Common Sense Media Review
By Marty Brown
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Violent book-based police drama feels awfully familiar.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Dept. Q
What's the Story?
After an ambush in which a police officer is killed and his partner is paralyzed, Detective Carl Morck (Matthew Goode) is reassigned to DEPT. Q, where he will assemble a team to solve cold cases. On top of the pile is a case involving a district attorney who has been missing for four years and is presumed dead. Will finding her help Morck overcome his grief?
Is It Any Good?
A disgruntled police veteran gets put in charge of a ragtag group of detectives who don't fit the mold of typical officers. No, this isn't Apple's hit Slow Horses, but Dept. Q takes many of its cues from the Gary Oldman series, with diminishing returns. For one thing, the Netflix series doesn't build suspense from episode to episode as sharply as its Apple counterpart. The central crime isn't nearly as compelling, and neither are the supposedly offbeat characters. The story jumps back and forth in time without really connecting, and Matthew Goode—though generally one of the stronger parts of the show—is no Oldman.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the mysteries. What mysteries are set up to be solved in Dept. Q? What type of mystery series is this -- fair play? Procedural? Or something else?
What information is the audience given that the detectives don't have? Why does the series choose to reveal this info? How does knowing certain things about the story affect your experience as a viewer?
How do the unsolved crimes affect the characters? Does working on the crimes change the characters? If so, how?
TV Details
- Premiere date : May 29, 2025
- Cast : Matthew Goode , Kelly Macdonald , Chloe Pirrie
- Network : Netflix
- Genre : Drama
- TV rating :
- Last updated : September 25, 2025
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