to reach his heart and his warmth would be a pleasure, rather than a chore.
Goode really does hold the whole thing together, but that's not to diminish the work done by Manvelov and Byrne, who are both strong, welcome and unique presences. Akram in particular is a fascinating character, and hopefully one whose backstory we will get to see more of in potential future seasons.
The rest of the cast is a joy too. Chloe Pirrie is probably the stand-out alongside Goode, but Kelly Macdonald, Kate Dickie, Mark Bonnar, Shirley Henderson and Jamie Sives are all as impressive as you'd expect - this is a seriously strong ensemble, and it helps to bolster every single scene.
Some of them do fill archetype roles - Kelly Macdonald is charming and nuanced as Morck's therapist and potential love interest Rachel, but she still can't at times help feel somewhat wasted in a character we've seen so many times before in different variations.
Dickie also plays the firm but fair detective chief superintendent, who is exasperated by Morck but can't deny he gets results. She does her best to make the character empathetic and engaging, but she's not given anything novel to do.
Regardless of any quibbles, this a cast which works on so many levels, not least the authenticity the Scottish actors bring to the show's setting - there's not a dodgy accent in sight here.
The decision to relocate the action of the novels from Copenhagen to Edinburgh will no doubt rankle some purists, but from the perspective of a newcomer arriving at the material, it really works.
For one thing, it never feels like a simple copy and paste job, where culturally specific scenes have just been transposed on to another locale. The narrative has been made to feel distinctly Scottish and rooted in the capital city, while Goode's Morck offers a delightful contrast to his surroundings.
This also offers up plenty of opportunity for humour. No matter how dark the series gets, and it does go to some quite challenging, gritty places, it still manages to retain a sense of humour throughout, one which doesn't feel forced, but feels baked into the characters.
The Edinburgh setting also makes for visually sumptuous viewing, with the city's landmarks forming a gorgeous backdrop to some stunning production design.
The police department and one other spoiler-ific key location are particularly distinct and impressively rendered, meaning it never feels like what you're watching could be a scene in any other detective drama. There's a specificity of style here which helps the show stand out from the crowd.
All in all, there's a lot to like, and a lot of promise for future seasons. The problem - and it really is a problem - is the pacing.
Slow Horses smartly adapts each of Herron's novels into six-episode blocks, which manage to never feel either rushed or overlong. It would seem to be a winning formula, the sweet spot when adapting stories of this ilk.
In Dept Q, the action takes place over nine episodes - nine hours of television to follow the team as they investigate one case. It's far too much, and leaves the middle of the season feeling particularly sluggish.
Things start off well and pick up again at the end, and it's not that the middle is bad, per se. It's just hard to sustain interest over such a long period, with far too many diversions and tangents added in to pad things. A lot of the different avenues the show goes down end up coming to little reward.
It's an issue which can easily be fixed, should Netflix be planning to commission a season 2. Whether it will be fixed is another question, as shows do have a habit of falling into a routine format, structure and pattern.
However, I can't help but feel it would do a disservice to the show, its cast and its audience not to fix this issue. There's so much going for Dept Q, and the ending is so strong, that it would seem a huge shame if viewers were to be put off part way through when the narrative really drags, and not make it to the end.
But for now, we have to work with what we've got, and at this point in time Dept Q feels like a work in progress - not unlike its protagonist, it's a mess with real promise beneath it all, a diamond waiting to be cut and polished.
Dept Q will stream on Netflix from 29th May 2025. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Dept Q review: Matthew Goode is phenomenal but sluggish pacing is a problem )
Also on site :
- Owen and Luke Wilson Share Rare Red Carpet Moment at 'Stick' Premiere
- Pentagon employee arrested for trying to leak secrets over Trump grievances
- Horrific bus crash: 22 workers injured in Sadat City rollover