We are waiting for Netflix to advertise the release date for Department Q.  The only clue that we have is an article (Edinburgh Live) that mentions it will be released in ‘Q2’ – April, May, June or July.  So keep checking Netflix listings!

Pictures – Netflix UK Twitter

In the meantime we are adding an article from Good Housekeeping online to the Press Archive for 2025 that gives you a good summary of what we know so far.  Link here – https://matthew-goode.net/press-archive/press-archive-for-2025/

Matthew Goode plays Captain Gray in this BBC mini-series.

From ‘Metro’  [Extracts] :-

Abi Morgan’s period drama Birdsong first aired in 2012, starring Eddie Redmayne and Matthew Goode.

Based on Sebastian Faulks’s novel of the same name, it follows the story of young soldier Stephen Wraysford through World War I.

The two-part programme covers flashbacks from Stephen’s past forbidden love affair with a French woman … and his life fighting in the horrific trenches of northern France.

Birdsong has scored an impressive 75% Rotten Tomatoes score, with one fan writing: ‘BBC’s periodic drama would seldom let you down.’

‘Beautifully crafted epilogue surrounded by carnage,’ another viewer said.

Critic Grace Dent praised: ‘Birdsong is remarkable. Unsettling, visceral, a shell-shocked fug of love, loss, then more loss, then the brink of despair, with anything left then battered and blown up again.’

Meanwhile reviewer Serena Davies said: ‘The BBC, then, have done something important – they have made an elegiac, lyrical film (that is better than Spielberg’s War Horse) with which the next generation can associate the war. It aspires to the sentiments of the war poets.’

 

What’s On Netflix has updated their ‘What we know so far’ details:-

Who is cast in Department Q?

On February 6th, 2024, the main cast of Department Q was revealed.

Alongside the cast reveal, Netflix has also announced the names and descriptions of their roles.

Matthew Goode (The Imitation Game) plays the role of DCI Carl Mork;

“Detective, Carl Morck – brilliant but impossible – has his life turned upside down after a violent incident leaves his partner paralysed and an officer dead. Upon his return to work, he is tasked with setting up Department Q – a new cold case department, which is little more than a PR exercise. At first, being sidelined suits Carl; he’s happy to waste his days playing solitaire and skiving. Yet over the course of the series, Carl’s detective instincts are reawakened, and his new department down in the basement becomes an unlikely magnet for the misfits and mavericks of Chief Super, Moira’s police team.

Chloe Pirrie (The Queen’s Gambit) plays the role of Merritt Lingard;

“Merritt, a ruthless and ambitious prosecutor, has quickly risen the ranks in the Crown Office.  Merritt had a troubled childhood, raised by her absent father on the Isle of Mull.  But after her brother William suffered a severe brain injury, she turned her life around and dedicated her life to him, whilst striving for justice in her role as prosecutor.  However, in the wake of the biggest case of her career, Merritt decides she needs to make a change.  As a result, Merritt and Carl’s paths collide.”

Alexej Manvelov (Chernobyl) plays the role of Akram Salim;

“Akram was an officer in the Syrian police force when civil war broke out. He decided to flee to Europe with his family. Unable to work as a cop in the UK, he petitions for work at Edinburgh’s police station, becoming Carl’s assistant. Akram keeps his past life in Syria private, but as the series goes on, Carl realises he’s underestimated his new partner.”

Kelly Macdonald (No Country for Old Men) as Dr Rachel Irving;

“Dr Rachel Irving is the therapist charged with getting officers back on the front line. She’s smart, and she soon gets the measure of Carl, his trauma and his superiority complex. Intrigued by one another, the two develop a deeper connection across the series.”

Leah Byrne (Deadwater Fell) plays the role of Rose;

“Rose was a top police cadet with a promising future in the force.  But a mental-health-related breakdown during her first year as a detective constable has left her on shaky ground.  Demoted to a desk job, the stigma has followed her ever since.  She appeals to Carl in his new department down in the basement for a chance to prove herself once again.”

The remaining cast members confirmed for Department Q are;

• Mark Bonnar (Napoleon) as Stephen
• Shirley Henderson (Harry Potter) as Clare Marsh
• James Sives (Guilt) as DS Hardy
• Samara McLaren (Merlin) as Donna Hardy
• Angus Miller (Outlander) as Colin Cunningham
• Kate Dickie (Inside Man) as Moira
• Lily Knight (The Gold) as Caroline Kerr
• Kim Allan (The Devil’s Hour) as Chloe Evans
• Alex Newman (Winnie Pooh: Blood and Honey 2) as Paul Evans
• Ellen Bannerman (The Alienist) as Kirsty Aitken
• Mark Bonnar (Unforgotten) as Stephen Burns
• Charlene Boyd (River City) as Victoria
• Kal Sabir (Slow Horses) as DCI Logan Bruce
• Douglas Russell (Peaky Blinders) as Graham Finch
• Jack Greenlees (Payback) as Sam Haig
• James McNaughton (Baldur’s Gate 3) as Dennis Piper
• Gilly Gilchrist (Outlander) as Sergeant Cunningham
• Caroline Guthrie (Annika) as Dr. Sonnerberg
• Conor Berry (Karen Pirie) as Barry
• Nolan Willis (Outlander) as Charlie Bell
• Sani Mamood (Granite Harbour) as Marcus French
• Gabrielle Monica Hughes (Two Doors Down) as Hardy’s Nurse
• Angus Yellowlees (Outlander) as PC Anderson
• Hanna Low (Doom Scrolling) as Elise
• Frances Mayli McCann (River City)
• Tom Duncan (Outlander) as David
• Nandi Hudson (Army of Thieves) as Catriona
• Aaron McVeigh (The Cleansing Hour) as Jasper Stewart
• Aron Dochard (The Witcher: Blood Origin) as DC Clark
• Clive Russell (Game of Thrones) in an unknown role
• Kai Alexander (Masters of the Air) in an unknown role
• Hugo Shack (Scud) in an unknown role
• James Paterson (Birds of a Feather) in an unknown role
• James Dawoud (Dog Squad) in an unknown role
• Coseama Cook in an unknown role

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What’s the Netflix release date for Department Q?

At the Next on Netflix UK event, Netflix confirmed the series would debut sometime in 2025. Keep this article bookmarked for the latest.

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Information from ‘Collider’ –

The full 3-season run of the AMC show A Discovery of Witches will be available. Based on the best-selling series by Deborah Harkness, the series is often described as Twilight for adults. Whether or not you agree with that sentiment, following the mystery of reluctant witch Diana Bishop (Teresa Palmer) and the brooding vampire Matthew de Clermont (Matthew Goode), who insists on protecting her, is one to watch. As the pair not only track down a once-hidden alchemical manuscript that possibly holds the origins of their species, they fall in love in a deliciously forbidden romance. Joined by them in their journey are Diana’s aunts: Sarah Bishop (Alex Kingston) and Emily Mather (Valarie Pettiford) as well as Matthew’s own mother Ysabeau de Claremont (Lindsay Duncan) and his vampire son Marcus Whitmore (Edward Bluemel). Now might also be the perfect time to catch up, as author Deborah Harkness has released another installment in the series, Black Bird Oracle.

Full article here – https://collider.com/amc-shows-streaming-netflix/

All images from  @Marx_ist   – Twitter/X

Sara Maude spotted Matthew filming and got some great pictures that she shared in a post on her Facebook.  Thank you to Sara for permission to share these.

Edinburgh Live asks Sara about her encounter with Matthew –

Edinburgh locals bump into Hollywood actor as he films Netflix show in Portobello

Matthew Goode, star of Downton Abbey and numerous big budget Hollywood films, was in the Edinburgh suburb of Portobello filming the new Netflix show Department Q

Matthew Goode delighted Portobello residents by stopping to take pictures

(Image: Sara Maude)

Portobello residents got quite the surprise on Monday morning when they spotted a Hollywood movie star shooting a new project on the promenade.

Matthew Goode, star of movies such as Watchmen, Downton Abbey and The King’s Man, was in town filming for new Netflix TV show Department Q.

The series, which is an adaptation of a Danish crime thriller, has been in production throughout Edinburgh for the last couple of months. Residents of the city’s west end previously watched on in awe as a stunt driver completed a scene in Melville Street.

The famous star was in good spirits and happily stopped to pose for pictures and chat with fans in front of the windswept beach.

One Portobello local, Sara Maude, 45, was brave enough to ask if she could take a snap with the actor, and told Edinburgh Live it was a fantastic experience.

Sara, who helps women meet their true loves, told us: “I had no idea Matthew was in Porty filming. I live in Portobello and had gone for a run down the prom, I saw the cameras and a lot of people milling about.

“I was curious what the buzz was about but I initially just ran by and didn’t pay much attention. On the way back I spotted Matthew Goode and my heart skipped a beat! I absolutely love him and I am a huge fan of Downton Abbey, I’ve even visited Highclere Castle several times. In fact, my close friends and family call me Lady Mary.

“I absolutely had to get a picture with him, and I believe if you don’t ask you don’t get! He was an absolute delight, warm, friendly and down to earth – a true gent. To me, he is a sex god, and I was delighted to share that with him.”

Production on Department Q will continue in Edinburgh, with the show having an expected Q2 2025 release date.

[Edinburgh Live]