When you think of Nordic noir, misty Copenhagen streets might come to mind. But Netflix’s Dept. Q flips the script. It plants its brooding detectives and cold cases firmly in Scotland. Edinburgh and East Lothian were used for this adaptation of Jussi Adler-Olsen’s best-selling crime novels.
Starring Matthew Goode (Downton Abbey) as the haunted DCI Carl Morck, the show debuts on Netflix under a reinterpretation dubbed “Tartan noir.”
Initially envisioned as a Boston-set adaptation, the project was years in the making. “We did try an American version… but it just didn’t feel right,” writer-director Scott Frank (The Queen’s Gambit, Logan) admitted to BBC Scotland.
It was during a fateful trip to Edinburgh that everything clicked. “The first thing he said when he got off the bus on the Royal Mile was ‘I love this place, we’re going to film here,’” shared executive producer Rob Bullock.
From there, Scotland became a character in its own right!
Edinburgh Sets the Scene for Netflix’s New Detective Show
Principal photography for Dept. Q was based out of FirstStage Studios in Leith, Edinburgh, with production stretching across six months, according to Filmed in Edinburgh. The show has admittedly employed not only the most iconic but also many lesser-known locations across the city.
Think the moody cobbled streets of the Royal Mile, narrow closes and stairwells, and interiors styled to reflect a crumbling police bureaucracy.
Scott Frank leaned into Scotland’s natural and architectural drama to echo the emotional weight of the narrative. “There’s a similar grittiness to Scotland and Denmark,” said actress Kate Dickie (The Witch, Game of Thrones), who plays Chief Inspector Moira Jacobson. “And a dry humour in the language which Scott captures so well.”
The Scottish cast only added to Dept. Q‘s authenticity.
With Chloe Pirrie as a Merritt Lingard, who is in the middle of the mystery, and Kelly Macdonald playing psychologist Dr. Rachel Irving, the dialogue drips with regional flair. Frank even wove in local slang (terms like “doolally” and “not having a scooby”) thanks to his on-set immersion.
Dept. Q Takes on Several East Lothian Locations
The Dept. Q mystery didn’t stay confined to Edinburgh.
Scenes were also shot in East Lothian, where Netflix crews filmed at Dirleton’s Lysander House and Yellowcraig Beach, according to the East Lothian Courier. Musselburgh’s iconic Staggs Bar even makes an appearance, adding a working-class realism to the show’s pub scenes.
These places have more than aesthetic texture. They add to the mystery, isolation, and history. In Scotland, dreams were realized via Dept. Q‘s cinematography.
“The next book is even more interesting and relevant,” Frank teased to BBC. But as he made sure to note, it’s up to viewers to demand more.
All eight episodes of Dept. Q drops on May 29, streaming only on Netflix.
