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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]

[(L-R) Alexej Manvelov, Chloe Pirrie, Matthew Goode, Kelly Macdonald & Leah Byrne

Courtesy/Josh Shinner/Getty/FX/Leigh Lothian]   

Information from ‘Deadline’ –

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.

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.

From acclaimed showrunner Scott Frank (The Queen’s Gambit) comes brand new crime series DEPARTMENT Q, now in production in Edinburgh.

Information and image from Netflix

Information from ‘Collider’ –

Production is now underway in Edinburgh for a new Netflix crime series, Department Q, hailing from one of the streamer’s favorite creative partners, Scott Frank. The show is an adaptation of the novels of the same name by Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen and revolves around former top-rated detective Carl Morck as he tackles a new cold case. As cameras begin rolling, Netflix also revealed the full call sheet of stars appearing on-screen, with Watchmen star Matthew Goode headlining the bunch as Morck and reuniting with his The Lookout director Frank.

Described as “brilliant but impossible,” Morck is forever changed by the inciting violent incident of Department Q, which saw the detective’s partner paralyzed and an officer killed. Wracked with guilt, he’s given command of the titular department, a new cold case sector that is little more than a PR stunt to sideline him upon his return to work. He eventually starts to tap back into his detective instincts and turn the basement office space into a well-oiled machine full of misfit officers dedicated to cracking whatever seemingly impossible cases come across their desks. The new series will bring Goode back to television after ending his stint on A Discovery of Witches after three seasons and appearing in The Offer in 2022.

Key among the outcasts joining him in Department Q is Under the Banner of Heaven star Chloe Pirrie as the prosecutor Merrit Lingard who is as ambitious as she is ruthless. Haunted by her troubled childhood and her brother’s severe brain injury, she turned over a new leaf to fight tooth and nail for justice, quickly climbing the ranks until she was at the doorstep of her biggest case yet. However, she opts instead to change things up and crosses paths with Morck, altering the course of her career. Alongside them is Alexej Manvelov as the former Syrian officer Akram Salim, who flees to Europe and becomes Morck’s oft-underestimated assistant, Kelly Macdonald as the therapist Dr. Rachel Irving, who forms a deeper connection with Morck throughout their sessions and conversations with each other, and Leah Byrne as Rose, a formerly promising police cadet forever marred by the stigma of her mental breakdown who turns to Morck for a second chance.

Rounding out the cast of Department Q are Mark Bonnar, Shirley Henderson, Jamie Sives, and Kate Dickie. Frank will serve as showrunner for the series and leads the writing team consisting of Chandni Lakhani, Stephen Greenhorn, and Colette Kane. Netflix likely has the utmost trust in Frank to deliver yet again, as he previously helmed one of the streamer’s colossal previous hits — The Queen’s Gambit. Nominated for two Oscars, his fingerprints can also be found on plenty of acclaimed films, including Stephen Spielberg‘s Minority Report, James Mangold‘s Logan, and Steven Soderbergh‘s Out of Sight. His most recent work came at AMC with the Monsieur Spade series starring Clive Owen.

Production is currently underway on Department Q, but there’s no indication of when it could hit Netflix. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the Edinburgh-based series as work gets underway.